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.