Read "Child Soldier" in Daily Science Fiction

If you're a subscriber to Daily Science Fiction's free email list, you should find a story of mine called Child Soldier in your inbox this morning. Edited to add: The story is now up on their website, as well.

As I've mentioned here before, DSF has been one of my favorite markets, so I'm excited to see my work appear there for the first time. They publish original science fiction and fantasy every weekday, often by some of the top names in the field. If you'd like to give them a read there are two ways: you can subscribe to their mailing list and get a new story in your email inbox every day, or you can visit their site if you'd prefer to read from a web browser (the content on the site runs a week behind the mailing list, however, so my story won't be up there until January 2nd). Both are free of charge, and many of the stories DSF publishes are flash length, making them perfect fodder for that morning coffee break.

Child Soldier is a flash story inspired partly by my ponderings as a kid, when I would sit in front of the television watching G.I. Joe, thinking about my dad's real-life service in the Vietnam war. When you're that young, it's hard to wrap your mind around the complex reasons for military conflict, and everything gets painted in shades of black and white—the Good Guys versus the Bad Guys. Obviously, this can change quite a bit when you grow up and gain a little perspective.

Happy holidays, everyone. I hope you're all having a great year's end and you're looking forward to the new year as much as I am. Here's to much success in 2014!