Rance D. Denton
Husband. Son. Cat-dad. Dog-dad. Self-professed synthwave addict. Podcaster. Moonlighting actor. Historical reenactor. Martial artist.
Rance came to terms with his exhaustive relationship with endless projects, and somewhere along the line, decided it was probably best for him to tell some stories. His poetry, prose, academic publications, and journalism can be found littering the Internet like time-bombs. He has also served as the editor of an anthology titled Through the Veil: Stories of Monsters and Hidden Worlds, Inside and Out.
Rance lives in Baltimore, MD with his lovely partner and mountains of debt.
SHORT STORIES
"Matryoshka." Through the Veil: Stories of Monsters and Hidden Worlds, Inside and Out. ed. Dewi Hargreaves & Rance Denton. 3 January 2023.
(Short / Science Fiction) A space-faring know-nothing ends up discovering a dark and festering secret on what should end up being a routine mission to the Moon.
"The Dismembered." Experimementos. ed. Joshua Szymanowski. 14 April 2015.
(Short / Experimental) This experimental anthology, in which authors' works are split into pieces and then scattered and mixed up into other contributors' works to create whole new poems and stories, features a healthy portion of Rance D. Denton's writing in "The Dismembered."
"The Extinctionists." Bronies: For the Love of Ponies. Kazka Press. ed. L. Lambert Lawson. May 2012.
(Short / Science-Fiction) Argyle and Hyde, a pair of intergalactic mercenaries known as extinctionists, are contracted to eliminate all life from a newly-discovered planet. Neither of them know that it may be the last contract they're able to perform.
"Six Dollars." Clever. January 2012.
(Flash Fiction / Literary) A young writer meets with her boyfriend one final time over coffee, denying everything for her stories – even a future of love.
"The Replacement." Kazka Press. ed. L. Lambert Lawson. 1 January 2012.
(Flash Fiction / Fantasy) Martine and her family await the yearly coming of It. She can’t celebrate the creature's arrival, however, for she fears she may become the nameless beast's next meal.
"All His Things in a Bag," "Subimago," and "All God's Pilgrims." Campaigner Challenges 2011. ed. Rachael Harrie and Katharina Gerlach.
(Flash Fiction) An anthology featuring the work of various authors, including three stories by Rance Denton.
"Spiderblue Vacation." Anobium vol 2. ed. Benjamin D. van Loon. February 2012.
(Fiction / Literary) Three punk rockers discover their fame in the wrong ways, only to realize they've lost everything that makes them unique.
ACADEMIC RESEARCH
"Most Distant and Most Dear": Clausewitzian Conflicts in Kipling's Barrack-Room Ballads. War, Literature & the Arts vol. 27. 2015.
ABSTRACT: Carl Von Clausewitz's On War, published in 1832, established the soldier as an entity forced to exist in a double life: as citizen and soldier; as a tool of war and a keeper of peace. This study seeks to prove these conflicting identities through an examination of Rudyard Kipling's Barrack-Room Ballads (1892). Kipling's lyrical depictions of soldier-life define men as both heroes and pariahs, and though his poems are mostly fictional, Kipling's writing supports Clausewitz's belief that a soldier must occupy a number of psychological roles – and invariably suffer emotional, social, and mental distress as a result.
Additionally, this paper speculates – through analysis of the literature – that these mental bifurcations may even plant the seeds of combat-related PTSD.
"Secrets of Sex and Innocence in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure: A Profile of Purity Using Three Common Philosophies." Colonial Academic Alliance Undergraduate Research Journal issue 2 vol. 7. 11 November 2011.
ABSTRACT: John Cleland’s 1749 text Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure has squeezed its way into popular culture by bringing to life the risqué sexual adventures of its female protagonist, Fanny Hill. To the narrator, sexuality is a tool of survival and influence. Deeper readings into Memoirs reveal underlying threads of purity and virginity, which, despite her sexual encounters, Fanny constantly strives to retain.
By analyzing common works of human and social philosophy – specifically those of John Locke, Sigmund Freud, and Jeremy Bentham – the paper scrutinizes Fanny as a paragon of innocence regardless of her actions. While taking into consideration the historical context of Fanny’s profession – specifically its social implications – empirical, psychoanalytic, and utilitarian theories are used to reappraise the common indictment of Fanny as a mere sex symbol. The works of Locke, Freud, and Bentham are employed to label her as an empowered female figure whose origins are causal of her sexual activity, and who gradually rehabilitates herself through sex to retain purity in the context of eighteenth-century social ideologies.
EDITORIAL
"Civil War reenactor: Confederate flag is a symbol of hate that goes beyond history." New York Daily News. 7 July 2015.
An op-ed article that discusses the volatile implications of the Confederate battle flag in its modern context. "Symbols carry a plethora of interpretations, and it's our responsibility to recognize their weight as they've been altered, misused, or even glorified throughout a tumultuous century-and-a-half."