I wrote three stories this year: "All Interests Aside," "The Hero," and "The Prank." Twenty one thousand words. For a tortoise like me, that is exceptional productivity.

This is a sequel to "'Twas Bato Did It," which was published in the Summer 2025 Issue of Cirsova Magazine. It has been chosen for Cirsova's anthology Mighty Sons of Hercules, Vol. 2, which will be published in the first half of 2026.

It's a really good story about a winged man.

Much as I like the trio of Bato, Raskos, and Adir, and am pleased by my two forays into a fantastical ancient Rome, I don't know if I'll write a third. The lack of robots and lasers bugs me. I do have an idea for a story set in Rome itself, but arriving at Rome in the third story would be premature, and I've got nothing for a buffer adventure.

This was my submission for Cirsova's 2026 Magazine. It didn't make the cut. I guess it's a little divergent from adventure and suspense, and in any event did not overcome the competition.

It is a story that's been stewing for a while. I'm very happy with how it turned out. In it, a country has been conquered by aliens and the alien monarch is protected by a praetorian guard composed of humans. There are four chapters, each regarding the head praetorian from the POV of another character: his schoolmate, his concubine, his father, and his sovereign.

I doubt it will ever get published. It's talkative drama, despite some action, and it is friendly to unwoke views. So you'll not likely read it until Stellar Stories, Vol. 4.

Every story has a formal structure, of course, but sometimes that form is obviously part of the artistry. "The Hero" reveals its main subject with four chapters about other characters. "The Prank" is a bit more ambitious. I based it on the Symposium by Plato.

Mostly I was using the multi-level framing structure of characters talking about characters talking about characters. I normally dislike framing, since most frames are superfluous, but my frames are fluid and each is meaningful to the whole. Structure aside, I also play off the Symposium's themes and characters. I do not go into any philosophical discussions — my such statements are assertions, not arguments. Whereas Plato was using characters for the philosophy, I am doing the reverse.

Importantly, my story is not just an SF parody or skinsuit of Symposium. I did some neat and allusive things, I think.

Anyhow, it's about men in virtual and real conversations, a robot, and a Muse. It's definitely satirical. One silly aspect is that I gave the characters Greek-like names based on kitchen utensils: e.g., Spatuliades. But it's not at all a comedy.

I actually started it as a submission to a robot-themed anthology from Raconteur Press. It did not turn out to be a pulp adventure. I don't know why I thought it might, given its structural conceit and general weirdness. So I did not submit it, and it is even less likely than "The Hero" to be published outside Stellar Stories.

But it is pretty awesome.