Pleasantly surprised to see Big Table publisher Robin Stratton keeps a copy of my novel, “The Winship Affair” (Blue Mustang Press) on her book shelf.
Author: Phillip Temples
“The Hunt”
I’ve produced the third in a series of Rambo vignettes entitled, “The Hunt” and am shopping it around. The 1,360-word fictional piece is set in a dystopian near-future in which regional wars fought by both human and alien mercenaries abound.
… the Rambos are the meanest, orneriest, most despicable form of life in the galaxy. They fight for Black Scorpion, Limited. Unlike the human mercenaries they fight alongside with, the Rambos fight for one reason and one reason only—for blood sport. Money don’t mean shit to them.”
“Do they speak any human languages?” a soldier asked.
“They speak better English than you, Janson.”
A few chuckled.
“Most of them are multilingual. I met one that spoke sixteen different Earth languages. They’re smart mothers. They’re big. And they’re afraid of nothing. If they kill you, they’ll take your scalps or your thumbs for souvenirs. The good news is, they bleed and die just like us. So, make sure they die first.”
After a moment, someone said, “If you call that yellow puke they have in ’em blood…”
“Because No Great Story Ever Started With Someone Eating a Salad”
Haiku: “Proud Spider”
Behold, proud spider /
Web in our condo window /
You’re gonna starve in here!
–Phil Temples
Michael C. Keith Featured at the Dire Literary Series, September 1, 2018
Allston Variant Comes to Life
WCVB carried this interesting story today entitled, “High-security Boston lab begins growing Ebola virus for experiments“.
It’s similar to the BSL-4 high security lab I describe in The Allston Variant. However, in the novel I go into far greater detail about the BSL-4 safety features in the fictional Allston lab.
“Whirlwind”
I’m shopping around a 100-word micro named “Whirlwind” about two boys who encounter a dust devil in a Kansas cornfield.
“Yeah, Machine Feelings”
The Scientific Case for Two Spaces After a Period
From The Atlantic:
This is a time of much division. Families and communities are splintered by polarizing narratives. Outrage surrounds geopolitical discourse—so much so that anxiety often becomes a sort of white noise, making it increasingly difficult to trigger intense, acute anger. The effect can be desensitizing, like driving 60 miles per hour and losing hold of the reality that a minor error could result in instant death.
One thing that apparently still has the power to infuriate people, though, is how many spaces should be used after a period at the end of an English sentence.
[Full story]
“Fake News” Accepted for Publication
My satirical piece “Fake News” was accepted for publication by the online ‘zine Children, Churches and Daddies, Volume 287 which will debut in November, 2018.