Issue 301, Volume 28
December 2024 / January 2025

Issue 183 Volume 18 April 2014

Editorial

Dan L. Hollifield

The Senior Editor's usual rants about whatever…

Serials and Long Fiction

The Ocean of All Her Children
Edward J. Santella
Who would kill sweet, kind Mrs. Tee, the old woman who baked cookies for the town’s children for as long as anyone can remember? A mystery with its origins in Sumerian mythology.

Short Stories

Being a Vampire Sucks
Ray Prew
After 400 years of preying on humanity, the nights just weren't that great anymore.

Beware of Hitchhikers
Jeremy Simons
Tommy seemed like a nice, regular guy, so David gave him a ride.

Interrupted
Jon Michael Galindo
In a super-connected world, a little break has strange consequences.

Pardon Me
McCamy Taylor
A new take on the 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner.'

The Goblin's Scavenger Hunt
Bob Griffin
Sanibel's curse put everyone in danger, but a unique idea might save the day.

The Oakton
Couri Johnson
It was a boring, old movie theater, but those patrons looked just dead.

Tor's Trial
Alfred Muller
Tor had 3 days to reach his village or be cast out, but it seemed like everything in the woods was trying to stop him.

Vacation 2156
Renee Harden
Moriah's parents wouldn't tell her what was going on, but she couldn't play outside at all.

Flash Fiction

The Secret
Lela Marie De La Garza
Professor Bauer died before recording the equation that would have completed his work, but his research staff isn't ready to give up just yet.

Far Darrig
Ed Sullivan
When Eric the Far Darrig tricked his cousin the leprechaun he didn't know the queen would see red…
This story is a sequel to the story "Bíonn tú Glas" from March's flash fiction contest.

Riddle of the Pyramid
Botond Teklesz
To end his dreams the Maya knew he must visit the pyramid.

Gene P21
David Ulnar-Slew
A daughter is given a miraculous choice about her sick father.

The Aphelion Flash Fiction Contest

We run a monthly flash fiction contest in the "Fun and Games" folder in Aphelion's forum. In the contest we post a challenge with a specific theme and genre and participants write a flash story based on the challenge guidelines. The contest is a great place to hone your writing skills, meet some fellow writers, receive some feedback, and possibly win a prize. New participants are always welcome. Submissions for the contest are done through the forum. Flash stories from all of our previous contest challenges are archived in the forum as well.

Over 500 stories are included in our archive. To start reading some of these great flash stories, check out either Index 1 or Index 2.

The title for April's challenge is "Surviving the Ruined Earth." The contest started in the forum on April 1st. Click HERE to check it out. There is a $35 prize for the winner of this month's challenge provided collectively by two anonymous patrons.

Results of the Aphelion Flash Fiction Contest for March 2014

Congratulations to Michele Dutcher, winner of the "Modern Fantasy in Green" challenge. Click HERE to read her winning story, "Spam," and seven other modern fantasy flash stories tinged with green.

Poetry and Filk Music

Alien Vote
Robin B. Lipinski

All Previous Priorities Rescinded
Jean Jones

Hai-Ghoul
Ed Sullivan

Hand-in-Tentacle
Richard H. Fay

MAVEN Haiku
Denny E Marshall

SciFaiku
Rafał Zabratyński

Sci(na)ku
Martin Tomlinson

The Ultimate Answer (a first step)
Richard Tornello

Watchtower
Clinton Van Inman

Articles and features

Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos by Thomas Willeford
Dan Hollifield
A look at 'A Maker's Guide to Creating Modern Artifacts' for Steampunk.