Chambers of the Heart – B. Morris Allen

Chambers of the Heart cover
Chambers of the Heart

A heart that’s a building, a dog that’s a program, a woman who’s sinking irretrievably – stories about love, loss, and motion. A collection of speculative stories from author and editor B. Morris Allen.

  • Chambers of the Heart – it’s hard, living in someone’s heart
  • Building on Sand – how to choose between children
  • Blush – when everyone else wears a mask, what’s it like to bare your face?
  • Minstrel Boy Howling at the Moon – magic, music, and … buffalo?
  • Fetch – she may be a simulation, but out on the edge, she’s one man’s best friend
  • The Humblebract Expedition – even dying children like to play
  • When Dooryards First in the Lilac Bloomed – a doorway to opportunity and change, if only humans can understand it
  • Some Sun and Delilah – a sunny island, an abandoned temple, and thoug
  • Crying in the Salt House – the house is built from tears, or so they say
  • Full of Stars – jar half empty, jar half full
  • Memory and Faded Ink – the aliens are perfectly human … and just as flawed
  • Fountainhead – arranged meetings never work, especially with different species
  • Adaptations to Coastal Erosion – when your spouse is literally falling away from you
  • Outburst – Earth is dead, except for a few teens on a decaying orbital
  • The Irrigation Ditch – they came to hide, but didn’t realize it was from each other
  • Dragons I Have Slain – take hope where you find it

Cover art by Bonnie Leeman

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Reviews

“Poignant, heartfelt, and beautifully crafted, Chambers of the Heart is an amazing collection of magical and thought-provoking speculative short-stories worthy of savoring and re-reading. … What I loved most about this book was it’s multi-layered elements of meaning and how they intertwined with emotions … To successfully incorporate such meaningful depth to the reader in abstract storytelling such as this…. is nothing short of genius. … Every story in this book is equally memorable. … I think this book would spark many conversations among readers and would make a great selection for book group discussions.”
BookeryBliss

“Throughout this collection, Allen adroitly employs a combination of whimsy and wide-ranging imagination, filling his tales with both bite and heart. … these stories squarely into the literary lineage of James Tiptree and Algis Budrys, the territory where mythmaking and SF intersect. … Often these narrative strengths combine in remarkably effective stories… A marvelously varied and heart-tugging collection of tales.”
Kirkus Reviews, RECOMMENDED REVIEW

“Hauntingly beautiful, engaging, and thoughtful in its approach, author B. Morris Allen’s Chambers of the Heart: speculative stories is a must-read short story collection of 2022. Thought-provoking narratives which challenge the readers understanding of reality and the emotional character traits to keep the reader invested in each story make this a one-of-a-kind collection that comes along once in a great while.”
 Jack Chambers, Pacific Book Review, STARRED

“…ideally will be read and enjoyed by literary audiences who will relish their metaphorical descriptions, portals to other places and realizations, and the opportunity to juxtapose an eclectic series of themes and experiences into evocative, lovely prose. …a powerful collection especially highly recommended for discussion groups focused on quick, hard-hitting short stories.”
D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“B. Morris Allen has effectively highlighted issues that usually go unseen. … Chambers of the Heart is lyrical with fantastic stories of diverse nature.”
Manik Chaturmutha, Readers’ Favorite

“Some stories are lyrical and beautiful and others gave me Edgar Allen Poe vibes. I adored the diversity throughout the stories and they’re all very quick to read.”
Danae, Goodreads

One of the most unusual and inspiring books I have ever read. I thoroughly enjoyed Chambers of the Heart. Author B. Morris Allen has an especially unusual and descriptive writing style. The array of earthly and alien characters carries each story forward with beautifully written dialogue. … Chambers of the Heart is a book for everyone.
Natalie Soine, Readers’ Favorite

“[T]he author has hit every emotion and done so in such a unique way that I felt as if some stories were pure, factual, truth. … [A] visual, beautiful, heartfelt book that makes you think. … These stories are powerful and extremely memorable.”
Amy Lignor, Reader Views

“This collection is charming in both its ideas and its eclectic nature. … [T]he diversity of themes and styles within the collection is very impressive. B. Morris Allen’s incredible imagination is matched only by his gift for prose which masterfully brings each story’s world to life … Chambers of the Heart is an exemplary collection of speculative fiction that quickly moves from one idea to the next, stopping only to fully consider the ideas each story puts on the table. I’d highly recommend it to fans of thought-provoking speculative fiction.”
K.C. Finn, Readers’ Favorite

“beautifully nuanced … unique and imaginative … gorgeous prose.”
Asher Sayed, Readers’ Favorite

“Each story is a marvel that regards the simple and the grand in beautiful, haunting fashion.”
Dylan Ward, US Review of Books, RECOMMENDED

Susurrus

A darkly romantic story of magic, love, and suffering

No evil sorceress is born evil

Iskra wants magic and a home, but her magic keeps killing the people she loves. Just when happiness is finally with in her grasp, another wizard intervenes. Now, she needs to choose: rebuild her life again, or channel her destructive power into bloody revenge.

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Allenthology – Volume I

AllenthologyCoverESpeculative stories of love and disaster.

Aliens, androids, magic, destruction and romance, all mixed together in this quarter century of science fiction and fantasy stories from B. Morris Allen.

Includes the complete contents of the collections Metaphorosis, Start With Stones, and Tocsin, plus a few extras, and author’s notes for each story.

Contents

First Era – Waiting for Inspiration

  • Blind – Who says you’re not god?
  • Sacrifice – When you don’t stop for death.
  • Erm the Invincible – Sometimes, they’re not wrong.
  • Proteus’ Revenge – Words are tricky, mutable entities. Be nice to them.

Second Era – So That’s How It Works

  • Spring and the Arachnodactylist – It’s a warm, sunny day. Why not stay inside and read?
  • Metaphorosis – Never change, sweetheart. Not into that.
  • Manifest Destiny – In the city of prophecy, a hero arrives on the wings of destiny – just in time for his appointment.
  • The Digital Revival – Don’t point that at me, it has a nail in it.
  • Silver Lining – Why can’t the elder races just learn to get along?
  • One Fine Day in Asgard – What the gods do before twilight
  • The Matter of God – Just what are gods made of, anyway, and who makes them?
  • The First Assembly of God – Putting together a god is a delicate business. Especially if you don’t read the instructions.
  • All’s Fair – On the day before the last battle, the old powers rally for a final effort.
  • Drive Like Lightning … – After following an ancient trail into the territory of the deadly Mechanics, one woman and her ship must escape with vital information.
  • …Crash Like Thunder – The alien Mechanics attacked from nowhere and for no reason. Or did they?

Third Era – In Search of Misplaced Time

  • Maison d’Etre – Are you living someone else’s life? Should you be?
  • The Dark Distillery – Where does evil go when it’s gone?
  • Crash Boom Bang – A story at any length you like.
  • Parabolic – One man, one cave, an audience.
  • The Girl Who Just Went Wrong – And why she did it.
  • Dancing Through Winter – Having played all summer, the human race must dance all winter to stay warm.
  • Coup de Tart – The true story of the Knave of Hearts
  • At Stake – Condemned as a witch, a woman searches for one last sign of love.
  • House of Hope – Stone and timber make a house, and much, much more.
  • My Trip to the Awe Tanks – A young boy’s look at progress.
  • Palimpsest – Change is for the better. Isn’t it?
  • Tocsin – A lonely buoy stands guard.
  • Crust – Where do you go when the going gets painful? And how do you get back?
  • Start with Stones – If you look for magic under rocks, you might find something you don’t expect.
  • The Stone in the Sword – Some things TH White never quite got around to explaining.

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Tocsin – and other stories

Stories of adventure and determination. A collection of (mostly) science fiction stories.

  • Tocsin – A lonely buoy stands guard.
  • The Digital Revival – Don’t point that at me, it has a nail in it.
  • Drive Like Lightning … Crash Like Thunder – The alien Mechanics attacked from nowhere and for no reason. Or did they?
  • Maison d’Etre – Are you living someone else’s life? Should you be?
  • The Dark Distillery – Where does evil go when it’s gone?
  • Dancing Through Winter – Having played all summer, the human race must dance all winter to stay warm.
  • My Trip to the Awe Tanks – A young boy’s look at progress.
  • Crash Boom Bang – A story at any length you like.
  • Crust – Where do you go when the going gets painful? And how do you get back?

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Start With Stones – collected stories

StartWithStonesCover2500aSpeculative tales of love and disaster. A collection of light-hearted fantasy and science fiction stories.

  • Silver Lining – Why can’t the elder races just learn to get along?
  • The Girl Who Just Went Wrong – And why she did it.
  • Start with Stones – If you look for magic under rocks, you might find something you don’t expect.
  • The First Assembly of God – Putting together a god is a delicate business. Especially if you don’t read the instructions.
  • Manifest Destiny – In the city of prophecy, a hero arrives on the wings of destiny – just in time for his appointment.
  • The Matter of God – Just what are gods made of, anyway, and who makes them?
  • The Stone in the Sword – Some things TH White never quite got around to explaining.

 

ISBN: 978-0-9856091-7-7 (EPUB)

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Metaphorosis – a collection of stories

MetaphorosisCover2500Metaphor, allegory, parable – tales to excite the imagination. A collection of speculative fiction stories.

  • Coup de Tart – The true story of the Knave of Hearts
  • One Fine Day in Asgard – What the gods do before twilight
  • Metaphorosis – Never change, sweetheart. Not into that.
  • House of Hope – Stone and timber make a house, and much, much more.
  • At Stake – Condemned as a witch, a woman searches for one last sign of love.
  • Parabolic – One man, one cave, an audience.
  • All’s Fair – On the day before the last battle, the old powers rally for a final effort.
  • Palimpsest – Change is for the better. Isn’t it?
  • Spring and the Arachnodactylist – It’s a warm, sunny day. Why not stay inside and read? 

Download it for free!

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Dancing Through Winter

DtWCoverHaving played all summer, the human race must dance all winter to stay warm.

After the war, four people survive in a cavern – two adults, two children. But when young Jim learns the truth about his dead father, his small world begins to fall apart.

This is a 7,300 word SHORT STORY.

Read an excerpt Buy it now!

ISBN: 978-0-9856091-5-3 (EPUB)

Note: this story is not related to the novella The Speed of Winter by the same author.

Crust

CrustCoverWhere do you go when the going gets painful? And how do you get back?

Between a rock and some very sharp objects – you’ve been captured by the Alliance, you’re mostly paralyzed, and there are some nasty tools hanging on the wall. What’s a simple signals analyst to do? And where’s your tough soldier brother when you need him? 

This is a 6,300 word SHORT STORY.

WARNING:This is a graphic, literally visceral story about torture (albeit somewhat lighthearted). Definitely not suitable for children.

Read an excerpt  Buy it now!