Darius Jones

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About Darius Jones
Darius Jones’s stories and poems have appeared in Strange Horizons, The No Sleep Podcast, Scarlet Leaf Review, and other places. He is an Affiliate Member of the HWA and an Associate Member of the SFWA.
He lives in Alexandria, Virginia and can usually be found at a local café writing his next piece.
He muses about the craft of writing at dariusjoneswriter.com. He can also be found on Twitter @DariusJonesWrit.
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Author Updates
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Blog postAfter all the excitement over the last couple of months (my poem and Podcast story debuts), I’m feeling a bit worn thin. Also, I have a vacation coming up (first Int’l trip since the pandemic!), so lots of things other than writing on my mind.
So, this month I decided I would give you all just a quick update on where my writing stands. I’ll take the updates as they come one by one.
I’m Now a Member of the HWA and the SFWA!
Great news! After years of sending out stories, g3 weeks ago Read more -
Blog postGuys, I’m really, really excited! My Space Horror story, “The Hatchlings” has now received the Horror podcast treatment thanks to The No Sleep Podcast. That’s right! It’s live now on Season 17, Episode 18 of the Podcast. It’s the last story in the episode, so enjoy those tales from the other talented writers first!
NOTE: To access the full episode (the version with my story), you can either sign up for The No Sleep Podcast Season Pass (and get access to all of Season 17!) or pay $2 to2 months ago Read more -
Blog postYou know, there are a lot worse places you could go for some writing advice than the late, great David Bowie. As someone who’s always looking to improve their writing, I’m often searching the Internet, Podcasts, Twitter for advice to creatives, to musicians, to writers to see if there is anything I can learn and then apply to my own craft. Sometimes, it’s just a quote, a line. Sometimes, it’s a whole hour-long Podcast or some long-form article. Some of the advice sticks and some doesn’t.
2 months ago Read more -
Blog postGreat news, Everyone!
My collection of short poems, “The King Becomes a Star” is out now over at Strange Horizons. I am very, very pleased to share these 24 short poems with all of you!
It all came from the idea of “What if…?” In this case, “What if…Pharaoh Unas had access to super-advanced technology so that his daily mythological death and resurrection became a sort of Manhattan Project?” That is, that’s what the idea became AFTER stargazing in my backyard (using nothing mor3 months ago Read more -
Blog postWhat kind of game do you think you’re in?
Some people think we’re living in a video game and certainly some game theorists (and a few evolutionary biologists) view all life as one big game.
If that’s true, what type of game is it?
Are we in the well-known zero-sum game? Where one side wins and gets everything and the loser gets nothing? Or is it another type of game?
Maybe it’s a game where we can all win (or all lose) to a certain extent? A blended game4 months ago Read more -
Blog postAnother year past, another opportunity is NOW HERE to crank up the writing.
And that’s exactly what I intend to do this year!
I don’t want to beat around the bush here. So, let’s dive right into a few simple, straightforward writing goals I have this year.
Edit
I have plenty (plenty!) of finished first draft pieces now. (Maybe too many?). So, now it’s time to turn to editing, editing, editing.
To be honest, this is a phase I struggle with. I love the pre-w5 months ago Read more -
Blog postWell, well, well. Another year has passed.
How to sum it up? Where to begin? Another tough year for all of us, for the planet, for the country. Again this year, we have lost way too many people. To COVID, to opiates, to just plain ignorance and disinformation. It is upsetting to me, to put it mildly.
But we’re surviving. I count myself very blessed to be healthy, to have a steady job and, most importantly, that all of my close friends and family members have remained healthy.5 months ago Read more -
Blog postWhat a busy, busy year it has been. I was going to do another post on “the Craft” of writing this month, but I think it’s important to update all of you on where my writing is at. And it will help me sort out in my head all the stuff I’ve been working on.
Globular cluster M80. Bottom line: There are a lot of ideas, themes and sketches flooding into my head. It’s a struggle to capture it all!
So, here’s a quick and simple writing update on all the projects I have up in the air6 months ago Read more -
Blog post[This is part of a continuing series on the craft of writing fiction.]
You ever think about how Chekhov is an absolute master of the literary craft, especially of the short story? I do. If it’s not going too far, I would say he’s a genius. “The Lady with the Lap Dog,” “Steppe,” and other stories have a purity of tone, a quiet realism that many have imitated, but none have reproduced.
In the original Russian [which I do read fairly well], it’s even more intoxicating. It hits yo7 months ago Read more -
Blog postI usually don’t indulge in Sports Metaphors, but here we go. (“Write what you know,” be damned!)
Major league baseball has a thing called “The Show” or, more properly, “Welcome to the Show.” The Show in American baseball means the big leagues, the Majors. As opposed to the minor leagues (the AAA, AA, A leagues). Usually, someone plays a couple of years in the minors before being “called up” to the Major League. So, the Major League is known as “The Show” as in, “The Big Show.”
8 months ago Read more -
Blog postWell, here’s some interesting news: My series of short poems “The King Becomes a Star or Pharaoh Unas’ Journey through the Night Sky” will be published by Strange Horizons magazine next year. And I am elated.
Now, I would like to take this opportunity to make a personal admission, a confession, if you will. Over the years, yours truly has spent a good amount of time poking (more or less good-natured) fun at poets. And I feel very personally and keenly that this is the Universe trying9 months ago Read more -
Blog post[This is part of a continuing series on the craft of writing fiction.]
Rejection, nobody likes it. Whether it’s a job you’ve applied to, someone you asked out on a date, or a rejection of a more…literary nature, it can be tough to take.
So, what’s the aspiring job applicant, lover, or writer to do?
Well, here’s one trick I’ve adopted that helps to soften the blow of rejection if only just a little.
Seneca. It’s a technique I’ve modified from the Stoics. The anc10 months ago Read more -
Blog postSo, going to do another mini-Writing Update this month. (PS: writing the blog less is working…it’s letting me write fiction more).
Here we go…
James Booker mural, NOLA. New Novella Done
I just wrapped a first draft of a new novella…Ta-Da! Calling this piece “Resurrection of the Grim Chop Majarajah.” It’s a short novella, about 23,000 words, but still…It’s a novella. I have even edited the piece and sent it out to one “open call” for submissions.
What is it abou11 months ago Read more -
Blog postFriends, it’s been awhile since I gave an update on where my writing stands and what I’m thinking creatively. So, this time, I’m going to do just that. Wanted to survey my writing projects and what I’ve been up to. So, here it goes!
New Projects: One First Draft and Some Editing
Good news! I have finished the “first draft” of a new project. I’m calling this one “The King Becomes a Star.” It’s very different for me: it’s short speculative-fiction (really, Cosmic Horror) POETRY.12 months ago Read more -
Blog post[This is part of a continuing series on the craft of writing fiction.]
You know… There’s this great, great passage in The Book of Chuang Tzu. It’s about a cook, Cook Ting. [For those interested this tale is from Chapter 3 of The Book of Chuang Tzu, “The Nurturing of Life.”] His master, Lord Wen-hui sees him finishing up butchering a large ox one day and stops to admire his work.
Cook Ting is so absorbed in his task, he’s not even thinking about it. He’s just going about it nat1 year ago Read more -
Blog postWhat a year. On March 13 of last year, I entered social distancing here at home and have ventured forth only for essential services like food pickup, health checks, etc. If you would have told me all this would have happened a year ago, I would have thought you were crazy. But it all came to pass.
Damn. I won’t go into all the details on a global or national level, you can find that elsewhere. But I do want to (mostly for myself) detail how the pandemic changed me. It definitely stren1 year ago Read more -
Blog postMy novella, “The Number Thief” is out now on the Amazon Kindle store. The story first appeared in The Magazine of History and Fiction in July 2020.
Like my other recent stories, “The Number Thief” features great new cover art from Die Welle Design:
I’m also doing a giveaway to celebrate its release: It’s free today and the next few days (March 1-4) on the Kindle store. So, tell your friends and grab a copy for yourself!
IMPORTANT NOTE: You don’t need a Kindle device to1 year ago Read more -
Blog postMy story, “Pacha-Mama” is out now on the Amazon Kindle store. The story first appeared in Canada’s Scarlet Leaf Review in February 2020.
“Pacha-Mama” features great new cover art from Die Welle Design:
I’m also doing a giveaway to celebrate its release: It’s free today and the next few days (February 1-3) on the Kindle store. So, tell your friends and grab a copy for yourself!
IMPORTANT NOTE: You don’t need a Kindle device to read the story. All you need is the K1 year ago Read more -
Blog postWell…This is tough. Tougher than I thought it would be. It’s not been a normal year. But we get up, we pick up the pen and we find words to put to paper. It’s what writers do. Almost a reflex.
And now, it’s time for everything to change again.
Last time, I took a quick look back at my writing life in 2020. Today, I’m going to look ahead to this year. 2021.
A few months back, I stopped by one of my favorite blogs by the Scottish/Canadian horror/fantasy writer William Me1 year ago Read more -
Blog postWhat a year. I’ve struggled with what to say about it. It’s been a tough year for many, but somehow I have been able to dodge the worst of it. I’ve stayed healthy and employed, but I know others have not been so lucky.
But I need to be honest and I have to say from a pure writing perspective, this has been a good year for me. Borderline great. I have had lots of writing accomplishments. It’s weird to celebrate at times like these, so I won’t overdo it. But I will say I’m proud of myse1 year ago Read more
Titles By Darius Jones
Strangelet: Issue 0
Sep 16, 2014
by
Casey Brown
$4.99
Strangelet is a new journal of speculative fiction, accepting fiction, poetry, nonfiction, graphic stories/comics, and artwork, showcasing the point where genre and literature collide. Issue 0 is our debut.
Fiction:
Colin Wolcott, “The Summoner,”
Biff Mitchell, “These Eyes,”
Brendan Tynan Buck, “A Messenger Will Soon Bring Good Tidings,”
Shannon Norland, “Down,”
Sean Monaghan, “Man with Fountain Fingers,”
Joseph Lucido, “The Floating,”
Curtis James McConnell, “Evolution,”
Rebecca Ann Jordan, “Emily Nerese, 81, Dies,”
Christa Pagliei, “The Girl Underwater,”
Darius Jones, “The Ghul of Yazd,”
Poetry:
Gregory Crosby, “#after,” “For Frank O’Hara,” “DOOM,”
John Grey, “We Explorers,”
Artwork:
Eleanor Leonne Bennett,
J.D. Donnelly,
Denny E. Marshall,
Cover Art:
Emily Lubanko
Fiction:
Colin Wolcott, “The Summoner,”
Biff Mitchell, “These Eyes,”
Brendan Tynan Buck, “A Messenger Will Soon Bring Good Tidings,”
Shannon Norland, “Down,”
Sean Monaghan, “Man with Fountain Fingers,”
Joseph Lucido, “The Floating,”
Curtis James McConnell, “Evolution,”
Rebecca Ann Jordan, “Emily Nerese, 81, Dies,”
Christa Pagliei, “The Girl Underwater,”
Darius Jones, “The Ghul of Yazd,”
Poetry:
Gregory Crosby, “#after,” “For Frank O’Hara,” “DOOM,”
John Grey, “We Explorers,”
Artwork:
Eleanor Leonne Bennett,
J.D. Donnelly,
Denny E. Marshall,
Cover Art:
Emily Lubanko
Other Formats:
Paperback
The Number Thief
Feb 23, 2021
by
Darius Jones
$2.99
A thief haunts the medina of Bejaia. Leaving no trace, he takes neither gold nor dinars from merchants’ coffers, but instead absconds with their ledgers.
Meanwhile, in the souks of the bustling Mediterranean port town, the ancient Iron Method of accounting used by the Romans is falling out of favor. To replace it, the Arab merchants are turning to a new method to manage their accounts, the Numbers of Hind.
In desperation at the unsolved thefts, the local emir hires the renowned adventurer and philosopher from Qurtuba, Yusuf ibn Yaqzan, to hunt down the thief. As Yusuf makes his way through the souks, back alleys and wharves of the city, he comes to learn these are not crimes of profit, but crimes of passion. But time is running out. The Number Thief is planning his escape.
“The Number Thief” first appeared in The Magazine of History and Fiction in July 2020. It is a companion piece to “The Ghul of Yazd.”
Meanwhile, in the souks of the bustling Mediterranean port town, the ancient Iron Method of accounting used by the Romans is falling out of favor. To replace it, the Arab merchants are turning to a new method to manage their accounts, the Numbers of Hind.
In desperation at the unsolved thefts, the local emir hires the renowned adventurer and philosopher from Qurtuba, Yusuf ibn Yaqzan, to hunt down the thief. As Yusuf makes his way through the souks, back alleys and wharves of the city, he comes to learn these are not crimes of profit, but crimes of passion. But time is running out. The Number Thief is planning his escape.
“The Number Thief” first appeared in The Magazine of History and Fiction in July 2020. It is a companion piece to “The Ghul of Yazd.”
Pacha-Mama
Jan 13, 2021
by
Darius Jones
$0.99
Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, an illegal mine has been set up to extract gold from the river using elemental mercury. As the operation ramps up, the workers extract the gold and burn off the poisonous mercury into the sky.
Meanwhile, on a desert peak high in the Andes, a storm brews. A hooded figure sleeps on the peak of Llullaillaco neither alive nor dead, victim of an ancient sacrifice. Thunderhead clouds gather and lightning strikes the peak, bringing Qantuta back to life.
Now awake, she senses something is amiss. A feeling summons her off the peak and down into the smoking jungles lying in the distance. There is still a chance to make things right, but she—and the world—are running out of time.
“Pacha-Mama” first appeared in Scarlet Leaf Review in February 2020.
Meanwhile, on a desert peak high in the Andes, a storm brews. A hooded figure sleeps on the peak of Llullaillaco neither alive nor dead, victim of an ancient sacrifice. Thunderhead clouds gather and lightning strikes the peak, bringing Qantuta back to life.
Now awake, she senses something is amiss. A feeling summons her off the peak and down into the smoking jungles lying in the distance. There is still a chance to make things right, but she—and the world—are running out of time.
“Pacha-Mama” first appeared in Scarlet Leaf Review in February 2020.
Breakpoint
Nov 16, 2020
by
Darius Jones
$0.99
The Renewal is a yearly, mandatory procedure for every cyborg on the planet. One cyborg, Anna, is having trouble since the latest Renewal. Certain troubling patterns—disembodied whispers and clips of code—keep rebooting, reappearing, repeating. It’s as if she hears the voice of a ghost in her head that just won’t go away.
One day, Anna and her friend decide to go to the site of the Renewal to see if it will awaken more memories. Once there, more code floods back into her memory and she begins to sense that last year somehow the ritual went horribly wrong. Now, she must piece together her memories to find out what really happened…
“Breakpoint” first appeared in Kyanite Press in November 2018.
One day, Anna and her friend decide to go to the site of the Renewal to see if it will awaken more memories. Once there, more code floods back into her memory and she begins to sense that last year somehow the ritual went horribly wrong. Now, she must piece together her memories to find out what really happened…
“Breakpoint” first appeared in Kyanite Press in November 2018.
So, You Found Me
Oct 11, 2020
by
Darius Jones
$0.99
Some think the words on the written page are dead. That stories are inanimate things. But if you search long and hard enough, you will find a story that merely sleeps, waiting for a reader to reawaken it. This is such a tale, a parable about a story more alive than most. A study of a creature mutable, reproducible, and—above all—sentient. A story not unlike you and me.
“So, You Found Me” first appeared in Between Worlds magazine in January 2017.
“So, You Found Me” first appeared in Between Worlds magazine in January 2017.
Barabanchik
Sep 7, 2020
by
Darius Jones
$0.99
Barabanchik, real name Rustim Leonidovych Shamiev, has worked the ticket racket at Kazansky Station in downtown Moscow every day for the last six years. For every train headed east from Moscow, it’s his duty to collect a payment, a simple tax if you will, from every passenger. Only, he has to do it with a certain subtlety, verve and smoothness.
But a new ticket seller has just arrived at the station, Maria Andranovna. Maria is not privy to the inner workings of Kazansky Station. Not yet. Today, Barabanchik is determined to collect his daily take and only Maria stands in the way. Only one can prevail...
Barabanchik first appeared in Issue 4 of Sobotka Literary Magazine in July 2016.
But a new ticket seller has just arrived at the station, Maria Andranovna. Maria is not privy to the inner workings of Kazansky Station. Not yet. Today, Barabanchik is determined to collect his daily take and only Maria stands in the way. Only one can prevail...
Barabanchik first appeared in Issue 4 of Sobotka Literary Magazine in July 2016.
The Ghul of Yazd
Aug 4, 2020
by
Darius Jones
$2.99
For decades, rumors have circulated in the souqs and hammams of Yazd about an unclean spirit, a ghul, haunting the Parsi burial ground on the edge of town. To finally quash the rumors, the Parsi priest Dastur hires the Arab philosopher and adventurer, Yusuf ibn Yaqzan, to investigate.
For a fee, Yusuf agrees and on a moonlight night, heads up the hill with a child’s body on a funeral bier to the abandoned burial ground. As the ancient, oaken doors of the Parsi dakhma groan open, Yusuf and his men grasp the bier tightly and take their first steps across the dark threshold.
The Ghul of Yazd was first published in Issue 0 of Strangelet Journal in September 2014. It is a companion piece to The Number Thief.
For a fee, Yusuf agrees and on a moonlight night, heads up the hill with a child’s body on a funeral bier to the abandoned burial ground. As the ancient, oaken doors of the Parsi dakhma groan open, Yusuf and his men grasp the bier tightly and take their first steps across the dark threshold.
The Ghul of Yazd was first published in Issue 0 of Strangelet Journal in September 2014. It is a companion piece to The Number Thief.
The Hatchlings
Jul 2, 2020
by
Darius Jones
$0.99
For centuries, the Synod of the Holy Mothers of Kaldar have forbidden Off-Worlders from witnessing the Zakir ritual. But for the first time, one man has been offered an invitation through his acquaintance, Mudarak.
Inside the arena where the ritual is about to take place, a large crowd gathers and divine justice awaits. The multitude fidgets and grows silent. Attendants in white tunics sound the trumpets and play the Hymn of the Desert. Join them in the arena. The ritual is ready to begin…
The Hatchlings was first published in Fiction Vortex in August 2013 and won 3rd place in the FV Readers’ Choice Award.
Inside the arena where the ritual is about to take place, a large crowd gathers and divine justice awaits. The multitude fidgets and grows silent. Attendants in white tunics sound the trumpets and play the Hymn of the Desert. Join them in the arena. The ritual is ready to begin…
The Hatchlings was first published in Fiction Vortex in August 2013 and won 3rd place in the FV Readers’ Choice Award.
The Man Who Ran from God
Jun 18, 2013
$2.99
In a dream, the voice of God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh, capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire. Instead, he books passage to the other end of the world. A storm and a hungry whale are the least of his worries, as Jonah confronts deluded fishermen, befuddled peasants and crooked priests. At the end of it all, Jonah must face the hardest decision of his life: stand and preach to the fervently pagan crowds in Nineveh’s main square or flee back home to Judea.
This modern, secular retelling of the Jonah tale unwinds fact from fiction. The narrative imagines Jonah as a real man who felt compelled to spread his monotheistic belief at a time when paganism was almost universal. Loosely based on the Biblical narratives of Jonah and The Book of Kings, the narrative draws on recent research on the Neo-Assyrian empire to paint a lush picture of its forgotten people, cults and customs as seen through the eyes of its determined, cantankerous hero.
This modern, secular retelling of the Jonah tale unwinds fact from fiction. The narrative imagines Jonah as a real man who felt compelled to spread his monotheistic belief at a time when paganism was almost universal. Loosely based on the Biblical narratives of Jonah and The Book of Kings, the narrative draws on recent research on the Neo-Assyrian empire to paint a lush picture of its forgotten people, cults and customs as seen through the eyes of its determined, cantankerous hero.
The Library of Lost Books
Jul 12, 2012
$2.99
Where do lost books go?
The Babylonian texts thrown in the Tigris by the Mongol invaders of Baghdad. The sequel to Gogol’s Dead Souls burned to ashes by its own creator. The original edition of The Seven Pillars of Wisdom misplaced by T.E. Lawrence in a train station. Are these books destroyed forever in those moments? Or does a piece of them live on?
By day, Darius is a struggling ad writer. One night, he slips into a hitherto undiscovered world where a small group of determined guardians preserve lost books. As he explores this new world, he learns the techniques used for gathering and preserving the lost manuscripts.
But all is not well. Darius’ arrival has set in motion a series of events that threatens to bring down the entire world. If Darius hopes to preserve the Library and all it contains, he must reach within himself to find the strength to face the greatest threat this world has ever known.
Where do lost books go? They go to the Library of Lost Books.
The Babylonian texts thrown in the Tigris by the Mongol invaders of Baghdad. The sequel to Gogol’s Dead Souls burned to ashes by its own creator. The original edition of The Seven Pillars of Wisdom misplaced by T.E. Lawrence in a train station. Are these books destroyed forever in those moments? Or does a piece of them live on?
By day, Darius is a struggling ad writer. One night, he slips into a hitherto undiscovered world where a small group of determined guardians preserve lost books. As he explores this new world, he learns the techniques used for gathering and preserving the lost manuscripts.
But all is not well. Darius’ arrival has set in motion a series of events that threatens to bring down the entire world. If Darius hopes to preserve the Library and all it contains, he must reach within himself to find the strength to face the greatest threat this world has ever known.
Where do lost books go? They go to the Library of Lost Books.