I received my contributor copies of the anthologies The Dead That Walk and Postscripts #19 this week, and since those contain the last two stories of mine slated to appear in 2009, I figure it’s time to update you on this year’s output.

I had seven short stories published in 2009, which marked my best year yet. I don’t think I’ve ever before published more than five in a single year.

Here they are, broken down by genre:

“Glitch”
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Three

Fantasy Book Critic reviewed the anthology and gave my story, which is about robot sex in the future (did that get your attention?) 4 1/2 stars … which I hope was on a scale of 1 through 5. Reviewer Liviu C. Suciu also called my story “interesting, funny and dark at the same time.”

“The World Breaks”
Postscripts #19

I’ve read this tale of a small town’s struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic U.S. aloud many times, and it’s one of those that chokes me up, as you know if you’ve heard me try to get through it. I made the mistake of reading it at Nippon 2007, having somehow forgotten the various references to nuclear weapons being dropped, and felt odd coming upon them and suddenly remembering in the midst of reading the story to a Japanese audience.

“The Hunger of Empty Vessels”
Bad Moon Books

A dark story containing an unusual haunting and emotional vampires, published in both a limited lettered and a limited numbered edition. It’s been called “deep, disturbing, and emotionally draining.”

“The Human Race”
Space & Time #108

Another one of my zombie stories, this time set in the UK during a terrorist attack.

“Here Choose I”
Bad Moon Books

This ghost story only appeared in the lettered limited edition (and only in the lettered limited edition) of The Hunger of Empty Vessels as a bonus to buyers for laying out the big bucks.

“Tell Me Like You Done Before”
The Dead That Walk

You might be able to guess the subject of this zombie story from the title alone. No? Then how about if I tell you that two of the characters in it are named Lennie and George?

“The Only Wish Ever to Come True”
Talebones #38

Ever wonder why, when we get wishes, we tend to get three of them? This story, taking place over over thousands of years, explains it all.

And as for 2010, the only new story of mine currently scheduled to appear will be in my zombie collection from PS Publishing, which will launch at the World Horror Convention in Brighton.