Flashes From the Verse

Last Date Night in the Valley

He’d wanted to take her to a fancy restaurant in Corpus Christi, but with her last class of the day letting out at 7:30 p.m., she’d balked at the six hour round-trip just to eat raw shrimp from a champagne glass.

Photo by Aly Ramirez / Unsplash

About the Author

Daniel Verastiqui is a science fiction author based in Austin, Texas. He is currently writing The Vinestead Anthology, a series of standalone novels set in a shared universe where virtual reality, synthetic humans, and one very powerful corporation keep making everything worse. His latest book, House of Nepenthe, released in June 2026.

Learn more →

Only the Quiet Remains

A farewell to my friend and canine writing partner. If you've recently lost one of your own, this one may be worth skipping.

A/S/L, Says the State of Texas

Thirty years ago, you could answer that question with whatever lie you wanted. That was what made the internet awesome.

HJ Talks to AV

Technology has grown far beyond the cookie-cutter experience of your grandparents and into a realm where knowledge rules and strength is no longer determined by the size of a man’s muscles but by the size of his brain.

Friday Footnotes - 6.26.26

Welcome to Friday Footnotes, a new series intended to fill the void when I've spent too much time writing fiction and too little time writing a new thoughtful blog post for you.