It’s been a busy week for me, so it’s no surprise my short story selections are…well, short.  In trying to meet the deadline for my short story reading quota, I found myself scrolling down to check the length of a story before I committed.  It’s kind of a lesson for me as a writer, actually.  I tend to write pretty long short stories.  And while longer stories are fun to read and the author usually has a little more room for world-building, I’m sure I’m not the only reader who checks the length of a story before committing.  Just something I’m thinking about as I’m contemplating my 11,000-word-and-growing behemoth that’s squatting on my desk.

Anyway, here are this week’s stories listed in chronological order as discovered and read:

17.  “The Gift,” by Christie Yant (Crossed Genres) Oh, man…they know not what they do!

18.  “Fame & Blowing Bubbles” by K.S. Riggin (Crossed Genres) This was a fun read.  I really enjoyed the protagonist’s voice in this one.

19.  “Dying With Her Cheer Pants On” by Seanan McGuire (Apex Magazine) I’m a big fan of Seanan’s blog, and her confident voice is very recognizable in this one.  I like reading stories where I feel I’m in good hands.  Plus, she always has great titles. 🙂

20.  “Snipe Hunting” by Jennifer Brozek (Apex Magazine) This story and “Dying With Her Cheer Pants On” came from the urban-legend-themed issue of Apex Magazine…and I love this particular urban legend.  Those snipes are slippery little devils….

21.  “The Caretaker of the Volcano” by Christopher James (Every Day Fiction) This had the feel of a parable…but was moving all the same.

22.  “Embolism” by Chaiti  Sen (Every Day Fiction) This one made me cry.  I miss my husband.

23.  “The Chase” by Ken Liu (Every Day Fiction) “Baby, you’ll be famous, chase you down until you love me, Papa-paparazzi….”  (That’s Lady Gaga for those of you who live under a rock… ;))  Fun read.  Liked the larger-than-life metaphor.

24.  “Hit and Miss” by M. Jacobo (Every Day Fiction) Very cool angle.  Very cool story.

25.  “Our Father” by Deborah Winter-Blood (Every Day Fiction) Another mini-tear-jerker.

Good round of stories this week.  Still five stories behind in my read-a-short-story-every-day quest, but that’s okay.  I’ll catch up somewhere along the line.

By the way, to anyone who happens to have a superhero story laying around, Cross Genres is taking submissions for their superhero-themed March issue…but you gotta hurry!  Submissions close for this issue January 31st — that’s tomorrow — at 11:59 p.m.

Next week I will try to read a short story from a different new-to-me market every day, broaden my wee horizons.  But not tonight.  Baby is piling up all the clean laundry on the dog’s head.  Just his snout is sticking out.  I should probably go rescue him.