I am pleased to announce the publication of my story "The Kettle and I" in Bewildering Stories, issue 471. Here is an excerpt:

We enter the three-story Victorian and stand at the wooden counter. A thick pane of bulletproof glass separates us from the innkeeper. My not-mother holds her palm up to the glass and the innkeeper scans the chip inside. He shows her down a long hallway, waving me off to the waiting room. Dust films the windows and fogs the carpet. A pad bolted to the wall plays clips of smiling goodbyes read by actors in age makeup.

If you enjoy it, please share it.

Links to this story and more are now at the newly-redesigned halstedmbernard.com.

The Kettle and I

This photo does double-duty today as story illustration and Project 365 submission. What a hard-working kettle!