marylowd – Page 154 – Deep Sky Anchor

A Sense of Clarity

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Chrysalis: A Fairy Tale Anthology, February 2020

“…the love story he told of an amphibioid and a photosynthetic floral alien was the stuff of fairy tales.”

He was the kind of guy who would give a fake name. Clarity could tell by the way he tentatively tried sitting at three different tables before settling down on a seat at the bar; also, the way his bulgy, protuberant eyes kept glancing around nervously; and, finally, the way he glared piercingly at his mottled green, slumped reflection in the mirror behind the bar before answering her question.

“So, what’s your name?” she asked. Continue reading “A Sense of Clarity”

Two Ways to Gender-Flip Songs

When I was a kid, I loved the beginning of Adventures In Babysitting where Elisabeth Shue dances to the Crystals’ song “Then He Kissed Me”:

I also loved The Beach Boys and was excited to find they’d covered the song “Then He Kissed Me”… but bewildered by the way they changed the lyrics in gender-flipping it to “Then I Kissed Her.” Continue reading “Two Ways to Gender-Flip Songs”

2020 Awards Eligible Work by Mary E. Lowd

This is my round-up of original fiction I had released this year. I’d be honored if readers would consider these works for award nominations, but I’d also be really happy if people simply read and enjoy them.

Novels

My novel ENTANGLEMENT BOUND was published by Aethon Books in December, 2020. Continue reading “2020 Awards Eligible Work by Mary E. Lowd”

New Years Eve, Low-Key

Our traditional New Year’s Eve activity/dessert:

Destroy our gingerbread houses with dinosaurs and eat them.

Closing out the year by introducing the kids to Fantasia (original & 2000). It’s a soothing, low-key way to spend the evening. Continue reading “New Years Eve, Low-Key”

Jack O’Neill and Samantha Carter

Here’s the thing about Jack O’Neill and Samantha Carter in Stargate SG-1: he loves her — she doesn’t have long hair or tight clothes; doesn’t babble, do emotional work, or soothe egos — he just loves her for the brilliant, awkward human she is. Continue reading “Jack O’Neill and Samantha Carter”

Misspelling Cardboard and Remembering Frank Sinatra

That feeling when you turn on an album you haven’t listened to in a while and realize you first got hooked on it when you were three years younger than your elder kid is now.

As it turns out, when I can’t remember anything useful, my brain is still storing a ton of lyrics to Frank Sinatra songs that I listened to repeatedly when I was ten but haven’t listened to for possibly a decade or two. Continue reading “Misspelling Cardboard and Remembering Frank Sinatra”

Soul and Surviving

That feeling when your brain lapses and so you hush the TV and try to turn down the dogs with the remote.

It’s way past time for a massive toppling of current copyright law, huge resurgence of unions everywhere, universal health care, and universal basic income. Continue reading “Soul and Surviving”

A Small Present in Three Parts

Merry holiday season!

It’s been a long, hard year for a lot of us, so we’re sharing three stories today as a Christmas present for anyone who needs one. These three flash fiction stories fit together, following the voyages of a starship carrying scientists from world to world, making first contact with alien species, bringing small touches of hope and connection from the stars. Continue reading “A Small Present in Three Parts”

Treasure in the Sky

by Mary E. Lowd

A Deep Sky Anchor Original, December 2020

“Then he backed away from the yawning window, as if it were a portal that he could fall through and never land, floating forever, lost in the void of space.”

The short, stout, furry alien stared out the starship’s curving bridge window at the star-studded black sky. His black fur blended into the sky like a shadow, but the blaze of white over his forehead stood out like a brand. His rounded ears splayed, and he curled his heavy claws into fists. “I don’t belong here,” he muttered, and the ship’s computer translated it. “None of my people do.” Continue reading “Treasure in the Sky”

Somewhere Over the Ocean

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Boldly Going Forward, March 2020

“The inhabitants of Oceanica were not alone in the universe, and the aliens who had come to them from the void above the sky were strange.”

A’loo’loo swam eagerly back and forth, impatient for the spaceship above her, floating on the ocean’s surface, to open its hatchway. There had been so little warning — A’loo’loo had only discovered the burst of radio waves coming from her planet’s orbit three tides ago. Everything had changed since then. Continue reading “Somewhere Over the Ocean”