Short Stories
“Skittering Within” (online^, ebook, print)
Apparition Lit magAzine, OCTOBER 2024
“On the day Lina Cheng goes into labor, the last horseshoe crab harvest begins. Her water breaks as the crabs are scooped from their coastal homes; she rides to the hospital as they’re transported to the lab. A nurse helps Lina into stirrups—leaning her head back…”
FANTASY / LITERARY, 3900 words
About the Story
A girl with eczema and a strange connection to the ocean begins to transform in strange ways.
Content Warnings
birth, blood, parental neglect, brief mention of animals in pain
About the Story
Modern A Christmas Carol tackling childhood trauma and guilt.
Content Warnings
death of family members, childhood trauma, verbal abuse from parent, drinking (off-page), gunshot (off-page), suicide (off-page), suicidal ideation, fire
“Creature” (online*, ebook)
KALEIDOTROPE magazine, July 2024
“It wasn’t the blood or the pain that took Esther Chen by surprise; it was the waiting. Two full weeks after her chirpy doctor frowned at the ultrasound screen, a dozen test results finally confirmed what Esther had already known. The baby was gone…”
Featured in: Maria Haskins’ “Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror Short Fiction Round-up #6 2024”
Featured in: Apex Magazine’s “Words for Thought: Short Fiction Review” by A.C. Wise
Featured in: SF Story of the Day, 7/5/24
horror, 3000 words
About the Story
A woman suffers a miscarriage, but something escapes her body along with it.
Content Warnings
miscarriage, grief, depression, possible self-harm, suicidal ideation
“Within the Pink Paisley Walls” (print, ebook)
MOTHER KNOWS BEST anthology, MAY 2024
“The magnolias were in full bloom the day Miralyn Liang found the envelope addressed to her, penned in her dead mother’s hand. Tucking it in her dress pocket, she climbed back down the ladder, wincing as her bare feet hit the cold concrete of the garage floor…”
Mentioned in: Publisher’s Weekly starred review of Mother Knows Best
horror, 4800 words
About the Story
Modern gothic story inspired by Coraline and The Yellow Wallpaper.
Content Warnings
death of parent (off-page), mild injury, insects
“To Rise Again” (online*, ebook)
APEX MAGAZINE Issue 144, MAY 2024
“The sunset was bolder than usual that evening, a deep indigo streaked with Dutch orange, fuchsia, and saffron. You barely noticed, hurrying as you were. You were on your way to meet a friend, or you were rushing to the corner store for that last dinner ingredient…”
Interviewed for Apex’s Patreon: “The Authors of Issue 144: Kelsea Yu”
Mentioned in: “Paula Guran Reviews Apex, The Sunday Morning Transport and Reactor”
FANTASY / LITERARY, 860 WORDS
About the Story
Cozy apocalypse flash fiction.
Content Warnings
apocalypse
“In Memories We Drown” (online, podcast*, ebook, print)
CLARKESWORLD magazine Issue 207, DECEMBER 2023
“Deep beneath the ocean waves, where the sunlight is sparse and the creatures grow strange, sits a station built of salt-resistant steel and curved glass and once-held hope. In a domed lab on its lower deck, Rosalie Chin perches on a backless stool, studying the heart-shaped leaves of a bioluminescent plant…”
Featured in: Vanessa Fogg’s “Short Fiction Recs Dec 2023 - Jan 2024”
Featured in: Locus Magazine’s “A.C. Wise Reviews Short Fiction: Clarkesworld”
SCIENCE FANTASY, 6400 words
About the Story
In a climate-collapsed world, a marine botanist in an underwater lab discovers a plant that tastes of the home she's lost.
Content Warnings
climate collapse, loss, grief, depression
“A Scarcity of Sharks” (online*, ebook, print)
RECKONING magazine Issue 7, September 2023
“Bruce is seventeen feet long and would’ve weighed around two tons when he was murdered by a trophy hunter. Killing rare creatures for sport is supposed to be a relic of the past now…”
Featured in: Maria Haskins’ “Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror Short Fiction Round-up for Sept 2023”
Translated into German: Future Fiction Magazine Issue 6: ebook, print
SCIENCE FICTION, 4300 WORDS
About the Story
In a future where (great) white sharks have not been seen for years, a team of scientists sets out to discover if they are truly lost.
Content Warnings
climate crisis, animal death & trophy hunting (off-page), shark finning (off-page), animal injury, self sacrifice
“The Orchard of Tomorrow” (online*, CW podcast*, CZMBC podcast*, ebook, print)
CLARKESWORLD magazine Issue 202, July 2023
COOL ZONE MEDIA BOOK CLUB PODCAST, JULY 2024
“In the rich, eventide glow, I wait for her in the place where the peaches once grew. Mouthwatering little Gold Dusts to signal the arrival of summer. Hefty O’Henrys, skin dark as rust, honey-yellow flesh bursting with flavor…”
Featured in: SF Story of the Day, 7/2/23
Featured in Bright Green Futures’: “Hopeful Climate Fiction”
SCIENCE FICTION, 5000 words
About the Story
In a future ravaged by climate change, a woman tries to win back her former best friend by telling a tale of the Monkey King and the Peaches of Immortality.
Content Warnings
climate crisis, death including death of parents (off-page), fire (off-page), starvation, class discrimination
“China Doll” (online*, print, podcast*, ebook)
ASEPTIC AND FAINTLY SADISTIC anthology, May 2023
DRABBLECAST PODCAST EPISODE TBA, SEP 2024
“Your limbs entwine themselves with his, creating a rhythm half familiar. This is our first encounter; I have yet to learn the pulse of you. His, I know intimately. As you cry out, I study the shape of your mouth, your earthworm-pink lips parting…”
2023 Shirley Jackson Award Winner for Edited Anthology
Anthology proceeds support Chicago Abortion Fund
Shortlisted for: Brave New Weird Vol. 2
Featured in: Cutthroat Queens Podcast, Season 1 Episode 2
Featured in: Cutthroat Queens Podcast, Season 1 Episode 6.5
Mentioned in: Cutthroat Queens Podcast, Season 2 Episode 1
horror, 3100 words
About the Story
A college girl begins dating a boy, but someone watches. (Themes of exoticism, transformation, and misogyny.)
Content Warnings
racism (outright & implied), racist historical events (off-page), sexual content, dubious consent, degradation, rape (off-page & instances involving shades of questionable sexual interaction)
“Wanted: Bone-White Skull-Patterned Lace Trim” (online*, podcast*)
PSEUDOPOD podcast episode 865, May 2023
“The stroller on the side of the road caught Nina Wong’s eye as her Fiesta rounded the bend on her way to work. She slowed down, noting the FREE! sign taped to its handles. Free was about the only price she could afford right now…”
Featured in: ReacTOR’s “Must Read Short Speculative Fiction: May 2023”
Featured in: “2023 Bram Stoker Award Recommended Reading List”
horror, 6100 words
About the Story
A modern Gothic Rosemary's Baby if the coven were a wholesome sewing circle.
Content Warnings
pregnancy, miscarriage, verbal abuse (in backstory), dead mother (off-page)
“Harvest of the Deep” (online*, ebook)
FANTASY magazine Issue 85, November 2022
SMALL WONDERS MAGAZINE SPECIAL KICKSTARTER ISSUE, AUGUST 2024
“After a decade of abyss-diving, it wasn’t the jagged stalagmite teeth, puckered slate skin, or uneven, fin-like growths that chilled Lifang; it was the creature’s expression—lidless eyes and too-wide jaws shaped like a perpetual scream…”
Featured in: SF Story of the Day, 11/2/22
Part of Flash SF Night hosted by Space Cowboy Books (recorded)
fantasy, 635 words
About the Story
Anti-colonialist fantasy with deep sea magic.
Content Warnings
animal harm (fish captured), colonialism, slavery, threat to send a child into prostitution, death/murder
“I Swear I Didn’t Kill the Others” (print, ebook, audiobook)
DARK MATTER PRESENTS: HUMAN MONSTERS anthology, October 2022
“When the first box arrives, you don’t think much of it. Nondescript black, sealed with a glossy logo sticker. Dark Deeds: Midnight Reads for Horror Fans. You set it aside to deal with later. After all, surgeons are busy people…”
2022 Bram Stoker Award® Nominee for Superior Achievement in an Anthology
Featured in: October 2022 Night Worms Box
horror, 4000 words
About the Story
A surgeon signs up for a horror subscription book box—but the books seem uncannily tailored to his dark past, and the victims of a serial killer stalking the city grow a little too familiar for his comfort…
Content Warnings
serial killer, mention of dismemberment (off-page), surgery, trophies from murder victims, mention of alcohol (off-page), death/murder
“Obedient Son” (print, podcast*, ebook)
DEATH IN THE MOUTH anthology, October 2022
TALES TO TERRIFY podcast episode 635, MARCH 2024
“It began with a tickle in the back of Wong An's throat, light as a goose feather. She let out a long, rasping wheeze, and would have thought no more of it. But her son, Chen Wei, recently returned from his apprenticeship with Doctor Song…”
2022 Locus Recommended Reading List under Anthologies - Original
2022 Australian Shadows Awards Winner for Best Edited Works
Featured in: “Book Riot’s 25 Must-Read Horror Collections”
Part of Firestorm Books’ DITM contributor panel event (recorded)
horror, 3900 words
About the Story
17th/18th century twisted Chinese folklore retelling
Content Warnings
death of family member (off-page), favoritism, verbal abuse, self-harm, cannibalism
“A Tale of Wickedness” (print, ebook, audiobook)
CLASSIC MONSTERS UNLEASHED anthology, July 2022
“Gather round the fire, my dears, for I’ll tell you the version of the tale your parents will never share with you. They prefer to speak of what comes later; to absolve themselves. But effect does not happen without cause, and you deserve…”
2023 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards Winner for Best Classic Horror Fiction
Mentioned in: Publisher’s Weekly’s review of Classic Monsters Unleashed
horror, 2400 words
About the Story
A campfire tale of revenge from someone who may seem familiar.
Content Warnings
child harm (physical), child abduction, animal harm, threat of rape (off-page), verbal abuse
FORTHCOMING
“In Our Skin” (online^, ebook)
NIGHTMARE magazine, TBA
SCIENCE FICTION / horror, 3800 words
About the Story
Two sisters share an android body, but each has secrets of their own.
Content Warnings
child & parent death, childhood trauma, child abuse (physical and emotional), violence, murder
“Deliquescence” (online^, ebook)
TBA, TBA
HORROR, 1000 WORDS
KEY
* currently free to read/listen
^ will be free to read/listen once released