Turning the Apples

Apples is code for comabodies, that one percent of off-world tourists that get the infection. They disappear, if Hawk is fast and the crematory's slow. Stockyard is the freight shipyard, that's easy. But he's blocked out what fresh is.

Silverfin Harbor

In my mind, Sully is more beautiful than she could have been. When all I have left are dry facts (she was dark, she existed), I have to fill in the gaps. Concretely piece her together in my mind, and I know I will get her wrong.

The God-Death of Halla

"Morsel of the god," said the Mouth. "A landowner has accused you of robbing him with a knife. Tell us what you have done."

Zebedee the Giant Man

Zebedee was eighteen feet tall, rough in thick olive tortua hide, massive calloused hands the size of wagon wheels.

Jose Picks a Halloween Costume

Facts of Bone

Jules stripped to her underwear, dusted herself with powder and stepped into the stretchy flying suit.

"Connolly gives us a heroine with whom we can empathize and care for. As Jules loses her struggle to maintain her mobility, we are brought to a surprising and poignant conclusion. Recommended." -- Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, The Fix.

A Day Out, with Stereoscopes

Here is the first joke of Betty L. Duncan. Why do the three-eyed aliens bank on the moon? Because there is not enough sun to go around. Press the blue button when you have finished laughing.

The Bitrunners

The thing about Mars is, they catch you when you yoink stuff.

"A very well presented unreliable narrator, with a bitter past..." -- Rich Horton, Locus.

On the Eyeball Floor

We've got robotic arms to put the eyeballs in. Metal clamps to pull down the eyelids.

"Connolly's story is written with a keen ear for language and presents some fascinating imagery and ideas. She is definitely a writer to keep an eye on." -- Jason Sanford, The Fix.

The Salivary Reflex

The translucent knobs on the ends of their limbs reminded her of Jell-O, and she tried very hard not to wonder how they tasted.

"Tina Connolly offers a story rich in the sensual details of smell and taste. Connolly has a keen eye for the details of changing relationships and desires...." -- Rosanne Rabinowitz, The Fix.

"At times this tale of detached strangeness reminded me of Kelly Link's fiction. Allison is wonderfully drawn, as are her husband Tom and friend Paul, and the aliens are used in an intriguing and unusual manner to complete her story." -- Shaun C. Green, Nostalgia for Infinity.

The Goats are Going Places

"Oy," said Ryder. "That's how Group dynamics are. You have to play people. You're too old to get it."

"The second issue of the Australian YA zine Shiny again features three fine stories, and again my favorite was the most light-hearted: Tina Connolly's 'The Goats Are Going Places' is something of a sendup of YA hits like Gossip Girl...." -- Rich Horton, Locus.

"...its stylish language and fun storyline make it an enjoyable tale..." -- Daniel Ausema, The Fix.

Moon at the Starry Diner

"I love a bear," repeated Jem. She toyed with her paper napkin. "Except sometimes he's a Volvo, or a Venus Flytrap, or a shed. How can anyone love a shed? He wasn't even waterproof."

Sufficient Cause

"Tina Connolly made me laugh with her clever use of acronyms and savage satire in 'Sufficient Cause.'" -- Carole Ann Moleti, Tangent.

A Memory of Seafood

A memory of seafood. (That sounds like one of those divine collections, doesn't it, like a flight of starlings or a murder of crows? I remember when I was a mere seventeen, a slight but fully breasted slip of a girl, my best girl chums and I used to entertain the governor as he waited for his tea at the old tea house on Front Street -- you Oolong afficionados, you remember it -- and he affectionately called us "a flirtation of jailbaits" -- but that's neither here nor there.)

"I quite liked 'A Memory of Seafood', by Tina Connolly, a deadpan restaurant review, its effect arising from the nature of the dish served." -- Rich Horton, Locus.

It Could Happen

"Smart, assured, and wry, this is a great story about a man who writes terrible ones. Recommended." -- Alasdair Stuart, Tangent

A Buildup of Days

"Then there's the extraordinary 'A Buildup of Days' by Tina Connolly." -- Joules Taylor, SF Crowsnest.

Love at Second Sight

"'Love at Second Sight' is fast-paced and a lot of fun.  I haven't a single criticism of what Connolly put on paper, finding wit and a sense of joy in her sentence." -- Matthew M. Foster, Tangent.

In the Constant Image

Frigicide