Issue 7 of ParSec, the SF short story magazine from PS Publishing is now out. It includes my short story, ‘The Naismith and the Wild Boy’.

Some stories from legend are adventures, others are fantastical explanations for natural events and places. Others bring insight into human nature.

Ilmarinen, god, immortal smith, crafter of the dome of the sky, grieves the death of his wife. He is a superlative smith, he can make anything, but is that the path to happiness?

This very human story of loss and sorrow haunted me strongly enough that I felt I needed to write my own take on the tale simply to clear it from my mind. And here it is, my science-fictional variation of ancient legend. My own story, yes, but without the inspiration of Ilmarinen’s own life and lesson it would not exist.

Ian Whates, editor of ParSec, liked ‘Naismith’ enough to take it for the magazine. You can read it here. If you need a little more persuading just look at the contributor list for this issue: Paul Di Filippo, Joanne Harris, Alison Littlewood, Tim Lucas, and more.

This is my second story with ParSec. The first, ‘Down and Out Under the Tannhauser Gate’, was the opening story in issue 1 – what a privilege! I was equally delighted when it was selected for Best of British SF 2021.