Gypsum Sound Tales picked up my post-apocalyptic short story, “Glimmer on a Darkling Plain,” and published the piece in Thuggish Itch: By the Seaside.

I know, I know, “Glimmer on a Darkling Plain” is kinda pretentious. The work went through several titles, including “Hands with Teeth” and “Plains of Glass,” but “Glimmer” ended up being thematic and poetic but maybe too generic? I wanted to reference the story’s diminishing hope and paint an image in the mind of the fiery finale. In any case, the work is published, I’m happy with the writing, and maybe the integrity of the story will transcend the title from cringe to class.

Years ago, I wrote a story about an old man in the ruins of the future. The man faced a dragon, really a hovercraft piloted by mindless tech. The piece was published by Kasma Magazine, now defunct. Wonderful art was created to accompany the writing.

I loved the voice of the unnamed protagonist, an amalgam of Cormac McCarthy and Jeff VanderMeer, and I wanted to revisit his lonely world. I also felt like there was an unexplored hook—an ocean of invasive scientific monsters, held at bay by a colossal Wall.

“Glimmer on a Darkling Plain” is that sequel.

Thuggish Itch is a speculative fiction anthology produced by Gypsum Sound Tales. If you’re interested, they have a delightfully bizarre collection called “Birds Have Teeth,” which features “twenty short stories that depict what might ensure if our feathered friends suddenly developed teeth.” The press is located in Sydney, Australia.