T. H. Mercer
Former engineer. Occasional cyborg. Storyteller.
T. H. Mercer writes humane, wry speculative fiction — near-future stories where things get hard and people rise to meet them, built on competence, care, and making amends through action.
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.
The fiction lives in the gap between what a system does and what a person needs. Characters who understand the rules, see the exits, and choose the harder way anyway.
If you’ve ever dog-eared a Pratchett for the footnotes, or stayed up past midnight with Scalzi, Martha Wells, Becky Chambers, or the Expanse, you’ll probably feel at home here.
New here? Start with the free stories on Writing — every one reads free, right now. A few essays live there too.
The mailing list is where I say when there’s a new story out, and new subscribers get the short story Pest Control as a PDF and ePUB to keep.
Publications
Moral Arithmetic
Four stories about the quiet decisions people make when the systems they serve stop deserving them.
Relay
Mara finds people who don't want to be found — her newest job is hiding a whistleblower carrying a piece of the machine that runs London.
Available now
-
Buy anthologyGood 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.
-
Buy anthologySpin
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Buy anthologyFlinch
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.
-
Buy anthologyFluffy, 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
-
Coming soon · November 2026
Golden Boot
in The Wyrd, Wyrd World of Sports
Raconteur Press November 2026
At sixteen, Teo signed a Wyrd contract, and now he can't miss on the pitch, not even on purpose. It's taken all the joy out of the game. Then he picks up a pickleball paddle and rediscovers what it means to be bad at something.
-
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.
-
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.