Short Fiction Round-Up #68

I apologize for the delay in this post. Normally it goes up the first Monday of the month, rounding up all the previous month's short fiction I suggested. I normally write the post the weekend before that first Monday. Unfortunately, I had a major power outage at my home, limiting my ability to do things like blog posts. 

Hopefully this November you're still in the mood for creepy because October is the spooky month and I focused on that, for the most part. Not all of these stories are horror or dreadful, but they are all speculative under my SFF/H umbrella that I enjoy. I've sorted them by magazine. Enjoy!

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Recipe by Tina S. Zhu was published by Fireside Fiction in September. It's a 500-word piece and I love the format!

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Strange Horizons published

Survivors by Elizabeth H. Hopkinson in 2005. I enjoyed this 1400-word reflection upon mental illness and Alzheimers/senility.

​12 Things a Trini Should Know Before Travelling to a Back in Times Fete™ by R.S.A. Garcia in October.  Fantastic time travel 1800-word story. This one is going to show up in my Newsletter. 

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Ej-Es by Nancy Kress was published by Lightspeed Magazine in 2010. This 7200-word story reflects on how we see and treat disease.

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In October, the Future Fire published

AITA for throwing away my wife’s haunted dolls? by Annika Barranti Klein, a truly creepy AITA the length of a reedit post.

​Spindle House by Jennifer Hudak, short story about a coven of witches and an elderly woman and her son-in-law.

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Footnotes from “Phosphates, Nitrates and the Lake A Incident: A Review.” by Mari Ness was published by Reckoning in August. A story told as a numbered list, I love well-done non-traditional story formats!

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The Arcanist published

Door to Door Detaial by Michael James in September. This short had good creeping dread factor.

Treat Me Like the Sea by Taylor Rae in September. Another creeping dread one about what we give of ourselves.

We Watch the Nimble Dancers by Megan W. Shaw in October. This one was so bittersweet!

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Hunger by Ai Jiang was published in The Martian Magazine in October. This is a flash piece about making monsters.

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kaleidotrope published

The History Eaters by Marissa James is a surreal short story.

Lisa's Garden by Jennifer Hudak is a short story about emotion and expression.

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Some Drink to Remember by Julie Reeser was published by The Dread Machine in July. Beautifully written with the dread of why these patrons were drinking.

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Diabolical Plots published 

​October's Wedding of the Month by Emma McDonald in 2016. This story bothered me and it's part of the appeal.

Estelle and the Cabbage's First Night Together by Amy Johnson is a story that invites reflection that we may not want to do.