James Van Pelt
An interviewer asked the author if he wanted to be the next Stephen King: he said, "No, I want to be the first James Van Pelt."
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James Van Pelt fell in love with Zenna Henderson, Ray Bradbury, Ursula le Guin, Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey and a host of others when he started reading. In elementary school, he told his mom he wanted to grow up to be a Ray Bradbury, like Bradbury was a job instead of a person. His work has appeared in Asimov's, Analog, Clarkesworld and many other venues. Stories have been reprinted in Year's Best anthologies and gathered in five of his collections. He has been a finalist for the Nebula, the Sturgeon Award, and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. He recently retired from teaching high school English (37 years), to write full time.
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Its Hour Come Round
Published Aug 14, 2019 · 6,696 words (25 minutes) · 36 views
What is the purpose of prison? Reformation or punishment? For many, we send our frightening offenders to incarceration so they can learn the errors of their way. In isolation from humanity, they will contemplate their offenses and decide not to offend again. But for the worst criminals, the rapists and murderers and evil, there's a darker, more powerful motivation to punish and torment. The urge to hurt is strong.
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Fiction
Perceptual Set
Published Aug 7, 2019 · 8,359 words (31 minutes) · 45 views
Science Fiction Romance space travel First Encounter romantic science fiction asteroid mining
People claim to see the Virgin Mary in water stains on a church wall, and every oddly shaped rock on Mars looks like an animal or an artifact to people who want proof that aliens exist. They have a perceptual set to interpret what they see the way they want it to be. But what if the face sculpted into the side of an asteroid deep in space actually is a face? What will it mean for humanity, and what does that face have to do with cheesecake?
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Fiction
The Last of the O-Forms
Published Jul 31, 2019 · 6,295 words (23 minutes) · 5 likes · 204 views
Horror Science Fiction dystopian mutation
Dr. Trevin’s Traveling Zoological Extravaganza raked in the cash in the early days of the DNA-mutating plague—it was even featured in Newsweek! But now that mutated animals roam every city and town, Trevin and Caprice (a preternaturally smart 12-year-old) will need to resort to more desperate measures to stay relevant.
This Nebula-finalist story originally appeared in Asimov’s in 2004. Author James Van Pelt, an English teacher turned full-time writer, has also been nominated for the Sturgeon and Campbell awards, and published dozens of short stories and novels.
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The Last Age Should Show Your Heart
Published Jul 19, 2019 · 3,225 words (12 minutes) · 70 views
Literary Fiction Science Fiction Romance literary poetry End of the world
What will the ending moment of the universe be like, when the suns have cooled and the only observers are the machines whose duties long outlived their masters?
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Night Sweats
Published Jul 12, 2019 · 10,002 words (37 minutes) · 1 like · 91 views
Fantasy Science Fiction Historical Romance Casablanca Tokyo Rose quantum physics Adult Content ghosts Hiroshima World War II
Tokyo Rose, a love-sick ghost, a neurotic homeowner, the dropping of the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, and dreams so real you can hardly tell when you are awake combine in this science fiction love story.
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Resurrection
Published Jul 5, 2019 · 3,739 words (14 minutes) · 2 likes · 74 views
Science Fiction Romance interstellar travel
"There's no beauty on a starship" claims a Custodian on the Starship Resurrection. Too little room on board, too much metal and sterile surfaces, but she has a job to do and a crew to care for, and maybe, just maybe a glimpse of the divine is still possible when least expected.
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Howl Above the Din
Published Jun 27, 2019 · 6,596 words (24 minutes) · 57 views
Science Fiction genetic engineering wolves Extinction
The quote, "And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee," has much truth in it, which is exactly what Dr. Roman struggles with in this story about wolves, desire and the need to survive.
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Voices
Published Jun 14, 2019 · 5,760 words (21 minutes) · 1 like · 94 views
Horror Mystery Science Fiction Historical Romance time travel
Everyone knows about time travel paradoxes and how they make travel into history impossible, but there are ways around the problems, and if you could go back in time, to your best and worst days, what would you discover? Could you answer your deepest mysteries?
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The Invisible Empire
Published Jun 8, 2019 · 7,760 words (29 minutes) · 2 likes · 110 views
Fantasy Horror Historical cthulhu Colorado mining racism mythos
Here's a story of Colorado gold mining in the late 1800s, racism and Cthulhu in equal measure. There are men who are monsters, and then there are monsters.
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The Saturn Ring Blues
Published May 24, 2019 · 4,209 words (16 minutes) · 126 views
Science Fiction Romance Saturn space ship blues
New sports await us in the far future, but the heart remains the same. We want what we want. Time and technology won't change that.
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