stories

My New Subreddit for Promoting your Original Fiction

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Hey all, this is just a quick post to tell you about a subreddit I’ve just created and am seeking to populate.  It’s called r/originalgenrefiction, and its purpose is to allow myself and others to post blurbs and links to our original works to try and snag more readers’ eyes.

It’s brand new and I’m still ironing out some kinks, so it’s barren at the moment, but if you’re interested or have something to submit I would encourage you to go check it out, post, and follow it to stay tuned.  The rules are pretty simple.  Your work has to be original, complete, free to read, and feature substantial genre elements (mostly just looking to avoid literary fiction and nonfiction).

I’d like it to be a haven of creativity, as I feel most fiction spaces online are oppressively dominated by works of fan fiction and erotica.  Ideally it will be a place where people can find fun and unorthodox stories without involving any kind of monetary transaction.  I’ll be posting there myself weekly, and I’d be delighted for some company.  Thanks for your time.

Blaine’s Short Story Blurbs

~ Blaine Arcade ~ 3 Comments

Well, they aren’t quite blurbs, given that these stories are, you know, short, but now that we’ve got descriptions for our books and novellas available, it’s time to move onto these.

If you don’t know me, I’m Blaine Arcade, a speculative fiction writing hobbyist, and I write lots of out-there science fiction, fantasy, science fantasy, and some horror.  All of my stories are available here and free to read, so please check them out if you’re interested.  Happy reading!

Jesus has the Wheels

Jesus has come to town in his big black SUV.  He says it’s time for the rapture.  The only problem is that this is white Jesus, and he isn’t so friendly.

Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: A Wren Landed on the Doorstep

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: A female assassin turns out to be a queen, hired by the royal family that stole the throne from hers.

“We got another letter from her,” Arch-Adviser Grackle said nervously, nearly wiping the sweat from his forehead with the envelope. He spoke in hushed tones, because anything louder might get his name written down inside one of those black letters with the gold writing. Continue reading →

Regular Romp #21: Mauve Creatures One through Five

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Regular Romp is an interactive fiction activity over on our Twitch stream where I ask a regular a series of questions before turning their answers and a corruption of their username into a short story.  Stop by twitch.tv/blainearcade if you’d like to participate.

starring

Mauvecreature5

“There’s absolutely no chance of me helping you until you’ve answered all my questions,” Dr. Richard J. Marco informed his surprise guest. The man paced around the doctor’s apartment impatiently, looking ready to knock over lamps and vases. The situation needed to be controlled, as the doctor had only recently finished redecorating and was in no mood to sweep any of it up. Continue reading →

Minesweeper Fiction: Session 20

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Author’s Note: This was written live on stream, with the tone being determined by the numbers under minesweeper tiles.  The audience could bid tokens earned in stream to reveal random tiles.  A mine hit results in the death of all characters, unless they are temporarily saved by a lump sum of tokens.  If characters make it to the end of the stream, they survive to be seen another day.  Join us at twitch.tv/blainearcade if you wish to participate.

1-peace    2-alert    3-escalation    4-action    5-tragedy    6-world-changing

The pips have rolled again, The conveying Minefield connects the Trap to a new world. Three enter, seeing only a shredded sky in the distance: Enoch the mood-swinging cartwheeler, Spleck the shoe shine polish dust bunny, and Moroot the unemployed depressed rutabaga. Continue reading →

Regular Romp #16: Witchy Wolfi

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Regular Romp is an interactive fiction activity over on our Twitch stream where I ask a regular a series of questions before turning their answers and a corruption of their username into a short story.  Stop by twitch.tv/blainearcade if you’d like to participate.

starring

TheWolfChkin

She hadn’t touched a coin in two years, so there was no money to purchase a mirror. She’d learned many skills in her isolation, but not how to blow glass or build the furnace she would need to do that in the first place. Wolfi Cheekin had only her tiny wooden house on the edge of the woods and the skills she brought with her the day she was cast out. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: Mysteries in the Wastebin

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: A detective finds a hidden underground technological race pulling all the strings

It was proving to be a very rough year for detective work, something especially discouraging because of the three rough years that preceded it. Mauritius Cook dealt with the lack of business by picking up a few hobbies. There was no money to facilitate the picking up process, so he chose free things like bird watching and sketching the ocean from the beach. Continue reading →

Twitch Stream Story: The Milk Cow Sidequest

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: A man discovers all his memories and desires are not his own, merely the amalgamation of a video game’s code. He must now decided what to do with himself.

“And what should be my reward, were I to take up this task?” the knight asked. He wore red and gold, and was thus under the command of Lord Sprice. He was supposed to help the villagers regardless of reward, but they had their own sets of arcane rules. Rumors swirled of shadowy texts kept not in bookcases, but in the shadows of such cases. Continue reading →

Minesweeper Fiction Second Story: Danderlid

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Author’s Note: This story is the culmination of our interactive activities over on our Twitch livestream.  Characters and their fates were partly decided based on audience participation.  Check out the earlier sessions if you wish to learn where these characters came from.

Though the fog was absolutely shredded by forces beyond their understanding, it was still largely impassable. There was however a dark slit that formed recently, right where the fog met the ground of the Trap. The refugees chose the widest part of that slit, and its nearby stable ground, as the location for their laboratory. Continue reading →