Author: marylowd

Birthing Class

“They weren’t talking about what everyone wanted to hear: the lifecycle of the aliens. But whispers passed through the audience, telling hushed rumors of one of the aliens visiting the hospital.”

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Theme of Absence, June 2016

Standing in the hospital lobby, Daniel spread his hands over the shirt covering his flat belly.  He tried to imagine the alien life growing inside him, but it didn’t seem real.  He didn’t feel any different than he had a week ago.

A couple women walked by Daniel, chatting with each other.  The base’s hospital was otherwise quiet at this time of evening.  Daniel turned back toward the row of glass doors that led out to the dry, desert air of Eridani Mu, wanting to leave the hospital.  The buildings of the human base were under the shadow of twilight now, but the majestic spires of the alien city in the distance were still lit by the pink-and-orange tinged sunset.  In only five years since the humans had crashed here, those spires had grown and stretched until they dwarfed the human base.  Continue reading “Birthing Class”

FemCloud Inc.

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Daily Science Fiction, February 2015

“That… uh… wasn’t the machine talking,” Dr. Orton said. “That sound came from your uterus.”

Chloe lay on the table in the doctor’s office, wearing a paper sheet over her legs and one of those weird gowns that opened in the back.  She didn’t want to be pregnant, but she didn’t want to need an abortion.  She couldn’t help thinking about David — it had to be David — and what amazing genes he must have.  He’d talked like a character out of a fast-paced TV show, everything clever, insightful, and… much too articulate.  Continue reading “FemCloud Inc.”

Cat Stories for Halloween!

Only one week until Halloween! Meeerowl!!!

For the last week of Furry Book Month and the week before Halloween, we have two stories for you…

Mice raised from the dead!  Zombie puppies!  Foolish dogs!  And a grumpy cat who’s too clever for his own good!  Read the story that started it all, the very first story about Shreddy the cantankerous tabby cat — The Necromouser.  And then read the story where Shreddy first meets his unwanted companions, Cooper the empty-headed toy Labradoodle and Susie the lovable Cavalier King Charles Spaniel — Shreddy and the Zomb-dogs.

If you enjoy these two stories, there are more tales of Shreddy and his techno-mystical adventures in The Necromouser and Other Magical Cats, on-sale from FurPlanet for the rest of the month and also available through Amazon.  It would make a great book to read for the end of Furry Book Month.

Shreddy and the Zomb-dogs

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Anthropomorphic Dreams Podcast, November 2011

“Glowing eyes looked into the night, and what Shreddy saw made his fur stand straight on end. Puppies rose from their graves.”

When Shreddy was a young cat, he and the Red-Haired Woman lived alone.  Shreddy enjoyed his youth and, in later years, he often daydreamed of those days before the Red-Haired Woman declared:  “I think I’ll take up a hobby.”

Shreddy wasn’t worried at the time.  She’d taken up a hobby before, growing orchids, and he’d found her pastime perfectly delightful.  Delectable, even.  This time, the Red-Haired Woman decided to grow something that Shreddy couldn’t eat. Continue reading “Shreddy and the Zomb-dogs”

The Necromouser

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in The Nautilus Engine, July 2008

“If that machine could help him raise the dead — and possibly channel his mind into the resurrected corpses, using them as his minions — it would give him Great Power.”

Shreddy never had a particular taste for fish, but he’d been in a sour mood for days.

The Red-Haired Woman had won their latest skirmish over the orchids.  She’d cordoned off the kitchen window with chicken wire.  Shreddy rattled the wire, pulling with his claws at the edges.  He shoved his face into the few centimeters between wire and wall, wrinkling his nose and squinting his eyes at the discomfort, but the wire didn’t have enough give.  Shreddy couldn’t get his head through. Continue reading “The Necromouser”

Gerty and the Doesn’t-Smell-Like-a-Melon

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Golden Visions Magazine, October 2010

“Lainey kept asking about what the gryphons had been like, and the master told her what he remembered about them. Gerty, however, couldn’t keep listening. She was too worried by her latest find.”

Gerty had been snuffle-snorting about the melon patches all morning.  She was looking for little people to play with, but all the bugs and mice seemed to be hiding today.  Dormancy was in the air.

She tried asking a bird to play with her, but it was so high in the branches of the karillow tree that she had to shout at it.  And the master scolded her for barking.  The bird flew away anyway.  They always did.

Continue reading “Gerty and the Doesn’t-Smell-Like-a-Melon”