James Pyles's Blog

“What a horrible kitchen.” Axel padded past the bookshelves to his left. Then his eyes flickered up and around. “Poor old sod,” he thought. “No storage so he has to stuff pots on top of the cabinets.” He heard a hiss and then saw the gas stove had been left on. Axel held his noosed […]

Crime scene tape fluttered behind them as Detective Artemis Siku crushed another cigarette underfoot. “Contaminating the crime scene?” Quinn Healy was new in forensics but still didn’t mind irritating the detective. “Bet you think that’s mud.” Siku slowly exhaled a cancerous breath. “Bet you think that’s feces,” countered Healy. “That would be a lot of […]

RELICS, Volume 1, a fourteen-story anthology of independent science fiction and fantasy, is available in paperback now. The collection was curated by Heidi A. Hill, L. Jagi Lamplighter, and Michael Finney in coordination with Based Book Sale. The fourteen stories are organized into three sections — The Ruins, The Remnants, and The Restored — around […]

Gawain, dressed in a forest green coat, stopped for a moment to admire some scarlet flower petals. The castle Hautdesert, now reduced to a tourist attraction, stood before him stirring lost emotions. It was a bit early for the plebian crowds, but the main entrance was open for business. The tall man of green mourned […]

“End of summer,” said Manny standing at his apartment’s patio railing. “They’ll be shutting the pool down soon. Good. People are so noisy.” He scanned up and left. “Whatever they’re doing on the side of that building looks dangerous.” He took a sip of his coffee and continued to survey the familiar scenery. “I really […]

“Which way should we go, Mikey?” Exuberant six-year-old Sarah held the young man’s hand while hopping up and down. “You don’t even know how to read yet,” said her nine-year-old sister Spring in mock disdain. “I can read some words,” pouted Sarah. “We’re here for an adventure, said Mike encouragingly, “not to argue, okay?” The […]

The science fiction anthology Fangs Out: Aerial Combat Chronicles is available now. It features my space combat short story “The Jupiter War.” For five years a mysterious adversary in Jupiter’s atmosphere has been attacking human colonies on three of Jupiter’s moons. Today a defense pilot called Irish finds out why. The action starts above the […]

He might have been a man, tall and imposing, wearing ancient and intimidating armor. He held a drawn sword in his right hand standing before the centuries old synagogue. Strangely, none of the casual passersby reacted to his presence. Only one man was on his face in the grass before him trembling. “Rise,” said the […]

Sid didn’t know what made him pull off the interstate and drive into that little no-name town. It had only one main street not long enough for a traffic light. He passed a diner offering big burgers and parked in front of a curio shop. The little bell rang over the door as he tromped […]

“You can’t blame my client for these crimes.” Marie’s attorney Michael Caan was the best in the business and even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the jury and judge felt swayed. “We’ve provided expert testimony,” Caan continued, “that demonic hornets infested her brain when she committed the crimes. She wasn’t legally […]