Jump, Gig, and Rig

A gripping triptych of novellas, Jump, Gig, and Rig serves as a mirror reflecting our present-day struggles with the nature of work, the grasp of capitalism, and the scars of trauma.

Puddle-Jumper: Nathan's pirates the future's technologies for avaricious corporations. His adventures through time stealing, destroying, and even killing illuminate how the essence of a person can be reshaped by the demands of their job.

Commuter: Ride along with a Gen Z freelancer whose typical day involves more than just running errands-it's about battling beasts in a society that values profit over people, and holding a mirror to the modern world's indifference to life.

Rig and Spool: In a distant future where humans are not only an endangered species, but are prized for their warlike nature and resilience to trauma, Nora's weaves through the chaos of battle toward the possibility of peace.

Jump, Gig, and Rig isn't just a series of stories-it's a provocative look at the human condition under the pressure of societal forces. With its darkly imaginative premises and deep human insight, this collection is a must-read for anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the stars-and within ourselves.

Daniel Jose Ruiz is an educator and writer from Los Angeles. Like most others, he can't claim LA as his birthplace; he's a transplant too, but he's been here for more than half his life, so that should count for something, right? He is a native Texan although he only lived there for a few years, but at least if he ends up back there, he can get those cool Native Texan license plates.He is a graduate of the CalArts MFA program in Creative Writing and he is a dedicated Anteater, having earned both his BA and MA in English from UCI. He is a tenured Professor of English at Los Angeles City College, and trust me, he is damn proud to be there. He is married to the absolutely underappreciated visual artist Flavia Zuniga-West-Ruiz, and the father of the completely adorable Prometeo and the newly arrived Artemisia Chelo. He spends most of his time with them.He is an absolute geek, and not in that ironic way that is cool right now. No, he's just a geek that loves tabletop war games like Warhammer 40,000, RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, and video games of all varieties. He sucks now at multiplayer, which hurts his heart quite a bit.Daniel doesn't believe in genre much, so he writes whatever comes to mind, whether that be Poetry, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, or Literary Fiction. It's all just stories to him, and he tries to tell good ones, and he tries to make sure there are brown boys, girls, and folk in between inside of them because it felt pretty lonely reading all those stories that never had them. He is an older millennial, so he sucks at the whole social media thing, but he's learning.