FICTION FOR

A Wider Horizon.

I write speculative fiction about people, places, and the space between what is and what might be. Stories for curious minds, the quietly hopeful, and anyone who still looks up.

EXPLORE MY WRITING

Vintage ink illustration of a solitary explorer looking across an alien landscape and enormous planet

01.

Writing

Stories and essays, gathered in one place. Brief glimpses of ordinary people, strange futures, and everything between.

01Shadow of the Sun · Excerpt 01Lenora fixed her gaze above the treetops shrouding the San Fernando Valley. A wispy spirit drifted upward to its lunar guide in the sky. Lenora smiled. Years she’d spent studying the arcane,…→02That Scraper Thingy at Fancy RestaurantsEven though it cost more than my vasectomy, I knew the Disney castle restaurant wasn’t fancy. Yes, it had white tablecloths. Yes, it had candelabras. And the quality of the food was as exemp…→03Shadow of the Sun · Excerpt 02Ned sat like an old potato on his sofa, his wiry hair fraying like undone stitching on a leather glove. Life was tired and lonely. His thoughts drifted to his younger days, decades ago when …→

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02.

Books

Three collections. Many worlds. Stories that look outward to ask what it means to be human.

Artwork inspired by the cover of Galactic Rejuvenation

Galactic RejuvenationVIEW DETAILS

Artwork inspired by the cover of Lucent Legends

Lucent LegendsVIEW DETAILS

Artwork inspired by the cover of Shadow of the Sun

Shadow of the SunVIEW DETAILS

SELECT A COVER TO EXPLORE THE BOOK & FIND IT ON AMAZON.

03.

Blog

Thoughts on the writing life, books, and the questions worth asking along the way.

The first page is still unwritten.

Notes and reflections will appear here soon.

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04. / THE WRITING DESK

From the archive

All nine excerpts from my fiction, essays, and other published work. Select one to read the excerpt and follow its source.

01 / Magical FictionShadow of the Sun · Excerpt 01Lenora fixed her gaze above the treetops shrouding the San Fernando Valley. A wispy spirit drifted upward to its lunar guide in the sky. Lenora smiled. Years she’d spent studying the arcane,…READ EXCERPT →02 / Personal EssayThat Scraper Thingy at Fancy RestaurantsEven though it cost more than my vasectomy, I knew the Disney castle restaurant wasn’t fancy. Yes, it had white tablecloths. Yes, it had candelabras. And the quality of the food was as exemp…READ EXCERPT →03 / Magical FictionShadow of the Sun · Excerpt 02Ned sat like an old potato on his sofa, his wiry hair fraying like undone stitching on a leather glove. Life was tired and lonely. His thoughts drifted to his younger days, decades ago when …READ EXCERPT →04 / Modern FictionThe Hands of Ella DuJardinI propped the roach on the tray and peered into the deep wells of her eyes. A lovely labyrinth flowed through those tunnels, each turn taking you deeper into a thousand worlds, each birthing…READ EXCERPT →05 / Magical FictionShadow of the Sun · Excerpt 03Your stomach rumbles, but all that’s at home is a 7-month-old bottle of Italian dressing in your fridge, an old lemon, and some vitamin powder your sister Sarah gave you before she died. You…READ EXCERPT →06 / Magical FictionShadow of the Sun · Excerpt 04Dinner with Ellie was like leaping naked into a hot spring on a cold winter day — terrifying and exhilarating all at once. She picked our old burger joint off of 2nd Avenue. Guess she was fe…READ EXCERPT →07 / HumorThe Crescendo“She has an eating disorder.” For a second, Mindy’s face turned serious, but then her lips creased upward in a smile. “She ate dis order of cheese sticks, dis order of bacon, dis order of wi…READ EXCERPT →08 / NonfictionMy Great Grandmother Was a Dirt MageLike my great grandmother, John descended from a lengthy line of farm folk who survived by learning how to read the signs of the heavens. I affectionately refer to them as “Dirt Mages.” Thei…READ EXCERPT →09 / Science FictionSci-Fi Shorts Anthology Volume 1 · ExcerptProfessor Kang’s smile stretched across the screen. Periodicals and bound dissertations lined the shelves behind him, making his office a lair of unkempt intelligence. “Hello, Jeff.” Jeff fr…READ EXCERPT →

05. / ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A few words
about me.

J.A. Taylor started believing he could write when he won the first short-story contest he entered. Since then, he's authored and edited books and publications across several genres.

Passionate about flash fiction, he's also a co-creator of SciFi Shorts , a home for bite-sized science fiction and fantasy.

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE ↗SCI-FI SHORTS ↗