King of the Fescue

A new story is up over at RevolutionSF titled King of the Fescue. It is a certifiable hoot, as we like to say in the "biz" (we editors always refer to the high-stakes, jet-set life of science fiction publishing as the "biz").

"Howdy, neighbor!" Nelson smiled at Joe, revealing huge yellow buckteeth. "Hot day for yard work." His voice sounded high-pitched, almost squeaky.

Joe did his best to smile back. "It'll be like this for months before it cools off."

"True. I'm getting caught up with my yard, finally." Nelson looked down as he ran his foot back and forth through his grass. His old, baggy jeans and canvas shoes concealed his legs and feet so Joe couldn't tell whether he had any more of that long, gray hair. "What kind of grass is this?"

"Fescue." That was strange. Joe could have sworn that even Nelson knew what the hell kind of grass he had.

"I don't know if I can ever achieve your state of yard perfection, but at least I can keep it under control." Nelson stomped on a dandelion with the other foot. A hole in the toe of that shoe exposed a huge brown toenail, and Joe hastily looked away. He caught a whiff of something sweet, vanilla or cinnamon or something, as if Nelson had been eating candy.

I love getting original fiction submissions like this. No, it's not something that's going to change the world, but it's a heck of a lot of fun and never takes itself too seriously (even if it does manage to be creepy every now and then). Science fiction doesn't have to be dour all the time. I think that's forgotten too often these days.

Now Playing: Slowakische Philharmonie Peer Gynt Suite 1+2