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.
