"And like with lightning during the monsoons, we count the seconds until we hear her voice in return, the brief but enduring tremor she imparts on the bedtime emptying of our world."
This is just so heartbreakingly beautiful. 💙
@joelhans.com in @flashfrog.bsky.social
"...Globe has asked her thousands of piblings and the roadrunners and the mule deer and the jays in the hills to wait until the seventh day of the seventh week, when the first light of starrise touches the glass above our heads, to sigh warmly into the sky."
@joelhans.com @theoffingmag.bsky.social
Gosh, this was just the *most fun story* to write. Took forever, yes, but it was a joy.
Check out Astrolabe! This is a great concept for a magazine & they've published so many award-winning stories! Scroll around the landing page & check out all the gorgeous work!
EIC @joelhans.com & @astrolabe.ooo
This week we're focusing on stories in khōréō!
We love this magazine & have a big list of stories to share! Please join us in reading these gems!
Huge thanks to @emelkrishnan.bsky.social & @danaiwrites.bsky.social & the magazine staff for their help curating our list!
@khoreo.bsky.social
Suuuuper excited to have been invited to an @electricsheepsf.bsky.social discussion. See yous all at the weekend!
"There’s stuff online every day, calling me an angel, a saviour. That’s the stuff I believe."
Love this approach to climate fiction - big attitude, lots of satisfaction.
@slashnburnett.bsky.social in @unchartedmag.bsky.social
"... to reflect the current shitstorm now that plastic everywhere is basically disappearing? -Kinoko"
Smart use of form and humor in this searing flash!
@slashnburnett.bsky.social in @flashfictiononline.bsky.social
Another beautifully realized story from emma burnett - looking forward to talking with emma this week at E Sheep!
@slashnburnett.bsky.social
"Miriam was fourteen when the food in her mouth turned to ash."
Utterly heartbreaking, beautifully written. @slashnburnett.bsky.social in @mythaxis.bsky.social
"Sell you a card? someone calls out from an alleyway. Change your life."
Love the transformation!
@slashnburnett.bsky.social in Northern Gravy!
From the author's note: "We can’t look away from one evil act when confronted with another. We need to tackle them head-on, in the hopes that we don’t reenact them."
I hope you can take a few moments to read this story. @slashnburnett.bsky.social in @mythaxis.bsky.social 💔
If you've enjoyed this week's stories by @slashnburnett.bsky.social, be on the lookout for emma's upcoming novella, EX PARTUM!
@atthisarts.com
This week's featured author is emma burnett! @slashnburnett.bsky.social
First up is "Bone-Eater Earth" in @unchartedmag.bsky.social!
"Clearly it takes a techbro to fix the important problems."
Ha!
“Commander Maeb Len knows that, more than anything, an army needs hope in order to struggle onward. They need a vision to fight for and faith that the future will be better than the past. Better than the present.”
@clclark.bsky.social in @bcsmagazine.bsky.social!
This is going to be a great meeting! @clclark.bsky.social @electricsheepsf.bsky.social
“With my eyes closed, I see: constellations of my future—the hero, the lover, the companions, the enemies to slay.”
Love the expertise on display in this story! @clclark.bsky.social in @uncannymagazine.bsky.social !
This week’s guest is C.L. Clark! We’ll focus on the craft of short stories vs longer works – and getting them published. Huge thanks to C.L. for taking time to talk with us!
@clclark.bsky.social
“The air is birdsong and honeysuckle and the electric touch of approaching thunderstorms, and I can almost imagine myself happy here.”
February Moon by Josh Rountree in Beneath Ceaseless Skies!
@joshrountree.bsky.social @bcsmagazine.bsky.social
“Night sits heavy against the harvested fields as my bones stir beneath the soil. They find one another, grind together, and take shape as I inhabit that old skin and prepare to play my part once again.”
Another lush story from Josh Rountree!
@joshrountree.bsky.social @thedeadlands.com
“The witch hunter caught up with me along the banks of the Guadalupe River. He was barely old enough to grow a moustache, and I figured my husband had paid him half of what he would’ve paid someone with more experience.”
Loved this!
@joshrountree.bsky.social @bcsmagazine.bsky.social
“They step so softly they appear to drift above the graves. Bones bright as blades in the moonlight.”
Josh Rountree in Pseudopod!
@joshrountree.bsky.social @pseudopod.org
This week’s guest is Josh Rountree! We’ll look at several short stories & his novella SUMMER IN THE HOUSE OF THE DEPARTED!
@joshrountree.bsky.social @psychopomp.com
What a story! Can't wait to talk about it with @aimeeogdenwrites.com and the @electricsheepsf.bsky.social gang!
Haven't shared this for a while. If you provide recs, reviews, news, or commentary about SPECULATIVE SHORT STORIES, I'm happy to add you!
This week's guest is Helen McClory!
First up is "The Companion" in Wigleaf!
"At this time of day, the risk of attack was minimal, and all she had was that noise, that taste, the treachery beneath, and the cold air around."
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @wigleaf.bsky.social
"The sound was high and wrenching. There was a strong, wild smell now. She and I stood watching the second wave of the storm as it broke, droplets spattering, dense as white oil."
Love the relationship amid the storm!
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @wigleaf.bsky.social
"I want to tell you about this other film I saw, one night when you were out sticking twigs in your hair and shoving your hand into the mouths of foxes, you dank, fleshy monster."
Every bit of this story is unexpected! And sharp as a snakebite.
@helenmcclory.bsky.social in Winter Tangerine!
