Stupefying Stories

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Stupefying Stories The Facebook aspect of Stupefying Stories magazine, StupefyingStoriesShowcase.com webzine, and Rampa That, in a nutshell, is the STUPEFYING STORIES mission.

STUPEFYING STORIES™ and Rampant Loon Press™ are trademarks of Rampant Loon Media LLC. STUPEFYING STORIES is the banner under which Rampant Loon Press (the imprint) publishes—

• STUPEFYING STORIES: our monthly (well, we’re working on that) general-interest science fiction and fantasy magazine.

• STUPEFYING STORIES PRESENTS: our line of one-off and experimental theme anthologies.

• SHOWCASE: our

free companion webzine, which you can read right now at
StupefyingStoriesSHOWCASE.com

In a larger sense, though, all STUPEFYING STORIES titles are experimental. STUPEFYING STORIES was created to test the proposition that there are readers out there who want fun, exciting, and above all, *entertaining* new science fiction and fantasy stories, and that by using modern digital publishing technologies, it is possible for us to reach these readers, with new stories by new authors, in ways that make some kind of economic sense. To bring you entertaining stories, by new authors, for about the price of a cup of coffee. If you find this idea appealing, please join the conversation here, check out our website at http://www.stupefyingstories.com, and look for our products wherever e-books are sold. If you want to *be* one of the authors we publish, you'll find everything you need to know about submitting to us on this web page:

http://stupefyingstories.blogspot.com/p/submission-guidelines_23.html

Thanks! Bruce Bethke
Publisher, Editor, and Executive Cat-Herder in Chief

Today: every day, life on Odin III finds a new way to be weird. Father Luigi helps Nina cope with living on a planet whe...
23/07/2024

Today: every day, life on Odin III finds a new way to be weird. Father Luigi helps Nina cope with living on a planet where even the basic rules of science don't seem to make sense.

A little boy exploded into Father Luigi’s office, holding up a jar as if it was a trophy. “What is it?” Luigi asked, peering into it. Tho...

Today, fan favorite Rick Danforth returns with a little tale of love and casinos.
22/07/2024

Today, fan favorite Rick Danforth returns with a little tale of love and casinos.

The free drink from the Space Station casino didn’t cheer Archie up. It was only fair, you couldn’t ask a man who’d just lost his house to ...

Oops. Forgot to cross-post this morning, again.
20/07/2024

Oops. Forgot to cross-post this morning, again.

Mazaa perched on a worn stool in Weber’s Place, nursing a beer she didn’t really want. Hanging out at the only bar in town got old, but her ...

19/07/2024

Just a reminder: today is National Smugness Day for Mac owners, Linux users, Chromebook users, and self-sufficient Windows users. If you're using Windows 10 on a corporate network with IT-managed "Endpoint Detection and Response" software -- I'd wish you well, but you're probably looking at the Blue Screen of Death and an endless reboot loop right about now.

Today: what a beautiful view, and such a wonderful place to raise children. I'll take it.
19/07/2024

Today: what a beautiful view, and such a wonderful place to raise children. I'll take it.

The agent turned off the engine of the ostentatiously expensive vehicle. After checking a few dials, they broke the seals and exited. Gentl...

Today: sort for the late post, I've been dealing with OTOGU since I woke up. Here's another story for which I can't writ...
18/07/2024

Today: sort for the late post, I've been dealing with OTOGU since I woke up. Here's another story for which I can't write an adequate teaser, I can only say: you should take a few minutes to read this one.

It’s funny—I think the creature looks more like me than she used to. No. It isn’t funny… I don’t remember when that started. Maybe she alw...

Today: on a world like Odin III, what's the point of a prison? It's just a waste of people who could be doing the work r...
16/07/2024

Today: on a world like Odin III, what's the point of a prison? It's just a waste of people who could be doing the work robots are too valuable to do. People like Rauno.

Rauno sat under the shade of a massive boulder and took a long sip of water. Something scurried near him. He didn’t begrudge sharing the sh...

Today: it was the family vacation he'd never forget—until he needed the money, and sold the memory.
15/07/2024

Today: it was the family vacation he'd never forget—until he needed the money, and sold the memory.

The contract for signing over memory rights is surprisingly simple. Signed, one poor bastard needing money, and quick. Co-signed , some ...

14/07/2024

I usually try to stay as apolitical as possible, but this requires comment. Tomorrow's SHOWCASE story is "Take Aim," by Eric Farrell, a cyberpunkish story about memory transfer. This story was scheduled to run tomorrow weeks ago and it has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO with yesterday's events. I only realized a few minutes ago that it *is* the story that's in the queue for tomorrow, and it's too late to reschedule it or ask the author to retitle it now.

Whatever your political orientation, you should take a few moments right now to thank whichever deity you believe in that the shooter missed. Had he fired a moment earlier, or pulled the shot an inch to the right, we would today be in the throes of a hot civil war that would make the Rwandan genocide look like a polite dispute.

I don't know about you, but I thank God that we aren't.

Today: three new stories, two new episodes of The Odin Chronicles, and some big news in The Never-ending FAQ. All this a...
14/07/2024

Today: three new stories, two new episodes of The Odin Chronicles, and some big news in The Never-ending FAQ. All this and more, in…

Welcome to The Week in Review , our weekly wrap-up for those too busy to follow Stupefying Stories on a daily basis. Before we get to what’...

Today in The Odin Chronicles: Duncan Strasser has been acting strangely ever since the incident in the bamboo forest. (E...
13/07/2024

Today in The Odin Chronicles: Duncan Strasser has been acting strangely ever since the incident in the bamboo forest. (Episode 34) Forced to work alone with him deep in the mines, Father Maria finds out just how strange he's become.

Deep in the mines of Odin III, Father Maria felt a tap on her foot. Why couldn’t he leave her alone for a minute? “Just a second,” she said...

Today: the dolls come as a set. Never break up a set.
12/07/2024

Today: the dolls come as a set. Never break up a set.

Papa should’ve listened to the man. “These five are a set, Mister,” the antiquarian warned him. His tone as rigid as his posture. But Pa...

Today: Irwin wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the chandelier, as his mule knew only too well.
11/07/2024

Today: Irwin wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the chandelier, as his mule knew only too well.

Irwin talked to himself incessantly; no one else ever listened except the mule, and Irwin wasn’t too sure about that. He was seldom satis...

Today:
10/07/2024

Today:

My inbox was overflowing this morning, so now that I’ve dealt with the most urgent crises, let’s get straight to your questions and commen...

Today: Hans is stuck in a time loop (again), only this time he's finding it relaxing. No surprises means no stress. Ther...
09/07/2024

Today: Hans is stuck in a time loop (again), only this time he's finding it relaxing. No surprises means no stress. There's just *one* problem he can't seem to solve...

…Previously, in The Odin Chronicles … By the 56th week of the time loop, Hans had perfected the art of building the perfect bratwurst sa...

Today: sitting on rocks and singing is *so* BCE. Of *course* we've kept up with the times.
08/07/2024

Today: sitting on rocks and singing is *so* BCE. Of *course* we've kept up with the times.

On the Greek island of Santorini , I sipped white Assyrtiko wine while chatting with a brunette Greek beauty. Our gazes drifted to enjoy the...

Also posted yesterday:
08/07/2024

Also posted yesterday:

Welcome to The Week in Review , our weekly roundup for those too busy to follow Stupefying Stories on a daily basis. In the past week we’ve...

Now with a working inline menu and better links! Tell your friends! Share the links! Remember, likes and hearts are nice...
08/07/2024

Now with a working inline menu and better links!

Tell your friends! Share the links! Remember, likes and hearts are nice, but shares and retweets boost the signal!

It’s the last day of June and the middle day of the year, and so it seems a good day for reflection. In fact, it seems such a good day for r...

This took much longer than planned, in large part because the blogspot html editor totally sucks. I'm giving up for now ...
08/07/2024

This took much longer than planned, in large part because the blogspot html editor totally sucks. I'm giving up for now on trying to fix its "helpful" autocorrections to the html anchor code. This is long but worth reading anyway.

It’s the last day of June and the middle day of the year, and so it seems a good day for reflection. In fact, it seems such a good day for r...

Today on The Odin Chronicles: Ingrid deals with the complications of relatives and relativity, while a mysterious strang...
06/07/2024

Today on The Odin Chronicles: Ingrid deals with the complications of relatives and relativity, while a mysterious stranger attempts to communicate with her cat, in...

…Previously, in The Odin Chronicles … A tall woman burst into Weber’s Place, the best watering hole on the mining planet of Odin III. ...

Today on SHOWCASE: the problems of New York City could not be solved by any man. But Icon was no ordinary man.
05/07/2024

Today on SHOWCASE: the problems of New York City could not be solved by any man. But Icon was no ordinary man.

The sprawling public square in the great metropolis was silent and empty in the pre-dawn light, when the tiny sphere of golden energy mater...

Today on SHOWCASE...
04/07/2024

Today on SHOWCASE...

I made a mistake and got drunk tonight, and now I might die. The thought doesn’t bother me like I know it should, though. My gun, a C**t P...

Today: a lot of questions have been piling up, so once again it's time for The Never-ending FAQ. Mm-mmm! That's some goo...
03/07/2024

Today: a lot of questions have been piling up, so once again it's time for The Never-ending FAQ. Mm-mmm! That's some good $ #!+!

Welcome to this week’s installment of The Never-ending FAQ , the constantly evolving adjunct to our Submission Guidelines . If you have a qu...

Today: still wandering across the alternate timelines and searching for her one true life, Susan finds a clue in an anci...
02/07/2024

Today: still wandering across the alternate timelines and searching for her one true life, Susan finds a clue in an ancient game.

…Previously, in The Odin Chronicles … It was a quiet night at Weber’s Place. Just what Susan craved. The whispers from her alternate time...

Today on Showcase: first you must *find* the library, and that's not easy.
01/07/2024

Today on Showcase: first you must *find* the library, and that's not easy.

GPS couldn’t get you to the Summer Library. Only someone who was lost could find it, and Beno was lost, indeed, as he stumbled through the...

Today: Father Luigi receives a disturbing visitor with a *very* disturbing message, in...
29/06/2024

Today: Father Luigi receives a disturbing visitor with a *very* disturbing message, in...

…Previously, in The Odin Chronicles … The silent betrayal in the downturn of his fiancée Shelley’s lips and the hunch of her shoulders ...

Today on SHOWCASE: we close out an era, with the last story by Ray Daley that we had in our publication queue.
28/06/2024

Today on SHOWCASE: we close out an era, with the last story by Ray Daley that we had in our publication queue.

Greetings! I am Human-Robot Prototype Number Two. Today I will be your guide— Yes, the gentleman at the back with his hand raised. You had a...

Today: we talk about tree frogs, domed cities, Sean Connery, the future of The Pete Wood Challenge, and How to Keep Your...
26/06/2024

Today: we talk about tree frogs, domed cities, Sean Connery, the future of The Pete Wood Challenge, and How to Keep Your AI-enabled Sexbot from having a Catastrophic Meltdown at an Inconvenient Time. All this and more in...

The hot and sultry days of high summer have at last arrived. These are the days when I really identify with this little froggy friend of mi...

This always works better when I remember to cross-post first thing in the morning. Today in The Odin Chronicles: there's...
25/06/2024

This always works better when I remember to cross-post first thing in the morning. Today in The Odin Chronicles: there's been a quake and a cave-in, miners are trapped underground, and Father Luigi learns that sometimes the hardest but most useful thing to do is *not* to run to the scene and try to help.

…Previously, in The Odin Chronicles … After the ground stopped shaking and the dust settled down, after people coughed their lungs clear ...

Looks like the decision to put all our books into the KDP Select program and make them free for Kindle Unlimited subscri...
23/06/2024

Looks like the decision to put all our books into the KDP Select program and make them free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers was the right move. Note that Henry Vogel Author's Scout series went live on KU on June 19th.

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STUPEFYING STORIES is...

Edited by award-winning SF author Bruce Bethke, STUPEFYING STORIES was created to test the proposition that there are readers out there looking for interesting, exciting, thought-provoking, and above all, *entertaining* new science fiction and fantasy stories, by writers they may not have read before, and that by using modern digital publishing technologies it might be possible for us to reach these readers, with a stream of new stories by new authors, in a way that makes some kind of economic sense.

That, in a nutshell, is the STUPEFYING STORIES mission. To bring you lots of entertaining new stories, by authors you may not have read before, for about the price of a cup of coffee.

Right now STUPEFYING STORIES is a “semi-pro” magazine, because of the low word rates we pay our authors, but the important point here is that no one on the staff is drawing a salary. We are plowing every penny we make back into making our magazine better and paying our authors and artists more. Our goal is to become a “pro-rates” magazine, and there’s only way we can do that: by selling more copies. If you find this idea appealing, please join the conversation here, check out our website at http://www.stupefyingstories.com, look for our products on Amazon.com, and above all: TELL YOUR FRIENDS! Thanks! Bruce Bethke Publisher, Editor, and Executive Cat-Herder in Chief