It’s 2023, and my first new published short story in over a year appears in the double-sized Issue 50 of Uncanny Magazine, alongside a host of phenomenal authors. “How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub”—a tale of colonialism, sea monsters, and men of ambition.

Image: “Le Poulpe Colossal,” drawing by Pierre Denys-Montfort, engraved by Étienne Claude Voysard, 1801

Getting short stories written has become a task.

Used to be, my mind was bubbling to overflowing with short story ideas and I was churning them out at a regular pace–eager to get them submitted to SFF magazines. That was before I became a professor. And a dad of twins. And I started getting contracts to write longer pieces like novellas and novels that I was now *obligated* to meet. Now, my short story writing has mostly been put on the back burner. It’s not that the muscle memory for writing shorts has atrophied. It’s just really a matter of time. In the short bit of creative space I have between academia, dad life, and long form fiction, something had to give. And that something turned out to be my beloved shorts.

So imagine how happy I was that Uncanny Magazine decided to publish one of my first short stories since 2020–called “How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub.”

Yeah, it’s as absurd as it sounds.

The story is a bit of a departure from my usual type of writing, and a bit experimental. For one, it’s from POV of a character who is, well, quite unlikable. Even as I wrote it, I wondered if readers might be thrown out of the tale for a lack of connection or empathy.

Still, I pushed ahead with the tale. It was inspired by a host of things. Without a doubt, one of those was Jules Verne–whose hometown of Nantes I recently visited, and got to ride his giant steam elephant…like a tamed Mûmakil. The modern mechanical marvel was inspired by Verne’s 1880 work The Steam House, a fictional retelling of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (the Sepoy Mutiny) featuring British colonialists traveling through India in a giant steam powered elephant. So it is quite intentionally set in the late 19th century, most specifically Victorian England. With Jules Verne as a muse, it has its share of steampunk elements. But I’m also a fantasist at heart, so there are also mermen. Of course. Because why not? One thing about me–I’m gonna gaslamp the heck *outta my punk every time. Colonialism is another evident theme in the story, because how it can it not be given the age? And it was a topic of Jules Verne’s work. Besides, when I visited Nantes I was reminded of its other history as a key player in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. So how could I not go there. And that seemingly absurd title? Nope, it’s not a metaphor. I’m not going to pull a fast one on you. In this story you will literally get a kraken and a bathtub. You’re welcome. The rest… well, you’ll just have to read for yourself.

Here’s an excerpt. Read more (if you so desire) at Uncanny Magazine. And be sure to pick up a full copy of Issue 50 to support this important ezine to get stories by lots of other fantastic authors I get to share a space with.

Full story here. And thanks for reading!