Shorlisted for the Aurealis Awards

My sci fi novella 'Access Denied' has been shortlisted in the 2021 Aurealis Awards. Thanks to all involved!

New Story out in Elegant Literature #1

Access Denied, published in Aurealis Issue #142

A Concise Definition of Crime Noir

Crime Noir is about the corruption of codes. The hero has his own code and damn the rest because all other codes are corrupt. All true moral impulses are individual, internal. External moral impulses are always corrupt – that is induced by fear. The fear can be physical, metaphysical or social (jail, hell, ostracism). The hero rejects any imposition of outside moral values because he will not be cowed by fear. Not fear of death, not of loneliness, not by loss of freedom, or punishment in the hereafter. 

This sets the hero apart. He is a loner. A law unto himself. Only the strength of his own moral resolve separates him from the criminals he hunts.

The Writer's Journey

There's more art than audience

 

Dialogue: The only thing worth being is idle and rich

So what is it?

What's what?

What do you want to be when you grow up? Actor, businessman, artist, footballer. What is it?

Well, I'm nearly 50 so I think if I was going to grow up I already would have. But, no, none of those, all those jobs suck.

Well, what do you want to be, then?

Oh, there's only one thing worth being.

Being?

A member of the idle rich, of course. Everything else is nothing but a job. I don't care if you're a general, a president, a movie mogul, a famous writer, a rock star, a successful Hollywood actor, or a pro-golfer with ten majors under your belt – all of those things are nothing but stinking jobs.

And jobs are bad? 

All paid work is degrading.

All of it? 

Yes.

Even, say, running a charity for crippled orphans? 

Degrading – going on your knees all day begging the idle rich for money, that's the true heart of running a charity, or running for office for that matter. More people than you'd think spend their days begging the idle rich for money. Professional panhandlers in sharp suits abound.

But aren't the idle rich...um...morally degraded parasites?

Commie.

You called?

But I can't disagree. But the reason the idle rich are considered degenerate swine...

Because they are.

Don't interrupt, like I was saying the reason they are degenerate swine is because not everyone is a member of the club. If everyone was idle and rich there'd be no problem.

Except that we'd all starve to death and no one would take out the garbage.

True. We'd need fully automated luxury space communism first. Basically that's what FALSC is, elevating everyone's wealth until we are, for all intents and purposes, idle and rich.

Do you think it would be good for us? I mean if everyone was bone idle? And their every whim was met for the asking?

Well, the attention economy would take over for those who need the vigour of competition to motivate them. But whatever psychological problems FALSC might kick up would be minor compared to the problems want and lack of fulfilment cause now. Do you really think working in an insurance company for 40 years is less psychologically damaging than getting what you want? Or being a poor, single mother who isn't exactly sure where the money to feed her kids is coming from next week? FALSC is a paper cut. Our current society is a maniac with two chain saws. 

Even if I grant that, though, how do we get there from here? 

Hey you asked me what I wanted to be, not how I planned to get there.