With every try, it becomes increasingly self-evident I can’t write a short story to save my life. Maybe, as I’ve indicated before, I don’t get much runway to flesh out my ideas and characters in a true short story, so I end up going long.

Case in point, Dronet.

I thought this story would come in shorter than Semi. I just looked, and nope. 1,000 words plus change more than Semi, actually, 15,342 vs. 16,502. If you look up the “standards” for what makes a short story, most people stop using fingers and toes at around 10,000 words. On the other hand, Novellas clock in at 20,000. Which leads to another inevitable conclusion. As a “short” story writer, I fall into that veritable unmarketable gap. This confirms, then, my decision to give these stories away to my mail list subscribers and eventually bundle them into one of my upcoming release of Feral.

On a slightly different note, I find myself rather giddy (if you can’t tell) with the way Dronet turned out. Coupled with Semi, Dronet gives us a deeper appreciation for Julian Rogers and his relationship to Martin Spencer. This insight sets up the events in DEAD BEEF. Dronet also previews Recombinant, a novel in which both Julian Rogers and his sister, Susan, will play prominent roles.

In other words, I really think you should sign up to get Dronet when it comes out.