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.
Fiction · Posts · Books
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Fiction
The Miracle at Ramah
Published Dec 4, 2019 · 1,576 words (6 minutes) · 71 views
Fantasy Historical christmas Christian bethlehem
This story came to me on the Sunday before Christmas several years ago. While in church, I realized that a part of the traditional Christmas celebration contains a profound horror story. The kind of story I wrote while I thought about that is called a “secret history.” The writer takes an event from history and, while staying true to the history, makes up a story. It might have happened this way!
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Fiction
Father's Dragon
Published Nov 20, 2019 · 3,271 words (12 minutes) · 1 like · 56 views
Fantasy marriage Dragons family drama father and son
It's tough to be a father while still dealing with being a son. How can you condemn him for abandoning you when you want to run away yourself?
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Fiction
Do Good
Published Nov 13, 2019 · 6,531 words (24 minutes) · 1 like · 85 views
Fantasy Horror Mystery ghost story high school
Few people in the world are as universally distrusted and mocked as high school vice principals. When a teacher walks down the hall, groups of students will stop talking, but when a vice principal walks down the hall groups of teachers shut up. It's a terrible stereotype. Vice principals discipline students who are in trouble and evaluate teachers. How can they be liked? How can a person in that job do good?
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Fiction
Plant Life
Published Nov 7, 2019 · 4,628 words (17 minutes) · 174 views
Horror Science Fiction Adult Content Incel
This is a story that my publisher wanted to include in my early collections, but I demurred. I was teaching high school English at the time, and I didn't want to risk the parents of any of my students reading it, then deciding they didn't want a person who was capable of writing such a piece to be teaching their child. ADULT CONTENT WARNING.
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Fiction
Witch in the Woods
Published Oct 30, 2019 · 1,819 words (7 minutes) · 80 views
Fantasy Literary Fiction Romance witch
A young pot smith yearns for more than the world of his village can give him after a witch tells him, "You are a song."
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Fiction
The Hurt Club
Published Oct 23, 2019 · 886 words (4 minutes) · 3 likes · 118 views
Horror halloween teen vengence
A cemetery on Halloween, peer pressure, and a not-so-innocent victim.
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In Memoriam
Published Oct 16, 2019 · 3,089 words (12 minutes) · 5 likes · 260 views
Fantasy Romance halloween ghost cemetery
Death is just a small detour when you’ve been together as long as Esther and Thomas have. In the meantime, cemeteries speak their own language, if you take the time to listen. Get ready for Halloween with this (kinder, gentler) ghost story by James Van Pelt, finalist for the Nebula, Sturgeon, and Campbell awards, and veteran English teacher.
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Fiction
Classroom of the Living Dead
Published Oct 9, 2019 · 575 words (3 minutes) · 2 likes · 86 views
Fantasy Horror zombies teaching high school
Apocalypses, like politics, are all local, and who you are will give you a different experience of the end of the world than anyone else.
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Fiction
Aubrey Comes to Yellow High
Published Oct 2, 2019 · 4,100 words (15 minutes) · 137 views
Fantasy Literary Fiction Historical western six gun high school
Everyone sees high school as a metaphor: maybe it's a circus, or it's a ladder, or it's a dog eat dog world. For Aubrey, high school is a wild west shootout, only it's a bit more literal for her and the stakes couldn't be higher.
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Far From the Emerald Isle
Published Sep 25, 2019 · 5,040 words (19 minutes) · 87 views
Science Fiction Irish Mythology gremlins leprechauns
A space ship traveling for 4,000 years requires a lot of maintenance, but who does the emergency work when the crew is asleep? Engineers Anise and Sierra discover there is more going on in their starship then they ever trained for or expected.
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