Once upon a time there was a king who had a very difficult problem. A mathematician was able to solve the problem, and the king told him to name his reward. "I don't ask for much," said the clever mathematician. "A single gold coin today, and that each day for the next thirty days you double the amount you give... read more »

Today's free Kindle ebook is "An Early Ford Mustang." It's a short story originally published in Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show. When perpetually late Brad inherits an old Ford Mustang convertible from his punctual uncle, his life is changed forever. The story is available free from Amazon’s Kindle store until about midnight Pacific Time tonight, but you don’t need... read more »

Today's free short story is a fairy tale: "Bird-Dropping and Sunday." It was originally published in the The Immersion Book of SF. When his older sister is kidnapped by thieves, Bird-Dropping must rescue her. The story is available free from Amazon’s Kindle store until about midnight Pacific Time tonight, but you don’t need a Kindle to read it. You can... read more »

I'm going to be editing an ebook anthology for Writing for Charity, tentatively titled The Gruff Variations.  Basically, it will be stories based on or inspired by the Three Billy Goats Gruff.  We plan to publish the anthology in conjunction with the Writing for Charity event on March 17.  Proceeds from the anthology will go to charity. You can find... read more »

Today's free story for Kindle is "P.R. Problems," which was originally published in Blood Lite: An Anthology of Humorous Horror Stories Presented by the Horror Writers Association. "What annoys me the most about vampires and werewolves is their good P.R." -- Thus begins the tale of a ghoul and his quest for proper respect. The story is available free from... read more »

Of all the stories I've written, I think "The Robot Sorcerer" is probably the best.  And it's now available free for Kindle. A Multi-Environment Robotic Lander (Intelligent Navigation) -- MERLIN, for short -- is sent through a wormhole to see what's on the other side. It ends up in a fantasy world where magic works. "The Robot Sorcerer" was originally... read more »

I forgot to schedule a free ebook for today. Free ebooks will resume tomorrow.

Bringing the second week of free Kindle short stories to a close is is "Salt of Judas."  This story was originally published in InterGalactic Medicine Show.  Even before posting about it, it's already up to #31 in the Free Historical Fantasy category. Osbert Peale secretly paints portraits of the woman he's infatuated with. But the new apothecary seems to know... read more »

Today's offering in my "Free Short Story Every Weekday" promotion is "The Man Who Moved the Moon." It was a winner in the third (and unfortunately final) Phobos Fiction Contest, so it was originally published in their anthology. In a future where most people have been uploaded into a digital world, Darryl Harrison has been downloaded into a flesh-and-blood body... read more »

Today's free story for Kindle is "The Final Element," originally published in Analog Science Fiction. A Stradivarius violin has been stolen and illegally duplicated using a nanofactory. The thief has been caught, but there are two violins. Dennis Lombardo's job is to figure out which one is the original and which is the duplicate. But when something's been copied down... read more »