Brave New Short Story

     I recently contributed my first short story to an anthology called Brave New Love, the theme of which is dystopian romance.  My story is called 357 and is about the most dystopian romance I could come up with.  I am, of course, very proud to have been invited to contribute at all, but I am all the more grateful for two reasons:

1. The collection is edited by Paula Guran, who has a great sensibility for dark fantasy and whose collection The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror 2011 was recently released.  I posted about last year's excellent collection here.

2. My story in Brave New Love immediately precedes Eric and Pan, a contribution by William Sleator, who -- among many other books -- wrote the great House of Stairs, a book that was hugely influential in my reading (and writing) life.  It was a story that has haunted me (in the best way possible) since I read it back in my preteen days and I would have to say that it is the story most responsible for shaping my outlook as a storyteller and my desire to ask deeper questions within a dark narrative framework.
 
     Brave New Love is available imminently in the U.K. and will be released in the U.S. on February 14th.