16 magazines with my name on the cover.

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Larry Hodges Science Fiction & Fantasy Page
November, 2015 • Email

Active Life Member, SFWA

Science Fiction & Fantasy Sales (71 + 33 resales + 15 twitter sales + 1 novel + 1 anthology) 
Published Articles (1612 in 149 publications, and nine books)
F&SF Writing page - all you need to know about writing SF & Fantasy
TableTennisCoaching.com - my main table tennis page, which includes my daily table tennis blog
Table Tennis Page - I'm a professional table tennis coach & writer. Really!
I'm a full-time table tennis player/coach/writer and a part-time science fiction & fantasy writer. I'm in the USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame! Here's an online video the Washington Post did of me coaching table tennis. 


Pings and Pongs
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy
of Larry Hodges

My new SF novel, Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions, was accepted for publication by World Weaver Press on Oct. 15, 2015! It covers the election for president of Earth in the year 2100, where the entire world has adopted the American two-party electoral system. Because it satirizes and dramatizes politics, they are rushing it into print, so it'll be out in January, 2015, before the Iowa caucuses. 

My novel, "The Spirit of Pong," came out in May, 2015. "Andy 'Shoes' Blue wants to be a table tennis champion, but he’s just another wannabe American. And so he goes to China to learn the secrets of table tennis. He is trained by the mysterious Coach Wang, and begins an odyssey where he learns the secrets of table tennis from the spirits of Ichiro Ogimura (who helped spawn China’s greatness), Rong Guotuan (China’s first world champion in 1959, whose tragic story Andy must relive), and others, and must face the mysterious "Dragon." Can he overcome treachery and learn the final secret of table tennis in time to defeat his ultimate nemesis?"

My first novel, "Sorcerers in Space," came out in November, 2013, from Class Act Books. You can buy it at Amazon (print or Kindle versions). Here's the review from Abyss & Apex. "Reading this book had me humming tunes from the 1960s, and smiling, for days. I don’t recommend reading Sorcerers in Space in bed next to your spouse. You’ll keep waking them up when you laugh."

"Pings and Pongs," 348 pages, a collection of my 30 best science fiction & fantasy short stories sales, is on sale at Amazon for $8.35 ($2.99 for Kindle). 

I was mentioned in an article on alternate realities in Escape Pod, with my SF story Tom the Universe cited as an example of using a black hole to create an alternate universe! Also mentioned in article were my peers, Albert Einstein and Max Planck.

On Nov. 6, 2010, my story "The Awakening," by a unanimous decision of the judges (holy moly!), won the Grand Prize at the 2010 Garden State Horror Writers Short Story Contest! It's about a 4-D being that plays around with the 3-D universe (ours), and just for fun, makes a fly super intelligent. The fly goes to war first with a woman who tries to swat it, then with the 4-D being, and eventually with the entire 4-D and 3-D universes. You don't want to mess with this fly, and you don't want to know where it lays its eggs!!! As part of the prize, it's published in the upcoming Spring, 2011 (issue 114) Space & Time Magazine. 

Meanwhile, I've had a rash of short story sales. I've sold 57 stories since May of 2008. (These don't include a bunch of "Twitter" sales or resales.) I've been on the cover of 16 science fiction or fantasy magazines (see thumbnail covers on right, click for full image):

  1. Ares Magazine, October, 2015 (issue #3) for "Head or Heat"
  2. Space and Time Magazine, Spring, 2015, for "Leashing the Muse"
  3. Penumbra Magazine, July 2012 for "The Dragon of the Apocalypse"
  4. Flagship Magazine, April 2012 for "The Oysters of Pinctada"
  5. Space and Time Magazine, Spring 2011 (issue #114) for "The Awakening"
  6. Flagship Magazine, April 2011 for "Workshop Gods"
  7. Flagship Magazine, November 2010 for "ggg.earth.gxy"
  8. Beyond Centauri Magazine, July 2010 for "The Meteor Always Strikes Once"
  9. Beyond Centauri Magazine, April 2010 for "Mummy at the Bat"
  10. Dark Portals Anthology, October, 2009, for "Eternity and the Devil"
  11. Arkham's Tales, August 2009, for "A Tale of Two Wizards"
  12. Aoife's Kiss, March 2009, for "Dragon Cuisine"
  13. Beyond Centauri Magazine, January 2008 for "Counting Sheep"
  14. Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, Spring 1990, for "Time to Diet"
  15. Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, Summer 1989, for "Gremlin Gambits"

I traveled a lot in 2008-2015 for my SF writing:

I've essentially been a full-time writer & editor for many years,  focusing on the Olympic sport of table tennis, a rather unique niche. (I'm in the USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame, primarily for my work as a writer, editor, promoter and coach, although I've won a number of national and state titles; here's my table tennis page.) My first book, Table Tennis: Steps to Success, has sold over 28,000 copies and is in six languages.

I returned from a 14-year fiction writing break  in 2005. Before that, four of my best were published in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, one of the nicer and higher paying fantasy magazines until it closed in 2000. Three of the best are online - see links below. Four of the sales were in what SFWA defines as pro markets. (Three pro SF&F sales, or a SF&F book sale to a major publisher, are required for active SF&F membership.) Early on, most of my best work was humorous fantasy. I've gradually moved toward more theme-oriented work, although often with a humorous side.

I was interviewed by New Myths Magazine in September, 2010. 

I was interviewed online by Community Fridays on Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. The interviewer, Emma Larkins, asked for the interview after one of the panels I was on at the Capclave SF Convention.

Workshops
I've attended a number of F&SF writers workshops. Workshops I've attended include:

Tribulations of the Past (and Future?)
Like many others, I went through a stage where I wrote and wrote, but nothing sold. From around 1986 to 1989, I wrote countless short stories, none of which sold. It's not easy, since the pro markets I was submitting to publish less than 1% of what they receive. Then, late in 1988, it all came together, and I sold eight stories in the next two years. Recently I pulled out all the old stories that hadn't sold - 47 of them! - and spent two days reading over them. They were horrible! In the end, I found one good one (which I've since rewritten), three that are possibly salvageable, and 43 that were ... well ... think Fahrenheit 451.

Non-Fiction
I've been a full-time writer and editor for many years, with nine books and 1612 published articles in 149 different publications. My first published article was in 1977, when I was 17. 

All nine of my books.  Click covers for  further info.

Books (10)

Miscellaneous
I'm 55, and have a master's degree in Journalism, and a bachelor's in math (minors in chemistry and computer science), both from University of Maryland. Besides table tennis, I also play regular tennis, where I've achieved a 4.0 level. I spend most of my free time reading fantasy & science fiction, history, and playing with my dog, Sheeba, who loves bacon snacks. I'm also a Baltimore Orioles baseball fan. Feel free to pity me. 

A Few Fun Links

Science Fiction & Fantasy Sales 
(71, plus 33 resales, plus 15 "Twitter" sales)
Story Magazine Issue Notes

15 Twitter Stories

Thaumatrope

Dec 14, 18, 27, 2008;
Jan 03, 10, Oct. 13, 20, 2009, Apr 06, May 04, July 27, 2010

Twitter stories are 140 characters or less, about 20-25 words.

Tweet the Meat

Dec. 21, 2009; Feb. 18, Mar. 11, 2010

Nanoism

Jan. 22, 2010
Twenty20 Journal Sold Oct. 7, 2011
Galahad Returns Weird Tales I sold the story to them in April 2012, but on March 26, 2015, after non-stop problems with Weird Tales, I withdrew the story.  It's a humorous fantasy about Sir Galahad (of King Arthur fame), who returns to Earth after spending 1500 years searching the galaxy unsuccessfully (on the Greek winged horse Pegasus) for the Holy Grail. The world has changed, and he jousts with fighter jets while tangling with the U.S. president, nukes, and a painting of former president and unfortunate King Arthur namesake Chester Arthur. It's my second sale to them. 
Leashing the Muse Space & Time Magazine Forthcoming An English professor is disgusted with the poor work of his students. And then, due to global warming, Polyhymnia, the muse of sacred song, oratory, lyric, singing, and rhetoric, and the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyn, is released from where she had been imprisoned in arctic ice for thousands of years by Zeus for criticizing his poetry. She decides her mission is to turn all written work into masterpieces, whether it be Milton, newspaper articles, or a how-to manuals. When any three-year-old with a crayon can write masterpieces, nothing stands out anymore, and so there are no more masterpieces. It's up to our English professor to capture the muse and convince her to stop, with the help of a super-powerful computer.
Head or Heat

 

 Ares Magazine October, 2015 (issue #3) "Head or Heat, Head or Heat, give us something good to eat!" chant the master race Sizan children, in various costumes, in their version of Halloween. But what they want to eat are the yummy-tasting heads of the slave race Slabinnac children, or they'll burn your house down. What's a slave mother to do?
Satan's Soul Stupefying Stories Forthcoming On the day before Armageddon, a depressed Satan wanders about Antarctica and kicks a penguin into the ocean as he ponders his certain demise. But then he sells his soul to a higher-dimensional being in return for a promise that he'll win.
Redcoats

 

 Abyss & Apex Christmas, 2014 A kid in post-Revolutionary War times takes on alien creatures who come down chimneys every year on the night of Dec. 24, demanding tribute. 
The Roads to Hell Stupefying Stories Nov. 14, 2014 A well-meaning politician finds out what happens to idealogues in the afterlife - as does the Devil. 
Human Help Desk Abyss & Apex Magazine Issue 47: 3rd quarter, 2013 (July) When a computer's human is about to click on a link that'll load a virus that'll kill the computer, what can the computer do? Call the Human Help Desk, of course! A bittersweet tale of a computer's fight for survival. 
Tyler's Ten New Myths Magazine June 1, 2013 When Vice President John Tyler takes the oath of office as president after the death of President William Henry Harrison in 1841, an alien vacationer takes over his body and sends his consciousness into a virtual reality world inside a computer - along with the other first ten presidents - Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J-Q Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, and W.H. Harrison! Turns out the first ten presidencies were all run by aliens on vacation. What can Tyler do to save them? Features lots of presidential bickering (especially Jackson and J-Q Adams), an alien courtroom battle, and ends on modern earth.
Better or Worse? Suddenly Lost in Words May 23, 2013 A humorous story where a pair of aliens choose a random person and have him make a series of "Better or Worse?" decisions (like when getting an eye exam), about how to improve Earth, with surprising results.
The Haunts of Albert Einstein Gotham Ghost Gazette

Specter Spectacular: 13 Ghostly Tales

Beyond the Grave Anthology

On the Brighter Side

January, 2013

 

September 25, 2012


Fall, 2010

 

January, 2009

 Poor Albert Einstein is destined to haunt his old offices in Princeton for eternity, surrounded by the ghosts of bickering physicists who simply will not shut up, and the relentless paparazzi. What can he do to save himself from this fate?
The Shaking Sphere Every Day Fiction Sept. 22, 2012 Suppose the ancient Greeks were right and the moon, planets, sun, and stars are all carried about the Earth in gigantic celestial spheres, with Earth in the center. Humans have colonized the inner-most Moon sphere and even have elevators that take us to it, 240,000 miles away - but now it's beginning to break apart. It's up to our heroic engineer to figure out what the problem is.
Running with the Dead Buzzy Magazine October 19, 2012 This is the story of a dead kid who wants to attend high school and run as a miler on the track team. He faces not only public pressure to quit - the country is mostly against letting dead people attend school - but also the captain of the track team and leader of the "Mile Mafia," the very person who murdered him one year before. 
The Oysters of Pinctada Flagship Magazine June 1, 2013 My name is on the cover! It's the story of a space pirate's kidnapping of the king of the planet Pinctada to find the secret of where they get the giant pearls they sell - and the lengths the Pinctadan's will go to save their king, and the terrible secret the pirate learns.
The Devil's Backbone After Death Anthology April, 2013 It's the story of an ice cream man who is killed and pulled into the ground by an incredibly gigantic hand, which turns out to be the Devil's, who literally jams him down his throat and (from the inside) onto his equally gigantic backbone, where there is an entire city of lost souls. How can he escape?

This reviewer picked it as one of the three best in the anthology. 
The Dragon of the Apocalypse Penumbra July 1, 2012 My name is on the cover! What should the president of the United States do when a huge dragon swoops out of the sky and lands on the U.S. Capitol, a seeming threat to congress and the American people? It's like King Kong on the Empire State Building, but army helicopters instead of bi-planes - and things are not as they seem.
In the Belly of the Beast Electric Spec

Flashing Swords

 May 31, 2012

Scheduled Fall, 2009; magazine closed before publication - but here's their unused table of contents for that issue

A wizard with a unique method of slaying dragons is swallowed by his dragon prey. While in the dragon's stomach, he must protect and save himself, his daughter, and others, all of whom have also been swallowed, while keeping a terrible secret from his daughter. She hates her father, who abandoned her when she was a child; despises the inept wizard; and along with the others in the dragon's belly, is waiting to be rescued by a famous dragonslayer who is on his way. What she doesn't know (but reader does) is that all three are the same person. Features the only battle between a wizard and a warrior in the belly of a dragon in history.

The Sanctimonious Time Traveler Trap Quantum Muse May 7, 2012 The time traveler only wanted to save their lives - but they had other plans.
The Kitchen Debate Quantum Muse March 19, 2012 A mystical debate between science and religion takes place in a scientist's kitchen.
Willy and the Ten Trillion Chimpanzees Musa Publications March 16, 2012 It turns out William Shakespeare was a demon, and had a rather large basement containing North American. . . with ten trillion typing chimpanzees, with time speeded up a trillion times. The chimpanzees rebel. (Here's a review.)
Rationalized Story Quest March 1, 2012 This won the Story Quest Short Story Contest. It's about a future society where everyone has an operation on their brain at age 13 to remove all emotions, and the underground society that secretly avoids this operation, but must pretend to always be unemotional - and the lengths they must go to hide their secret when a terrible accident occurs.

"The writing is solid and for a story about lack of emotion, it packs an emotional punch." -Blogger Mark Webb
Life and Death and Bongo Drums Every Day Fiction Feb. 20, 2012 When the entities Life and Death come for a mysterious Nazi-affiliated time traveler, the only thing standing between him and death are . . . bongo drums?
The Hand of God 66 Twisted Tales Anthology Fall, 2011 Evolution or Creationism? God might have a surprising answer. 
A Brush with Dirty Yellow Teeth 66 Twisted Tales Anthology Fall, 2011 How do you defend against a giant snake? You better have a special weapon! 
Running with the Dead Through the Eyes of the Undead II Anthology canceled before publication He just wants to try out for the high school track team as a miler. The problem is that he's dead, and the captain of the track team, the leader of the Mile Mafia, is the one who murdered him.
Mirror My Love Quantum Muse Oct. 10, 2011 Vanity and a do-gooder magic mirror. 
You and We Quantum Muse July 25, 2011 This was an experimental piece - not only all dialog, but no dialog tags! If I did it properly, you can tell who is speaking from the context. Time travel, time loops, meeting your past and present selves, murder - it's all there!
Galactic He-Men and the Ultimate Demise of the Human Race Sam's Drabble 19: Climate Change July, 2011 When climate change threatens the human race, you better know your anagrams. 
The Awakening Space & Time Spring, 2011 (#114) Grand prize winner at the 16th Annual 2010 Garden State Horror Writers Short Story Contest, in November. It was a unanimous choice of the judges!!! Here's the trophy.

My name is on the cover! A 4-D being plays around with the 3-D universe (ours), and just for fun, makes a fly super intelligent. The fly goes to war first with a woman who tries to swat it, then with the 4-D being, and eventually with the entire 4-D and 3-D universes. You don't want to know where it lays its eggs!!!

Here is the review from SFRevu: "This one starts in the Fourth Dimension in the home of the artist Red PolyChoron. Through a three dimensional tapestry on the walls of his tesseract home, he likes to watch a three-dimensional world, ours. He does more than watch, he intervenes, creating what are deemed miracles in our world. He would tape what happens and has exhibited these events and received praise for his artistry. One day, he decides to intervene again. Observing the common house fly, he realizes that if it had more room for its brain, it might cause problems for the predominant species, man. He solves this problem by expanding the fly's brain by extending it into the fourth dimension. This sets into motion some extraordinary events and a truly imaginative story."

Here is the review from tumblr.com: "The Spring issue has great stuff in it, including “The Awakening” by Larry Hodges which gets bonus points for bugs. A fly gains mastery of space and time so that she can eradicate evil and lay her eggs in its corpse, I mean how can you not like that? The fly being female may be strangest of all; normally when a monster shows up it’s male for some reason. But the more the merrier, says the freakshow host, and everyone’s invited."

Tom the Universe Escape Pod

Wildside Press Megapack Anthologies

 April, 2011

Jan. 2012

 (This is the largest audio SF market, but you can either read it or have it read to you.) 

A romp through singularities, universes, and just about everything else as our hero goes from common man to vengeful supreme being. He has a valuable lesson to learn about forgiveness; will he learn it in time?

"A fantastic story! . . . Tom's emotions are beautifully drawn out in this carefully constructed tale - highly recommended!" -Russellweb.org
Workshop Gods Flagship Magazine April, 2011 My name is on the cover! This is a satire on writing workshops. What happens when a very nervous God gets bad critiques for the planet Earth in his workshop for planetary creation, and he decides to cheat in order to qualify for SFWA (Supernatural Formation of Worlds Association)? The opening line is "God fidgeted." 
One Brushstroke at a Time Every Day Fiction

Something Good to Read anthology

 Feb. 17, 2011

January, 2012

 A budding artist rebels against the Church of Art, which declares, "In the beginning, God created heaven and Earth," the preacher said, clutching his bible. "And the Earth was without form, and so He formed unto its canvas that art known as mankind and his surroundings, and it was His greatest creation. And there shall be no other art but that by God the Artist."
The Greeny at Old Smokey Lake Ray Gun Revival February, 2011 An alien warrior from Antares, who looks like a blue, ten-armed spider the size of a house cat, retires to Earth and, disguised as a human, spends his time fishing with a human friend. But when a greeny shows up on Earth, it's up to him to save his friend and stop the invasion. 
Car Drive Flagship Magazine January, 2011 If you have a rotten life, and then eight-foot-tall aliens disguised as policemen kidnap you and others, herding everyone (in cars) like cattle? Maybe the unknown life with them - as pets, experimental subjects, zoo specimens, food?- would be better than your current life. 
ggg.earth.gxy Flagship Magazine November, 2010 My name is on the cover! It's a satire on the Internet, with the president of the United States getting caught up in the Galaxy Girthing Grid, the galactic version of the World Wide Web. When he gets arrested by aliens on another planet for indecent exposure for not covering his mouth in public, how can he escape, return to Earth, and solve our global warming problems, all while keeping his mouth covered? 
Out Came Death in an Explosion of Saliva and Curses Beyond Centauri

Carmine Tales Anthology

October, 2010

Spring, 2011

 A giant snake swallows a little boy, attracting Death, who turns out can be rather careless.
Pruning for Gold New Myths September, 2010 What happens if a greedy person can cut off parts of himself and the parts turn to gold? How far will he go?
At the Snake Show Beyond Centauri July, 2010 A boy and his giant snake at the snake show. Will they win?
The Meteor Always Strikes Once Beyond Centauri

Aoife's Kiss

The Magic Hat Anthology

Joy's Galaxy of Fun Anthology

Dreamscapes Anthology

 July, 2010

December, 2010

Fall, 2010

 

Fall, 2010

Fall, 2011

 My name is on the cover! (In Beyond Centauri) The story starts with the main character's fortune from a Chinese fortune cookie saying, "A meteor will kill you in five minutes." It's possibly the only talking meteor story ever written.

The story sold to both Aoife's Kiss and Beyond Centauri at the same time, since they have the same editor and he wanted the story in both. (Different audiences - Beyond Centauri is primarily a youth magazine.)
Microsorce Afterburn Science Fiction

Flashing Swords

 

Wildside Press Megapack Anthologies

 July, 2010

Scheduled Fall, 2009; magazine closed before publication

Jan. 2012

 When the world's computers are run by sorcery, and the corporations are run by sorcerers, a hostile takeover takes on a new meaning.
Mummy at the Bat Beyond Centauri

Spacesuits and Sixguns

 April, 2010

Was scheduled for February, 2009, but magazine closed.

 My name is on the cover! The tongue in cheek yet poignant tale of a non-speaking, baseball-loving mummy with supernatural skills, and the difficulties he faces in trying to make it to the major leagues.

Professor James Richard Nichols of "At the Dot" wrote, "This issue of Beyond Centauri leads off with Larry Hodges' hilarious "Mummy At The Bat" [whatever you do, don't throw him a spitter]."
Bonesy New Myths Magazine

Wildside Press Megapack Anthologies

 December, 2009

 

Jan. 2012

Bonesy is the story of a man whose skeleton came alive when he was a boy. At first they are great friends. Problems arise when the skeleton goes crazy . . . and wants out. Here's the illustration that went with the story.

The "A Propensity for Silence - The Well of Book Run Dry" blog wrote:
Bonsey by Larry Hodges at NewMyths.com - this was one of the coolest stories I've read in a while.  When I mentioned the concept of this story to my husband, who doesn't read fiction and professes to dislike the speculative (even though he really does like it -- all his favorite shows and movies are majorly speculative) - he said 'That sounds awesome!  It would be an awesome Fringe episode!'."
Eternity and the Devil Dark Portals Anthology

Wildside Press Megapack Anthologies

 December, 2009

 

Jan. 2012

 My name is on the cover! Basically a twist on the "Deal with the Devil" story. A physicist sells his soul so he can make discoveries that will benefit mankind. When the Devil shows up and takes him to Hell, the scientist escapes into the future in a time machine - and with numerous stops, goes a trillion years into the future, pursued by the Devil. At each stop, he is surrounded by billions of systematically tortured souls in Hell - including his long-suffering girlfriend, who he is determined to save.
The Dashing Dash Calliope Magazine December, 2009 Hands down, it's the best punctuation....
Memory of a Minefield Hypersonic Tales September, 2009 Has an audio reading!
A woman tries to save her child. To do so, she not only has to live and relive her life, but the entire life of the universe over and over to do so!
A Tale of Two Wizards Arkham Tales August, 2009

My name is on the cover! It's the story of the two greatest wizards of the ancient world, Zuku and Death himself. The two face off along with their vast armies in a final, desperate struggle, but due to betrayal (Death offers Zuku's troops immortality, life insurance and other benefits), Zuku loses and is trapped in a bottle at the bottom of the ocean for 5000 years. En route to freedom, he battles a coke bottle recycling plant, a great white shark, and a jumbo jet, and finally meets up with Death in his new offices in the Trump World Tower in modern day New York City. He also finds his mom, her spirit trapped in a sword, and his dad, transformed into a sea turtle. They battle Death and his army - tottering old men after 5000 years, but still very much alive - in a battle that ends in the space shuttle.
Raiders of the Ballot Box Atomjack August, 2009 A satire on the fixing of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election using self-aware computer viruses. About one-third of the story is from the point of view of one of the viruses.
An Earlier Inconvenient Truth Hypersonic Tales

The Magic Hat Anthology

Short Diversions

 June, 2009

Fall, 2010

May, 2011

 A satire on global warming and spoof of the documentaries "An Inconvenient Truth," "Super Size Me," "Sicko," "Bowling for Columbine," and "Fahrenheit 9/11," all told from a dinosaur's point of view, 65 million years ago. Hypersonic Tales has an audio version, so you can just listen as they read it to you! Reading time is 5 min 17 sec. (Make sure to keep listening after the explosion - there's a short scene after that.)
Omen of the Oven Necrography Spring, 2009 A psychic immortal witch, in a wedding dress she took from her lunch that day, cooks a child for her upcoming dinner date, with full details on the temperature and time needed, and herbs, spices and veggies that go with it. The front of the oven is caked with grime, but she keeps seeing images through the oven's window. Since she often sees the future, she keeps cleaning the window, trying to get a better look. And when she finally sees what's inside, she gasps in shock and horror. Then a hand from behind clutches her shoulder, she screams, and....
Jackpot World Space & Time Spring, 2009 What happens if, on one hundred million identical universes, an interdimensional traveling alien is mugged by Wayne, an armed and unhappy criminal, and all of these aliens in all of these universes transport the attacking Wayne to the same Earth in one universe - ours? Yes, it's the dreaded Multi Accedo Scenario!

"...the 'whammy' is so mind-blowingly delicious I would never dream of ruining it here or in any of the hundreds of millions of alternate realities where I am also typing this review." SFReader, April, 2009

"This was a very different kind of story and quite interesting." SF Revu, April 27, 2009

"...a sly little SF tale of an alien named Songo from an alternate reality..." Tangent Online, Summer, 2009
Reality Pills Alienskin

Sandi's Sampler: A Tasty Blend of Speculative Fiction Anthology

 April/May, 2009

Spring, 2011

 What if that psychedelic vision - say, of a charging Tyrannosaur - isn't a vision?
Dragon Cuisine Aoife's Kiss

Dragon's Quest Anthology

 March, 2009

Spring, 2011

 My name is on the cover! A young dragon prince rebels against an arranged marriage, as there is another he wishes to marry. He leaves home, and starts up his own kingdom in the far north. He battles spiders, bears and food (humans, the cuisine in the title) with no problem, but falls victim to a wizard's spell that slowly turns the giant dragon into a giant frog. He faces many tribulations trying to find a suitable human princess to kiss so as to turn himself back, all while hopping about and smacking warriors with his tongue instead of the flame he's used to using.

"Dragon Cuisine . . will tug at your heartstrings and leave you rolling with laughter in the aisles." Expressions, March, 2009
Defeating Death Weird Tales February, 2009 This is  the story of Paulie, a sorcerer's owl, a species of owl that lives out its life in the robes of mostly unwilling sorcerers. Paulie makes his home in the robes of the most powerful sorcerer in the world, where they battle each other, the postal service, and Death himself, all while trying to figure out why the rooms in their house keep disappearing. Oh, and there's a zombie in the guest room.
Pens and Pain Alienskin February, 2009 What happens when an alien gourmet came to Earth to live off our pain, with the aid of a rather sophisticated pen?
Dirty Socks Calliope Magazine Winter, 2009 All about socks and rocks....
Ghosts of Cretaceous Park Abyss & Apex Second Quarter 2008 (May) Possibly the world's first dinosaur ghost story. Billionaire brothers fight for control of a ghostly dinosaur park, the scene of murder mysteries in the present and 70 million years ago. I've found three reviews, all very positive:

"...pretty much a shaggy dog story (or perhaps a shaggy dino story), but it does its job assuredly." The Fix, June 3, 2008

"Five stories, the picks of which are . . . and Larry Hodges' 'Ghosts of Cretaceous Park', the comic tale of a nasty real estate developer getting his comeuppance thanks to a dinosaur's ghost. One is thoughtful, the other more light-hearted, but both reach their intended targets." Reading By the Moon, June 1, 2008

"The newest issue of online magazine Abyss And Apex is #26 with some well-written stories, all of which got a Very Good from me." SF Revu, May 30, 2008
Counting Sheep Beyond Centauri January 2008 My name is on the cover! An autistic man constantly counts sheep and never sleeps--but is he more than he seems?
Happily and Righteously Blood, Blade & Thruster December, 2007 Story was third in the Blood, Blade & Thruster "Conspiracy" short story contest. If you believed assassins and deadly green aliens were trying to kill you, and you were right, wouldn't you die happily and righteously?

"Do not read this story while under the influence of any mind altering drugs . . . Scratch that. Only read this story while under the influence of mind altering drugs." -Nathaniel Lambert in online comment
There Once Was a Cowboy Space Westerns November, 2007 First place in the Space Westerns Limerick Contest! Does this count as a short story sale? Well, it's short, it tells a story, and it's a sale!
Ping-Pong Ambition Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic

Before Kindle: Short Stories from Real Magazines

 November, 2007

 

February, 2011

 A table tennis player is imprisoned inside a ping-pong ball by a genie for 10,000 years, where he practices table tennis and studies to be a genie himself - only to discover a surprising truth.

"Ping-Pong Ambition is a fun take on the genie-who-gives-three-wishes story. The tropes are familiar, but the light tone and twist ending make this an entertaining read." The Fix, Jan. 27, 2008

"Ping Pong Ambition by Larry Hodges was a great, quick read. The story squeezes ten thousand years into one thousand as the main character, Toby, finds himself trapped inside the tiny walls of a ping pong ball after having his wish granted by a wizard. I loved the voice of Toby and the description of the passing years. However, it amuses me most that, the sport was ping pong. You don’t see that much and it makes me smile." Review at AnthologyBuilder.com
Forever Underfoot Afterburn SF September, 2007 For billions of years, two tiny gnome-like creatures have run the devices that keep the universe running - time, gravity, light, entropy, etc. However, a terrible accident and a clumsy human cop lead to disaster. Can the one surviving gnome save the universe from eternal limbo while learning the truth about himself and the universe?
Men Sin Capital M May, 2006 Capital M is the official magazine of Metropolitan Washington Mensa. I sent it to them since the story centers around a Mensa meeting. (Mensa is an organization for people with IQs in the top 2% of the population.) A Star Trek parody.
First Cat Twisted Cat Tales

Seeing Around Corners Anthology

Cat Futures and Other Feline Fiction

 February, 2006

Fall, 2010


April, 2012

 What happens when Earth is attacked by interdimensional beings, and the only one who can save the planet is the befuddled U.S. president's temporarily super-intelligent cat?
A Conscienscious Genie in a Ping-Pong World Table Tennis Today March/April, 1993 This was the only story I wrote during my 14-year break from writing fiction. 

What happens if you are playing ping-pong, and the ball breaks, and a genie comes out? Why, you get three wishes. Just be careful what you wish for as the genie might misunderstand.

     Then there was that 14-year break from writing science fiction & fantasy. . . .
Dead Mass Beyond

Space Westerns 

Issue #19, 1991

Oct. 2009

 When your ship is out of power, and you absolutely have to get going in a hurry or everyone's going to die, what do you do? Ma to the rescue!!!
Rude Awakening Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Summer 1990 A short "flash" piece. After you die, if you want to be frozen and revived by future generations, better think things through!
Time to Diet Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Spring 1990 My name is on the cover! A dieting story about a flying carpet pilot with an impossible problem.

"We lost a good production assistant over this story, she thought it was insulting to every fat person in the audience. What do you think? As a diabetic, I'm a perpetual dieter, so I loved this." -Marion Zimmer Bradley in table of contents

Nuts and Bolts

Owlflight Magazine

Fall, 1989

What do you do when your telekinetic computer declares war on you?

Gremlin Gambits

 

 Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy

Reprinted in a German Anthology

 Summer 1989

Spring, 1991

 My name is on the cover! The life of a writer when his computer is infected with practical-joking gremlins. (Hint: You'll need peanut butter.)

"Don't we all wish the writer's life was this easy! But this chap had his own troubles, even with a magical word processor - jkjkjkjkjkjkjkjkjk." -Marion Zimmer Bradley in table of contents
Falling Apart Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Winter 1989 The "Featured Story"! A sorcerer's apprentice goes where he's not supposed to go, and literally falls apart. How will he put himself back together again?

"This story is indescribable - anything I said would have the words, but not the music. We all laughed until we thought our heads would fall off. Read it and see if you agree."
-Marion Zimmer Bradley in table of contents
Old Tuna Dark Starr Sold March 1989; magazine closed before publication When the world is conquered by aliens, what happens to the family cat?
The Fish That Roared Starsong Magazine January 1989 Never published
Horse Dreams Atrocity Magazine December 1988 What do horses dream about?
Fiction & Non-Fiction

Articles

1612 published articles in 149 different publications (circa November, 2015)
Books (10) Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions (coming January, 2016, from World Weaver Press)
The Spirit of Pong, May, 2015
Sorcerers in Space, November, 2013
Pings and Pongs: The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of Larry Hodges, 2010, my 30 best published stories
Table Tennis Tips, May, 2014

Table Tennis Tactics for Thinkers, February, 2013

Table Tennis Tales & Techniques, 2009

Professional Table Tennis Coaches Handbook, 2009, Revised 2013
Table Tennis: Steps to Success, 1993; revised 2006; 28,000 copies sold, in six languages
Instructor's Guide to Table Tennis, 1989; revised 2000