Ray Blank is the pen name I use when submitting speculative fiction to publishers. For me, the name conjures themes from the golden age of science fiction, with its stress on how science and technology interacts with liberty and identity. The importance of these themes has grown, not diminished, in the interim. The combination of words suggests an absurdity, like a ray gun firing blanks. I hope that my writing captures some of the absurdity of life. There is a tip of the hat toward Ray Bradbury and Man Ray, innovators of word and image. It would please me greatly if readers also detect an echo of the pseudonyms deployed by great pamphleteers, and of the identity politics that prompted Malcolm X to adopt his name. And this nom de plume confers some basic advantages too: it is easy to spell, and to pronounce. Such things matter when weaving stories into a global tapestry of digital threads.
Stories by Ray Blank
“The Suit” in the October 2014 issue of Jupiter, #46. SFRevu said it was a “great way to begin this issue.”
“Rose by Another Name” in the April 2015 issue of Jupiter, #48. SFRevu remarked that the conclusion was “cleverly done.”
“The Ethical Committee” was published by Sci Phi Journal on 25th March 2016.
“Longwave Goodbye”, the third story in the Suit/Rose series, can be found in the final issue of Jupiter, #50. SFRevu described it as an “interesting story with good characters. Very good.”
“Second Home, Second Chance” is included in Between the Wall and the Fire, an anthology from Silver Empire.
“A Place for Everyone” and “If You Were a Hamburger, My Love” can both be found in the Forbidden Thoughts anthology from Superversive Press. Tangent said A Place for Everyone “involves well drawn characters whose motivations are believable and sympathetic; which makes it an enjoyable read.” Jimbo’s Awesome SFF Book and Movie Reviews said Hamburger had him “in stitches” and that A Place for Everyone is “as awesome as it is funny… and frustrating. The ending is epic. Seriously. This one was worth the price of the anthology all by itself.”
“Someone to Listen, Inc.” appears in Futuristica, Volume 2 from Metasagas Press.