{"id":25,"date":"2014-09-07T19:04:34","date_gmt":"2014-09-07T19:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.walraventales.com\/blog\/?page_id=25"},"modified":"2026-02-21T18:26:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T18:26:07","slug":"tales-stories-and-chronicles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/tales-stories-and-chronicles\/","title":{"rendered":"Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Published Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Corrupted Data&#8221;: A futuristic data broker scavenges for computer memory in the frozen junk heaps of Chicago and uncovers images that hint at a terrible conspiracy. Winner of <a href=\"https:\/\/tldrpress.org\/2026\/02\/20\/announcing-the-tldr-press-2k-terrors-short-story-horror-competition-winners-3\/\">21st place in the 2026 TL;DR writers 2kTerrors contest<\/a>! Soon to be featured in print and ePub formats on Amazon.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/suburbanwitchcraftmagazine.wordpress.com\/2025\/12\/19\/suburban-witchcraft-issue-11-is-live\/\">&#8220;One Last Espresso Before the Apocalypse&#8221;<\/a>: A young artist and community college student finds that her internship at Lovecraft Coffee leads to new artwork and ideas&#8230; and a new fall coffee drink that is suspiciously addictive. Featured at Suburban Witchcraft Magazine in issue 11 along with some artwork I photoshopped for the story &#8211; search for &#8220;Ryan Walraven.&#8221; (2025)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.neondystopia.com\/?p=100043466\">&#8220;The Great Erase&#8221;<\/a>: As an artificial intelligence learns to diagnose diseases, but finds that the virus infecting other AI may be extremely challenging to cure.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alteredrealitymag.com\/the-aurora-hum-by-ryan-walraven\/\">&#8220;The Aurora Hum&#8221;<\/a>: A woman is haunted by a mysterious sound that keeps her up at night, and permeates the town she lives in &#8211; featured at Alternate Reality Magazine (2025)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1z7K0_J8hkD00tkzfyutXwf5fw7jyizVFwZAqJHxzqa8\/edit?usp=sharing\">&#8220;Of Mice and Machines&#8221;<\/a>: In this hard-boiled mystery, a detective in a dystopian city investigates the disappearance of a purveyor of conspiracy theory newsletters &#8211; featured by Kirin Comics and Mystic Mind Magazine in Issue 25 and in their print comic. <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1z7K0_J8hkD00tkzfyutXwf5fw7jyizVFwZAqJHxzqa8\/edit?usp=sharing\">Read at this link<\/a> (2025)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tldrpress.org\/2023\/08\/10\/curios-now-available-best-of-the-1000-word-herd-flash-fiction-2023-competition\/\">&#8220;The Cat Who Drank too Much Coffee&#8221;<\/a>: A young witch detective tries to solve an unusual case, tangled up with a net cafe, cats, and coffee &#8211; featured in print in the &#8220;Curios Anthology&#8221; after placing in the TL;DR Press 2k Word Herd contest, or <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1-4MzwBSN_65PTXaj6bXrwszEDrVg_FHKl_YwCBr4rxQ\/edit?usp=sharing\">readable at this link<\/a> (2023)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Growth-Speculative-Young-Adult-Collection-ebook\/dp\/B09D8T2ZBX\">&#8220;Plant Space&#8221;<\/a>: A botany student tries to grow plants that can survive on Mars and makes an unexpected discovery. Published in the TL;DR Press &#8216;Growth&#8217; anthology, and <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1QwQi4-eFpJ5M2Ey6oVfXwip-M5HRpRvc\/edit?usp=sharing&amp;ouid=108947453513915139098&amp;rtpof=true&amp;sd=true\">available to read here<\/a> (2021)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tldrpress.org\/2021\/01\/29\/hope-is-available-now\/\">&#8220;Electric Gnome&#8221;<\/a>: Two friends in Japan are separated by distance and depressing careers, but one of them is rebuilding the future in their failing town &#8211; Featured in print or ePub format in TL;DR Press&#8217;s &#8220;Hope&#8221; anthology or <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1yJwYPpLfh1gTNnjwewhFRU3kmxdssb7m\/edit?usp=sharing&amp;ouid=108947453513915139098&amp;rtpof=true&amp;sd=true\">readable at this link<\/a> (2021)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/goodpods.com\/podcasts\/ripples-in-space-278245\/ris-the-lands-where-demons-tread-34327831\">&#8220;The Land Where Demons Tread&#8221;<\/a>: Two scientists discover that a desolate, uninhabitable planet may host not just life, but intelligent life &#8211; Featured on the Ripples in Space podcast in audio form (2020)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ripplesinspace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/happy-to-have-us-animals.pdf\">&#8220;Happy to Have Us Animals&#8221;:<\/a> Two genetically altered woman look for a home in a world that increasingly scorns and distances itself from their kind &#8211; featured at Ripples in Space (2020)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/banditfiction.wordpress.com\/2021\/03\/20\/how-to-unravel-reality-in-seven-easy-steps-by-ryan-walraven\/\">&#8220;How to Unravel Reality in 7 Easy Steps<\/a>&#8220;: A young man goes on a first date in Honolulu and finds the experience to be both unusual, and eye-opening. Featured at Bandit Fiction (2020).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #333300;\">Other Stories<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/tales-stories-and-chronicles\/ritual-of-the-pinewood-witch\/\">&#8220;Ritual of the Pinewood Witch&#8221;:<\/a>\u00a0An aspiring mage attempts to begin his training by entering the dimension of dreams.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/tales-stories-and-chronicles\/the-dark-beyond-the-edge-of-town\/\">&#8220;The Dark Beyond the Edge of Town&#8221;<\/a>: A young thief with trust issues is recruited by an old man to hunt a lost book<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/tales-stories-and-chronicles\/having-coffee-with-androids\/\">&#8220;Having Coffee with Androids: Part 1&#8221;<\/a>: A mathematician-turned-barrista enjoys a more relaxing life after machines take over research, that is, until she receives an invitation to a mysterious scientific conference.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/tales-stories-and-chronicles\/having-coffee-with-androids-part-2\/\">&#8220;Having Coffee with Androids: Part 2&#8221;<\/a>: Our barrista and a team of scientific colleagues investigate the puzzle given to them by the machines.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/tales-stories-and-chronicles\/the-voice-from-the-wastes\/\">&#8220;The Voice from the Wastes&#8221;<\/a>: A smuggler searches for the voice in his head on an abandoned world<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/tales-stories-and-chronicles\/the-monsters-out-of-space\/\">&#8220;The Monsters out of Space&#8221;<\/a>: Monsters inhabit Baltimore and the local populace loves them, but one man is determined to fight back<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/tales-stories-and-chronicles\/lifelong-learning\/\">&#8220;Lifelong Learning&#8221;<\/a>: A\u00a0child fights against a new teaching technology<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/?page_id=124\">&#8220;Book, lend me your light.&#8221;<\/a> &#8211; Fantasy &#8211; A monk finds a forgotten room in the depths of the monastery<\/li>\n<li><i><a title=\"Concordance\" href=\"https:\/\/ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/?page_id=199\">&#8220;Concordance&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0: High school romance &#8211; A\u00a0girl keeps a list of potential boyfriends<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Lostcraft<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/?p=57\"><em>&#8220;Waking&#8221;<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/?p=65\"><em>&#8220;Meditation&#8221;<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/?page_id=135\">&#8220;Nightfall&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #333300;\">Older Stories<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/?p=87\">&#8220;Four Ways to Uncover a Time Traveler&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0: Science fiction: Two boys on a train debate is a passenger is a time traveler<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/?p=81%20\">&#8220;Snow, Ones, and Zeros&#8221;\u00a0<\/a>: Near future: A girl dons her augmented reality glasses an tries to avoid a bully in the snow<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/?p=84\">&#8220;Save &amp; Go&#8221;<\/a>: Fiction: A store clear has an especially unfriendly customer<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Published Stories &#8220;Corrupted Data&#8221;: A futuristic data broker scavenges for computer memory in the frozen junk heaps of Chicago and uncovers images that hint at a terrible conspiracy. Winner of 21st place in the 2026 TL;DR writers 2kTerrors contest! Soon to be featured in print and ePub formats on Amazon.\u2026 <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/tales-stories-and-chronicles\/\">Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"templates\/template-twocolumns-left.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-25","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":595,"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/25\/revisions\/595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ryanwalraven.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}