Where Angels Dance Published

My humorous poem, "Where Angels Dance", has just been published in the December 2025 issue of  Lighten Up Online, a quarterly e-zine I heartily recommend to fans of humorous verse.

(The phrase "heartily recommend", quoted from Art Linkletter's endorsement of the LIFE board game, has been permanently imprinted on my brain like any unforgettable movie quote).

In other publishing news, I'm working on the final stories for what I hope to be my first collection of short stories, tentatively titled, "The First Star is Always the Farthest: Science-Fiction Short Stories by Shawn M. Klimek".

I hope to follow up with a collection of fantasy stories within six months. Should I use the same title, and make it a volume 1 and 2? It might help with subsequent sales to market them as a pair. (The title is admittedly rather hefty, so that begs careful consideration).

Anyway, here are some ChatGPT rendered book cover mock-ups, generated strictly for inspiration.

 (I would never publish an AI book cover).

Rejections and Acceptances

It's been a while since I updated this site.  Not only has "ALONE" been long since published, I've already ordered and received my own copy. 

So, what's new in creative writing?

Not a lot, publishing wise. It's been a long time since I submitted anything.

A few weeks ago, I finished my very untraditional superhero story, Token Heroes, and submitted it to Clarkesworld, earning a one-day form-rejection. (Totally expected, but their quick turn-around is one of the reasons I started there). Next, I submitted it to The Colored Sky, for another one-day rejection—this one personal, and with some useful feedback. 

"...I thought this was an entertaining, dynamic story, but I think I might have liked a little clearer understanding of the motives of the aliens. Additionally, I think I would have liked a little more character development..."

Having received such useful feedback, it only makes sense to rewrite it before sending it out again.

To keep up the momentum, I submitted Mercury is a Hellscape and Survival of the Humblest to Star*Line Magazine, who had personally rejected some poems back in 2020 (thus, a good experience despite the rejections). I subsequently realized that Survival of the Humblest was among those rejected in 2020. Based on their usual response speed, I should find out whether both have been rejected in the next few days.

I submitted three poems to a U.K. based online publication, "Lighten Up Online", and they asked to publish one of them, "Where Angels Dance," in their December issue (or else their March issue, if they run out of space).

So, a single win, thus far, though unpaying. Hopefully, not the last acceptance before this year is out.

ALONE to release September 30

Two anthologies featuring my microfiction have launched or will launch in September, 2005:

"Isolation isn’t just silence—it’s a presence. It whispers, stalks, devours. In this collection of chilling micro-tales, some find themselves abandoned, others exiled, many trapped in grief or madness. Each story reveals a different face of solitude, where absence becomes a tormenting companion and shadows take on lives of their own.

Step inside Alone, and discover what lingers when the world falls quiet. These brief but brutal visions remind us that sometimes the scariest thing in the dark… is being the only one left."

ALONE, an anthology of flash fiction horror (200 scary words) is set to launch on September 30, 2025.

This anthology contains my flash fiction story, "The Lonesome Curse." 

Prepurchase Link: https://books2read.com/BHP-ALONE

A SINGLE MOMENT –– A HUNDRED WORDS –– A UNIVERSE OF POSSIBILITIES

What happens after the unknown has arrived? When the echoes of first contact fade, humanity is left to navigate the tremors of change — new alliances, fragile peace, simmering conflicts, and the birth of strange, dazzling futures.

This anthology of drabbles — stories told in exactly 100 words — gathers a chorus of voices exploring the second wave of discovery. From hopeful to harrowing, exhilarating to unsettling, these bite-sized tales reveal how the aftermath of contact can shape civilizations, destinies, and the very meaning of being human.

Prepare...

The Second Wave is here!

Paperback: ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FND9Q9J9; E-book: ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FNB9VJSH

This anthology contains TEN of my science-fiction drabbles: 

 1.        Surface Tension

 2.        Peace Prayer 

 3.        Visit with a Capital V

 4.        True Sounding

 5.        Make Room for Mooms

 6.        Mixed Connection

 7.        Getting Along

 8.        AI Oversight Taskforce

 9.        Ugly is as Ugly Does

10.     Warped Art Heist 

https://www.amazon.com/Drabbles-Second-Wave-S-Charly-ebook/dp/B0FNB9VJSH

https://www.amazon.com/Drabbles-Second-Wave-S-Charly/dp/B0FND9Q9J9