Author: marylowd

Xeno-Nativity

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Fantasia Divinity Magazine, November 2017

“The requirement that most mothers find hardest to accept is that you will not get to choose the species of your child.”

Maradia was working on the specs for a free-flying, zero-G maintenance unit when she heard a customer come into her storefront.  She was glad to put the work aside — it was almost entirely a hardware job with barely any creativity to it.  She left the workshop area and entered the storefront to see a tired looking woman with bags under her eyes and a perfect, golden-haired child nestled on her hip.

“You’re back,” Maradia said. Continue reading “Xeno-Nativity”

Thoughts from Watching Tomorrowland

If I had watched Tomorrowland when it came out, I absolutely would’ve gotten myself a red NASA hat. I guess, by coming to it late, I’m saved from having a hat I can’t wear.

I wish this went without saying but it really, really doesn’t — not only does Tomorrowland center on a little girl robot & teenage girl chosen one, it does not sexualize them AT ALL. Think about that — girl robot & girl teenager who are allowed to simply BE AWESOME. Continue reading “Thoughts from Watching Tomorrowland”

That

That feeling when you’ve almost worked through all of the novel critiques you’ve received, and then one of them says, “Do a global search for ‘that’ and delete as many as possible.” And it turns out there are more than 1000 of them in your manuscript.

An Aldebaran Sugar Cookie for Star Shaker

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Fantasia Divinity Magazine, May 2017

“Chirri wanted to give her hero something, as a kind of thank you. She dug one of the cookies out of her bag; it was star-shaped and glittered with grains of Aldebaran sugar.”

The asteroid amphitheater rocked with applause as the suspended final note of Star Shaker’s encore vibrated the atmo-bubble over everyone’s heads.  The reptilian pop-star bowed and spotlights shone off of her rainbow-colored scales, making her glitter like the stars all around.

Chirri had loved Star Shaker’s music since she was a little kitten.  Once, she’d even shaved off her fur and drawn little Vs all over her naked skin, hoping they’d make her look like she had scales.  It had looked awful, but she’d been too young to care.  All she knew was that it had made her feel closer to her hero. Continue reading “An Aldebaran Sugar Cookie for Star Shaker”

Happy Unicorn Day!

Apparently, today is Unicorn Day.  So here’s a fresh hot cup of unicorn stories, newly available here at Deep Sky Anchor:

  • Hot Chocolate for the Unicorn — The Dragon and Unicorn come calling.    [~1,000 words]
  • Feral Unicorn — Janie’s in over her head when her pet unicorn’s horn comes in, and he starts working mischievous magic around the house.       [~4,800 words]

And if you need some more, we do have a few stories that have been rattling around the site a bit longer:

  • Cyclops on Safari — A normal day on safari, in a different world.    [~800 words]
  • The Carousel of Spirits — When Artie finds a ghost haunting his carousel, it’s time for him to build a new horse.     [~3,700 words]

Enjoy!

And Happy Unicorn Day!

Feral Unicorn

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Luna Station Quarterly, December 2015

“The snowy whiteness of his fur and the pearlescent shine of his horn bespoke purity, but I could swear the bastard was glaring at me.”

As I brought the mug of fresh-brewed coffee to my lips, the steaming liquid froze solid.  Startled by the sudden coldness in my hand, I dropped the mug.  The handle broke off when it hit the linoleum floor.  To make matters worse, the magic wore off almost instantly, and the mug-shaped block of coffee-ice promptly melted, puddling on the floor. Continue reading “Feral Unicorn”

Hot Chocolate for the Unicorn

by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Untied Shoelaces of the Mind, March 2012

“You always want a story,” the Dragon snarls. The Unicorn shies away from him, but he’s not really scared.

The curved neck and stretched wings of the black Dragon dwarf the figure of the doe-like white Unicorn.  They make an unlikely picture behind the glass panel and aluminum frame of my sliding glass kitchen door.  As always, quite the sight to see.  I ask them in.

Continue reading “Hot Chocolate for the Unicorn”