Ty Carlson
Ty Carlson is a sci-fi writer who delights in the unseen strangeness and wonder of “what if.” Growing up in the Ozarks of Arkansas gave him and his three siblings plenty of room to play knights and dragons or jungle explorers, igniting his imagination early on. Ty started writing at a very young age and his passion has only grown over time. He loved to read so much that he once was grounded from reading, a fact that his brothers tease him about to this day. He hopes readers discover new ways to see the world through the perspectives offered in the stories he tells.
The Bench
Upon receiving a strange invitation in the mail, Evan Reader is suddenly faced with a choice: either continue living his drab existence or risk the hope of change.
The invitation details an intricate process involving the memory chip imbedded in his arm. A process which would allow him to speak with his wife, Meredith, who died in a tsunami four years ago. Evan’s desire to see the childhood sweetheart he married overwhelms his doubts and he agrees to it. Where previously the pain and dread had stopped him from moving on from his grief, he’s now forced to face memories and emotions that he’s avoided since her death. He also rediscovers those other emotions – love and connection – both of which he refused to believe he was worthy to experience.
But when the digital representation of his wife begins to reveal memories that he doesn’t have, he suspects there may be a glitch in the program. He must then decide to either stop the process and return to his lonesome life, or embrace the parts that help explain the feelings of emptiness. He decides to continue and his initial hesitation is cast aside when he realizes that his loneliness can only be solved by talking through the pain with his wife, reliving some of the most difficult parts of his life.
While Meredith begins to fill in the gaps of what he believed was infallible truth, their conversation reveals that not only are his memories incomplete, but that he’s missing the most important parts.
The Favorite
What if you were forced to admit you had a favorite child?
Grant and Kathryn Taldo had everything they could ever want: a beautiful home, steady jobs, and two beautiful children. But when Grant’s job seeking renewable energy sources relocates him to Arkansas, he stumbles upon a mysterious house that elicits strange readings. During a routine test to determine if the energy source is viable, Grant’s machine explodes and the Taldo family’s dream life quickly unravels into a nightmare.
Jackson, their ten-year old, begins experiencing violent nosebleeds while Keller, their chronically ill two-year old, begins to feel inexplicably better. Suspecting a connection of some kind, they seek answers from a man whose child died from similar symptoms, but the truth he reveals is unimaginably sinister. The children are indeed linked and now the parents are faced with a devastating choice.
With the older son’s rapidly deteriorating health and the younger child’s miraculous healing, do they keep the family together and risk Jackson’s life or separate the siblings and lose Keller? How can they possibly choose The Favorite?
The Shadowless
The earth has become a wasteland as a result of humanity’s mistreatment of it. The sky has been dark for as long as anyone can remember, covered in an infinite roiling mass called The Everstorm. There are no trees. There is no grass. There is no hope.
Unless, that is, you’re one of the priveleged who live in the protected cities beneath the domes. In these cities there are trees, parks full of vibrant grass, even waterfalls. All thanks to the wonders of solar energy, harvested by those outside of the domes when violent tornadoes tear the sky asunder and allow sunlight through.
Shipley Boden is a low-life working his way into the good graces of the Citizens, hoping one day to be allowed a living space under the protective dome. But when he stumbles upon an orphaned girl in the ruins of the past, he decides to deliver her to the nearest settlement and be done with it. Unfortunately for him, things don’t ever go as planned.
