Corey Sitkowski
My (Mostly) Speculative Fiction
She’s been underwater for far too long. It’s been at least five minutes since I noticed she was missing and another five minutes for me to ease my way out to the hole in the ice. I’m holding back my tears as I lay on the ice near the hole. The water is so cold it stings the bare skin of my hand like hundreds of tiny needles. I hesitate for only a moment before I plunge my arm in searching for any sign of Rose Lyn....
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This is the guy I’m supposed to possess, I confirm as I look at my fact sheet. Dwayne Gary, age 33, single, waiter at Chili’s. He sounds incredibly boring. One of my siblings would take Dwayne’s boring life as a challenge and turn it upside down causing as much chaos as possible if they were to take possession of him...
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Longlisted for Reedsy Prompt Contest #353
Here's what the Prompts team had to say about it: "What a fresh and immediately charming concept! Dug is a completely wonderful narrator, and the comic logic of the DPD (not DPD database, as Dug would be quick to remind us!) is airtight and hilarious throughout. But what really got us was the heart underneath it all, particularly the way Dwyane and Dug unexpectedly help each other move forward. Keep up the great work!"
“What are you working on Faf?” Riley asked his grandfather as he sat on the far end of the workbench to watch him work. He called his grandfather Faf because when he was very young, he tried to say ‘Grandfather’ but it just came out Faf-fa which was eventually shortened to Faf, and it stuck....
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My body had failed but my brain still had so much more to accomplish. That’s why I’m in this predicament now. It has been 157 years since I’ve seen another human being. Not that I could consider myself human anymore.
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The Hart & Hind Tavern was busier than usual and Marta was trying her best to keep up. The early winter storm had people coming in to warm their hands by the fireplace and warm their bellies with a pint of ale or cider. Marta delivered two plates of food while another table called out for a round of drinks. The front door opened as she turned to fetch the refills and three gentlemen walked in looking for a table. The open door let in a brace of cold air which felt refreshing from the heat and smoke of the fire and many men puffing on their pipes after dinner.
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Captain James Wolfe’s heart leapt in his chest as watched the Earth-like blue and green planet Trappist-1d come into view when his spacecraft exited the wormhole. So reminiscent of Earth yet also very different. Emotions came flooding into his mind. Humanity has gambled everything on him and his crew to find a new home before Earth gives out completely. First indications were that this planet was the most likely candidate and from what he could see from space it looked very promising.
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*All my stories are entirely human-authored by me and not assisted by generative AI tools.
The Architect of Speculative Worlds
01 BIO
Corey Sitkowski writes speculative fiction from his Michigan solarium office while Graycie the cat supervises. Corey interprets the images in his head, sends the neuronic signals to his fingers, and forms crude sentences to later refine for human or nonhuman consumption. The cat has the final say.
Surrounded by shelves of fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian, folklore and mythology books, my imagination has been influenced by authors spanning several centuries. The office end of the solarium is where I sort through all the stories in my head putting them in words for others to read. When a break from writing is needed, I grab a book from the shelf and cozy up in the reading nook end of the solarium. Most likely Graycie the cat is right there checking out what I'm doing.