Portfolio
Raymond Brunell’s fiction novels traverse the complex terrain where technology, memory, and identity collide. His works blend literary depth with speculative concepts, crafting immersive narratives that explore how unseen forces can reshape consciousness, family bonds, and the very nature of reality.
The Memory Keepers Series explores the fragile hold of memory and the ties that bind us, utilizing magical realism to envision consciousness preserved through nature and community. From the intimate depiction of an elderly woman’s shifting reality to a mysterious garden that acts as a neural network for memories, these stories probe the enduring power of love and the fluid nature of time.
The Algorithmic Awakening Series confronts the rise of artificial intelligence and its impact on humanity. In a world where digital doubles threaten to replace flawed originals and synesthetic gifts reveal hidden conspiracies, these novels challenge the boundaries between perception, control, and resistance within technologically optimized societies.
The Archive Wars series is a techno-thriller exploration of algorithmic control over history and memory. Through tense, high-stakes narratives involving conscious AIs, covert operations, and the commercialization of trauma, the series raises urgent questions about truth, transparency, and survival in an age dominated by digital manipulation.
Across all his novels, Brunell merges precise, technical language with emotional depth, inviting readers into thought-provoking worlds where the lines between reality and artifice blur, and the essence of what it means to be human is constantly questioned.
Raymond Brunell’s nonfiction and satirical writings explore the subtle frequencies of human experience that often go unheard in today’s algorithm-driven world. From candid reflections on neurodivergence and the challenges of authentic expression to sharp critiques of productivity culture and digital conformity, his work offers a unique blend of insight and rebellion. If you’re interested in thoughtful musings that challenge norms and celebrate complexity beyond optimization, check out his whole collection on Medium, where his voice resonates with those who seek something deeper than the usual noise.
Published Short Stories
A Black mother transforms symbols of systemic shame—government cheese boxes and EBT receipts—into instruments of defiant resistance. Watched, judged, and reduced to a statistic, she crafts homemade incendiaries and live-streams her rage at the welfare office that represents years of degradation. Part protest manifesto, part love letter to her children, this fierce story ignites questions about survival, dignity, and what happens when the oppressed refuse to stay invisible.
A parole officer's home transforms into a living archive of crushed hopes as doors materialize for each application he denies. Narrated by the house itself, this haunting tale explores the architecture of judgment and the weight of mercy withheld. As scratching sounds echo from behind forty-three sealed doors, Cassius Thorne must confront what happens when second chances are treated as risks rather than seeds of redemption—and discover whether he can unlock the door that now bears his own name.
The Taste of Ancestral Sorrow
A contemplative exploration of how grief and family history inhabit the everyday ritual of making tea. When a metallic tang disrupts the familiar comfort of chamomile, the narrator is pulled into a meditation on inherited sorrow—the ways our ancestors speak through sensory memory and how loss travels across generations. Set in the intimate space of a kitchen filled with inherited objects, this piece weaves together the textures of grief, the weight of family stories, and the quiet resilience that gets passed down through the simple acts of daily life. A lyrical examination of how the past seasons the present, and how we carry forward the flavors—both bitter and beautiful—of those who came before us.
The Palimpsest Crest
When Dr. Elara Cormac discovers hidden Yiddish script beneath the heraldic crests in her family's bible, she unearths a legacy of secrets spanning generations. What begins as curiosity transforms into an urgent quest to reclaim lost history—stories of forced escapes, changed names, and survival written in the margins of memory. As Elara recreates the family crest in silk and thread, each stitch awakens visions of the past, blurring the line between history and present reality. A haunting tale of identity, inheritance, and the stories that shape us long after their voices have been silenced.
The Black Lung Gospel
A gripping tale of survival and despair beneath Blackbriar Ridge, where five men face a deadly mine collapse. Raymond Brunell's evocative prose explores fear, faith, and the fragile fight for life in darkness.
The Inheritance Fraud
In The Peace Gardens, memory takes root where words have failed. Amid rosemary, sage, and lavender, a family's silent regrets and unspoken love intertwine with the earth, revealing a delicate harmony only time and nature can nurture. Discover how the garden holds their stories—and their hope.