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M. Darusha Wehm

Explorer of Worlds Real and Imagined

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  • Now
  • Short Stories
    • Bodies at Rest, Bodies in Motion
    • Fire. Escape. – Sample
    • The Foreigner
    • Major Tom and the Lucky Lady
    • The Interview
    • Lucidity
    • Fame
    • Chekhov’s Phaser
    • Career Opportunities
  • Science Fiction
    • Beautiful Red
    • Children of Arkadia
    • Andersson Dexter
      • Self Made
      • Act of Will
      • The Beauty of Our Weapons
      • Pixels and Flesh
    • Modern Love and other stories
    • The Voyage of the White Cloud
    • Retaking Elysium
    • The Qubit Zirconium
    • Hamlet, Prince of Robots
  • Mainstream Fiction
    • Devi Jones’ Locker
      • Packet Trade
      • Sea Change
      • Storm Cloud
      • Floating Point
    • The Home for Wayward Parrots
  • Anthologies
    • The Stars Beyond
    • Year’s Best Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction & Fantasy, Volume 4
    • KeyForge: Tales From the Crucible
    • Trans-Galactic Bike Ride
    • Fireweed: Stories from the Revolution
    • Year’s Best Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction and Fantasy: Volume I
    • The Dame Was Trouble
    • Dystopia Utopia Short Stories
    • Science Fiction Short Stories
    • Procyon Press Science Fiction Anthology 2016
    • Use Only As Directed
  • Games/Interactive
    • The Martian Job
    • Alexander Systems
    • You Do You
    • if ink could flow backward
  • Books

News

Hamlet, Prince of Robots Playlist

February 14, 2023

I’ve put together a kind of soundtrack for Hamlet, Prince of Robots. Arguably there are some spoilers in here, so if you haven’t read the book yet, you’ve been warned.

Filed Under: News

2022 Awards Eligibility

January 2, 2023

Happy New Year!

Here’s what I published this year:

SHORT STORIES

“The Stars Above Eos” in Fireside, March 2022 (1700 words). A short, sweet (sad?) science fiction love story about transcending death. Content notes for body modification and death.

“A Ghost of a Chance” (8400 words) in The Stars Beyond: A Twilight Imperium Anthology from Aconyte. Groundhog Day, but it’s a first contact story.

POETRY

“how to make time” in The Deadlands, March 2022. A recipe.

EXTRA

While not my things exactly, I would also like to draw your attention to the original stories we published at Many Worlds.

“Roamers of Tala” by Josh Eure 

“True Believers” by Craig Lincoln 

“And the Flower Grows and the Petal Falls and I Am Left Holding this Withered Stem” by Ben Murphy 

“What Has Vanished” by Elizabeth Sinden Pipher 

“Kichkandi” by Smriti Ravindra 

“The Cemetery for All the Mothers Who Died Way Too Young” by Mark Galarrita 

“Memento Mori” by Elliot Richards 

Filed Under: News

HopePunk StoryBundle

November 24, 2022

My book Children of Arkadia is one of the core books in the brand new HopePunk StoryBundle, curated by Adam Gaffen.

Welcome to the Hopepunk bundle!

What is Hopepunk, you ask?

It’s a subgenre of speculative fiction, so it includes fantasy as well as science fiction, and it’s a reaction to the dystopian views that grimdark novels have. Where grimdark is violent and amoral, hopepunk stories feature characters who fight for positive change, communal responses to challenges, and even radical kindness. It’s an intentional ray of sunshine in what could be a bleak literary landscape. It’s taking a stand because it’s right, not because it’s profitable. It’s rebelling against an oppressive regime to improve everyone’s lot, not just your own. It emphasizes cooperation over conflict while realizing that a Happily Ever After isn’t guaranteed.

And it’s everywhere.

A few examples, you say?

How about The Martian? The classic Discworld novels? Jumping into movies, look at Black Panther. Or head to television and watch The Orville or Doctor Who. Hopepunk promises that tomorrow can be better than today, given passion and effort.

And it’s here for you today!

We’ve gathered some of the most rousing, forward-thinking, relatable Hopepunk novels on the market for you today and put them into this special bundle. Check it out!


Adam Gaffen

For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you’re feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of four books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE.

  • The Stars and Green Magics by Novae Caelum
  • Red Dot by Mike Karpa
  • Children of Arkadia by M. Darusha Wehm
  • The Road to the Stars by Adam Gaffen

If you pay at least the bonus price of just $20, you get all four of the regular books, plus seven more books/boxed sets for a total of 11!

  • The Adventures of Wil Calder by John Wilker
  • The Left Hand of Dog by Si Clarke
  • Aces High, Jokers Wild: Books 1-3 by O.E. Tearmann
  • Tanis Richards: Shore Leave by M. D. Cooper
  • The Ariadne Cycle – Boxed Set by J. Scott Coatsworth
  • The Andlios Collection – Books 1-3 by Dave Walsh
  • City of Kaus: Books 1-3 by Dani Hoots
Get the Bundle

Filed Under: News

2021 Award Eligibility

January 4, 2022

Happy New Year! Nebula, and Sir Julius Vogel Awards are open for nominations for prose, Rhysling nominations are open for poetry and Hugo nominations will open soon.

My short story “A Thorn in Your Memory” is eligible for prose.

My poem “the chrononaut” is eligible for poetry.

Filed Under: News

The Qubit Zirconium is Out Today!

April 14, 2021

The Qubit Zirconium is out today in US paperback and ebook everywhere!

Alien detectives stumble across a mystery that could tear apart their patchwork planet, the Crucible, in this riotous science fantasy novel from the smash hit game, KeyForge.

Wibble & Pplimz, the Crucible’s most unusual private investigators, must set off from their office in Hub City to clear the name of a former client. Along the way, their investigation broadens from a simple accusation of theft to include a missing person, a potential murder, and a highly unusual gem. Four interlinking incidents take them across the Crucible, as they attempt to solve the case. But there’s something more sinister lurking underneath: evidence of a secret society that aims to discover the power of the Architects, and forever change the nature of the Crucible itself.

Find out more

Filed Under: News

Two Anthologies Out Today

September 2, 2020

I have stories in two new anthologies out today!

KeyForge: Tales From the Crucible

Take a whirlwind tour to the incredible planet of a million fantasy races, the Crucible, in this wild science fantasy anthology from the hit new game, KeyForge.

Fireweed: Stories from the Revolution

Fireweed cover

Sixteen stories and poems of triumph, resistance, and revolution.

Filed Under: News

The Glitter And Hope Bundle

July 15, 2020

Glitter and Hope Books Covers

I’m excited to share that my book The Voyage of the White Cloud is a part of the new Glitter And Hope StoryBundle, curated by Cat Rambo!

Hope can find its origin in friendship, whether on an alien planet or a New York street corner. It can come from writing, in a myriad shades as multi-colored as the ink in which it’s inscribed. It glitters at the bottom of Pandora’s box, waiting to escape. Waiting to provide comfort and light and renewed vigor for the fight.

So this is a bundle centered on hope with a touch of glitter, rather than grit, and I hope you enjoy reading these stories as much as I did. It’s a range of flavors as well as forms: novels, including some beginnings; connected short stories; sequential novellas, and an anthology of stories connected by theme. 

Cat Rambo

For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you’re feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of four books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE.

  • Diamondsong – Escape 01 by E.D.E. Bell
  • The Burglar of Sliceharbor by Jason A. Holt
  • Modern Surprises by Joan Marie Verba
  • The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus by Alanna McFall

If you pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you get all four of the regular books, plus seven more more books, for a total of eleven!

  • Diamondsong – Capture 02 by E.D.E. Bell
  • Tales of the Captain Duke – Vol. 1-4 by Rebecca Diem
  • The Voyage of the White Cloud by M. Darusha Wehm
  • Community of Magic Pens by Atthis Arts Anthology
  • Carpe Glitter by Cat Rambo
  • Missing Signal by Seb Doubinsky
  • The Legacy Human – Singularity 1 by Susan Kaye Quinn
Get the Bundle

Filed Under: News

2019 Award Eligibility

January 17, 2020

‘Tis the season. Hugo, Nebula, and Sir Julius Vogel Awards are open for nominations for prose, and Rhysling nominations are open for poetry.

My novella “Retaking Elysium” is eligible for prose.

My poems “recursion” and “. ….. ..story .. time” are eligible for poetry.

Filed Under: News

Retaking Elysium Out Now

October 30, 2019

Retaking Elysium cover
Mars is good place to reinvent yourself, isn’t it?

Jules Morales’s life has always been a state of contact change. When the opportunity comes up, why not take a trip to Mars to work on the platinum mining operation—and make a load of money? But what if there is more to Mars than just a payday and an adventure?

The woman now calling herself Lisa Marie has spent her whole life trapped by the struggle to make ends meet, and sometimes held hostage by her own memories. On Mars she might finally find financial security, but will she also find something to care about today, and maybe even for the future?

Mars is a world in transition, caught in the balance between capitalist exploitation and human exploration. The first people of Mars need to find a way to build a functioning economic zone and liveable habitat on the Red Planet. But could they do more—create a community, a true new home for humanity?

Out now, Retaking Elysium, the prequel novella to The Martian Job.

Learn More

Filed Under: News

Retaking Elysium Chapter One — Read or Listen Free

July 30, 2019

Retaking Elysium cover

I’m serializing my new novella Retaking Elysium on Patreon.

Mars is good place to reinvent yourself, isn’t it?

Jules Morales’s life has always been a state of contact change. When the opportunity comes up, why not take a trip to Mars to work on the platinum mining operation—and make a load of money? But what if there is more to Mars than just a payday and an adventure?

The woman now calling herself Lisa Marie has spent her whole life trapped by the struggle to make ends meet, and sometimes held hostage by her own memories. On Mars she might finally find financial security, but will she also find something to care about today, and maybe even for the future?

Mars is a world in transition, caught in the balance between capitalist exploitation and human exploration. The first people of Mars need to find a way to build a functioning economic zone and liveable habitat on the Red Planet. But could they do more—create a community, a true new home for humanity?

Read or listen to Chapter One for free.

Filed Under: News

Retaking Elysium — Coming in July

July 6, 2019

Retaking Elysium cover

Coming July 23—a Patreon exclusive serial in text and audio: Retaking Elysium, a prequel to my Nebula nominated game, The Martian Job.

Mars is good place to reinvent yourself, isn’t it?

Jules Morales’s life has always been a state of contact change. When the opportunity comes up, why not take a trip to Mars to work on the platinum mining operation—and make a load of money? But what if there is more to Mars than just a payday and an adventure?

The woman now calling herself Lisa Marie has spent her whole life trapped by the struggle to make ends meet, and sometimes held hostage by her own memories. On Mars she might finally find financial security, but will she also find something to care about today, and maybe even for the future?

Mars is a world in transition, caught in the balance between capitalist exploitation and human exploration. The first people of Mars need to find a way to build a functioning economic zone and liveable habitat on the Red Planet. But could they do more—create a community, a true new home for humanity?

All patrons will get the weekly chapters in text, patrons at the $2 or more level will get the exclusive audio podcast, and patrons at the $3 or more level will also get the ebook before it is released worldwide in October.

Join my Patreon here!

Filed Under: News

The Martian Job wins Sir Julius Vogel Award

June 5, 2019

Sir Julius Vogel Award for The Martian Job

Woo hoo! The Martian Job won the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Novella!

The SJVs are New Zealand’s fan-voted awards for best science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Filed Under: News

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Primary Sidebar

Book cover for “Hamlet, Prince of Robots” by M. Darusha Wehm. A blue-green robot skull with a golden crown in the style of a neon sign, over a dark glitchy background. In the top left is a quote reading “Enormous fun and a real gift to lovers of Shakespeare or science fiction or both. Familiar and surprising, clever and moving.” From Kate Heartfield, author of Sunday Times bestseller The Embroidered Book.

Hamlet, Prince of Robots

Like Succession meets Blade Runner … an extremely compelling and satisfying read that allowed me to investigate my own place in our time of communion and interdependence with machines.

—Pip Adam, author of Acorn Prize winner The New Animals

Something is rotten in the state of cybernetics.

Elsinore Robotics is on the cusp of a breakthrough—the company is poised to create the first humanoid androids powered by true artificial intelligence. Their only rival, Norwegian Technologies, lost a publicly streamed contest between their flagship model, Fortinbras, and Elsinore’s HAM(let) v.1.

But when the first Hamlet model is found irreparably deactivated, the apparent victim of wild malware, the field of consumer cybernetics is thrown wide open.

Learn More

Free Stories

Major Tom and the Lucky Lady

I was balancing a cup of tea in one hand, while hanging on to the side of the companionway hatch with the other. I climbed into the cockpit sideways, compensating for the roll of the boat. I was only … Read More... about Major Tom and the Lucky Lady

Career Opportunities

Jo-Lynn had always laughed at Charlotte, her stupid sister-in-law, who believed the crap in those so-called newspapers she bought at the supermarket every week. It was no wonder that her no-good … Read More... about Career Opportunities

Chekhov’s Phaser

I never planned to end up here. I've never planned anything, really. All my life has been like that: I see an opportunity and I take it. Sometimes that works out better than other times. So why should … Read More... about Chekhov’s Phaser

Publications

  • . ….. ..story .. time
  • A Most Elegant Solution
  • A Most Elegant Solution (audio)
  • A Thorn in Your Memory
  • A Wish and a Hope and a Dream
  • Alexander Systems
  • Fear of Lying
  • Force Nine
  • Good Hunting
  • Home Sick
  • Home Sick (audio)
  • Homecoming
  • I Open My Eyes
  • if ink could flow backward
  • Microfiction @Thaumatrope
  • Modern Love
  • Modern Love (audio)
  • Preventative Maintenance
  • recursion
  • Reflections on a Life Story
  • Showing the Colours (audio)
  • The Care and Feeding of Mammalian Bipeds, v. 2.1
  • The Interview
  • The Stars Above Eos
  • War Profiteering
  • War Profiteering (audio)
  • we are all energy

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Connect

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Poetry

  • . ….. ..story .. time
  • 140 and Counting
  • creation myth
  • Force Nine
  • how to make time
  • if ink could flow backward
  • recursion
  • the chrononaut
  • we are all energy

Non-fiction

  • 90ways.com

Elsewhere

  • Darkly Lem
  • Many Worlds
  • Mastadon

Copyright © 2023 M. Darusha Wehm