Resa Nelson's Older Stories:

Published from 1989-1998

This page describes older stories that currently are not on sale.

• For upcoming and current fiction on sale, see Short Stories.
• For fiction published after the year 2000, see Recent Stories.
• For a listing of all fiction published, see Fiction Publishing History.

Received a recommendation for the Nebula Award.

I wrote this story because I was fascinated by an article about how UFO sightings impact family roles in Latin American families.  When I travelled to Mexico, I studied locations that I used in the story and bought books about magic being practiced today in that country.  Ultimately, this is a story of a mother and son and their struggle to figure out how they belong in the same family without competing with each other.

This is one of the most bizarre and surrealistic stories I've written.  I was thrilled when one of my former Clarion teachers, A.J. Budrys, bought it.  By the time it was published, Tomorrow SF had changed from being a print publication to an online publication.

Received a recommendation for the Nebula Award.

When "The Dragonslayer's Sword" was ranked second in this magazine's first Readers' Top Ten poll, I thought it might be worth writing another story set in the same world.  "The Silver Shoes" tells the story of a minor character from the first story.  I incorporated both stories into the novel, where the "minor" character becomes a pivotal character.

Received several recommendations for the Nebula Award.
Received a recommendation for the Campbell Award.
Received an Honorable Mention in Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 1991.

I originally wrote this story because I wanted to have something to submit to a proposed anthology that was never published.  My goal was to re-tell a fairy tale with modern sensibilities and an unexpected twist.  This is one of my favorites.

Received a few recommendations for the Nebula Award.

This story came about because I began thinking about violence against women, and the lengths to which women might go to protect themselves in the future.  One thing I appreciate about readers is, my work tends to polarize them.  People tend to either love my fiction or hate it.  This is one of the most controversial stories I've written.

This anthology was developed and written by the members of the Cambridge Science Fiction Workshop.  Sarah Smith and I wrote this story, which made the final cut. 

Received several recommendations for the Nebula Award.
Ranked #2 in Readers' Top Ten poll.

Editor Scott Edelman had read and critiqued this story in a workshop long before he became the editor of Science Fiction Age.  Fortunately, I'd put the story away in the file cabinet because I wasn't sure how to polish it.  So when he called and asked what had happened to the story, I sent it to him, he made some great suggestions, and we got it ready for the premiere issue of the magazine.  In 1995 it was reprinted in the Dragons anthology.  YOU CAN READ THIS STORY ONLINE FOR FREE:  click here

I was a member of the Cambridge Science Fiction Workshop for four years, and I was lucky to be involved in that group's Future Boston project.  This is a baseball story that David and I wrote for Future Boston, but it didn't make the final cut.  Instead, it sold to Jane Yolen's 2041 anthology for young adults.

"Sara and the Slime Creature" --
Women of Darkness II anthology
December 1990 

In editor Kathryn Ptacek's introduction to my story, she writes, "When I first saw the title of this story, I thought it was science fiction and almost rejected it without reading on.  Then I decided I should give it a chance -- I'm glad I did, because it's overpowering dark fantasy."

"The Next Step" -- Aboriginal Science Fiction
January/February 1989 

Received an Honorable Mention in Year’s Best Science Fiction 1989.

"The Next Step" is a story I wrote while I was attending the Clarion Workshop at Michigan State.  Elizabeth Lynn was our teacher the week I ran it through the workshop.  The encouragement I received from Lizzy and my Clarion classmates still means the world to me, and I dedicated the story to them.

Although I'd published a few stories in small press magazines before I went to Clarion, this was my first professional sale.  Years after it was published, I adapted the story to a screenplay, and it was produced independently.  Whenever possible, I show this film at science fiction and fantasy conventions.