T. H. Mercer
Former engineer. Occasional cyborg. Storyteller.
T. H. Mercer writes speculative fiction about the tension between cold systems and the people caught inside them — near-future stories where the stakes are human and the machinery is indifferent.
I have always been a creator. Sometimes stories. Sometimes worlds. Sometimes software. Software was the most lucrative, so I did it for years. This is me coming back.
My actual work has always been translation — between humans and technology, between what a system does and what a person needs. The fiction lives in that same gap. Characters who understand the rules, see the exits, and choose anyway.
If you’ve ever dog-eared a Pratchett for the footnotes, or stayed up past midnight with Scalzi or Martha Wells or the Expanse, you’ll probably feel at home here.
New here? Start with the free stories and essays on Writing, or go straight to the debut collection below.
The mailing list is where I say when there’s a new story out.
Publications
Moral Arithmetic
Four stories about the quiet decisions people make when the systems they serve stop deserving them.
Available now
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Buy anthologyThe Woodsboro Correspondence
in Slayer
Dragon Soul Press August 2026
Calvin Rourke writes an apologetic letter about strange happenings in his home, not realizing that he himself is the strange thing happening.
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Buy issueWorking As Intended
in Space & Time
Authortunities Press August 2026 · Issue No. 153
El treats creation like shipped code — until an angel shows up with an incident report he didn't see coming.
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Buy collectionFlinch
in Forgotten Fronts Wyrd Warfare
Raconteur Press July 2026
Clark sees the shimmer before every shot fired at his squad, but the men who call him a coward don't know what it costs him.
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Buy collectionFluffy, Horror of the Deep
in Pet Monsters
Raconteur Press July 2026
Milo hides a glowing, tentacled creature in his basement from his distracted parents, and learns what it costs to truly see someone.
Coming soon
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Coming soon · September 2026
Spin
in Arcane Intelligence
Raconteur Press September 2026
Heaven and Hell run soul-collection like rival spy agencies, and Ash, a demon case officer, is sent to catch the honest angel leaking their secrets.
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Coming soon · October 2026
Good Hit
in Hold-My-Beer Heroes
Raconteur Press October 2026
A foam-sword knight who's sure his blade-work makes him genuinely dangerous walks up to a stranger in the dark, calls a clean hit — and discovers the man was never playing.
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Coming soon · December 2026
Mangoes in Alaska
in Space & Time
Authortunities Press December 2026 · Issue No. 157
Ionie's family has one joke about impossible hope — her niece is about to test it, in a dome full of green.
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Coming soon · December 2026
Exit Conditions
in Fall 2026 Literary Series
The Ones Behind the Bookshelves December 2026
Priya spends her days finding where two systems disagree — until the friction that keeps her human starts disappearing too.