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If you’re not into any kind of writing, then this is highly likely to not be the blog for you.

Ya think???

How and Why Does Writing Speak to Us?

The written word is something that we have in common with the ancient Egyptians, with people on the other side of the planet, and with celebrities who we will never meet.

Fiction writing, in particular, bridges gaps in the world, and through time. Have you ever read something written by an author who is long dead?

Whether it’s Jane Eyre or The Art of War, we can hear the author’s voice as we read (and yes, I am well aware that The Art of War isn’t fiction. I’m kind of tired, okay?).

But I digress.

Independent Writers Do It All

When we do it well, and we do it right, the indie author wears many hats. Researcher. Editor. Planner. Marketer. Cover artist (or at least hirer of the cover artist). Bookkeeper. Advertiser. Tax Preparer.

Indy writing is a small business. So, like it or not, you’ve got to know these things, or be able to hire someone who does.

Past, Present, and Future Authoring

One of the best things about authoring is the concept of eternity. Now, I don’t honestly expect anything I write to end up being studied in college or becoming movie fodder. But it is still there, and it can be there forever if you can (and are willing to) preserve it.

This is why I encourage publishing, by the way, even if you never make a dime.

Eternity.

Self-Review – Miss Milky Way

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Self-Review – Miss Milky Way

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on April 21, 2026

It is Time for a Review of Miss Milky Way

Here she comes, Miss Milky Way…

Okay, maybe not that, exactly.

I wrote this story during the third quarter of 2018. But I do not believe there was any sort of prompt for it.

Background

The whole idea of an alien civilization requiring us to somehow pass a kind of test is not new to me. In that way, the plot of this one is rather similar to A Show for the Galaxy.

I suppose it comes from the standard nightmare of being suddenly thrust into a situation where you are taking a test with no preparation. But here, naturally, the stakes are even higher.

Plot

If beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, then what happens if that eye just so happens to belong to a sapient non-human species?

With a lot of the usual weirdness that goes on in beauty pageants, there’s only one small problem in the contest to crown a new Miss Milky Way. It’s really tiny.

I probably shouldn’t even bother mentioning it.

What is it?

The losers will have their home planets destroyed.

Not even the runner-up to Miss Milky Way will be able to save her planet.

Characters

The characters are Earth competitor Kristi Smithers; Baenifa, who has glittery scales; Divix, who has lobster-like claws; Baenifa, who has glittery scales; Hruvna, who has numerous feather-like skin tags; and Kyiya, a jellyfish with a methane tank which she breathes from.

Then there are a number of contests who I do not name. One is composed entirely of vapor; another looks like a wolf on two legs; a third looks like a large eggplant with feet. Plus, there are a number of other contestants from other worlds in our galaxy.

Memorable Quotes from Miss Milky Way

“They’re all beautiful, ladies and gentlemen and intersex and non-gendered beings. Let’s all give them a round of applause!”

Applause was a relative term. Sometimes it was like human clapping. At other times, it was like whale songs or clicking or humming. Some of it was silent, and achieved by waiting. Such were the many ways the attendees at the first-ever Interstellar Pageant – at least it was the first one where Earth had sent a contestant – showed their appreciation.

The pride of Bayonne, Kristi Smithers, took it all in, smiling her best pageant smile, the one she had used since she was a child going to toddler pageants and sweeping those awards. Victory was all but assured. The Solar System pageant had been a piece of cake – as if she ever ate cake. This level would be no different.

Smile! Genre and Overall Mood for Miss Milky Way

The genre is science fiction. The mood runs the gamut from silly and cheerful to tense to defiant.

Rating for Miss Milky Way

The story has a K+ rating. A lot of this story is lighthearted and kind of silly. But the consequences of losing the pageant are rather frightening, and they are very, very final.

Takeaways

I like Kristi, who has spunk and heart and is a lot like the USO kick line character in Guilty of Imperfection, Jennifer Wesley. But unlike Jennifer, Kristi has a chance to stop things early.

And the best part about how Kristi can turn the tables is by scrapping the idea of a competition completely. So, the key to victory is to cooperate with the competition.

For the glittering prize of becoming the most beautiful woman in the galaxy pales in the face of potentially saving billions of lives. Kristi will take that tradeoff any day of the week.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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Self-Review – Water

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Self-Review – Water

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on April 16, 2026

It is Time to Take a Deep Dive into Water

I really like the idea behind Water, because I fully believe that this is the kind of action while will happen in the future. And, it should be a good story to document such a historical moment.

However, with very little dramatic tension in this story, it would be better as a small scene within a far larger piece.

I wrote this story during the third quarter of 2021.

Background

The original prompt word for this particular short story was just the word that became the title. And, heh, sorry, not sorry about the horrible play on words in the first section.

Plot

There is not too much of a plot to speak of. Still, it is the kind of activity which it makes sense for someone to write about: terraforming.

However, you should contrast this with the plot and overall soul of the far superior Mettle.

Characters from Water

The characters are Jason and Shelley, inventors in the future.

Memorable Quotes

“If this works, we’ll be rich,” said Jason.

“And if not?” asked Shelley.

“Eh, we’re no worse off than before, I guess.”

“How does it work?”

“It grabs hydrogen—the planet’s full of this stuff.”

“But there’s not a lot of oxygen,” she said.

“I know. But we only need half. And if we really need to, we can do little fancy molecular footwork.”

“I won’t pretend that I get the mechanics of it all. But whatever—let’s see if it all really works.”

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is science fiction. The mood is cautiously optimistic.

Rating for Water

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways for Water

Whenever we as a species are truly able to perform this task, I feel that it would be a vital part of our overall development. This is the kind of activity that will be revolutionary. It will thoroughly alter the course of our history.

As such, it deserves a far more subtle and in-depth treatment than in this little throwaway story. Truly, it will be an epic achievement, and this short tale does not do it justice, not by a long short. And that is unfortunate.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Like this:

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Self-Review – It’s Five O’clock Somewhere

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Self-Review – It’s Five O’clock Somewhere

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on April 14, 2026

Time to Look at It’s Five O’clock Somewhere

Of course, many if not all of us have heard the term it’s five o’clock somewhere before. It is always in the context of drinking at some weird hour. For this disturbing short story, that is precisely what is going on.

I wrote this story during the first quarter of 2018.

Background

I wrote something relatively similar to this back when I was writing a lot of fan fiction. But back then, I pulled a lot more punches, and that scene and story ended much more happily. Much, much happier.

Not so this time.

Plot

As the head of a time travel team talks about how time travel should be impossible, she also goes into what is essentially almost the Sapient Timeline theory. The idea about the Sapient Timeline theory is that time travelers are almost off the hook.

That is, that everything will eventually right itself in the end. Is it wishful thinking? Of course it is!

The narrator does not actually refer to it as wishful thinking in so many words. However, she does make it clear that looking at a timeline over the course of millennia does not do a damned bit of good for the people in the here and now.

Characters

The characters are really just the narrator, who supervises her team and her junior engineer. They work as time travelers or to support time travelers.

Memorable Quotes from It’s Five O’clock Somewhere

This is not supposed to be possible. The very thought of it just plain doesn’t work, in a philosophical sense. Yet here we are, and it exists so therefore it must be possible.

Cogito ergo whatever.

I shouldn’t be so flip about it. It’s bloody tragic and depressing is what it is.

Time travel is a beast and a wild invention and I’m glad I’m in charge of our team but at the same time, it’s got collateral damage. I suppose we don’t stop to think of some poor fellow who perishes in Pompeii, AD 79 who wasn’t supposed to. We don’t stop to think of the extra casualty at Antietam or the extra survivor of the Titanic who marries someone and another doesn’t get the opportunity. We don’t think about such things. {Rather,} we just let them go. They all are supposed to just even themselves out over the course of the millennia.

Genre and Overall Mood

It is science fiction. More specifically, it is time travel. And the mood is exceptionally depressing.

Rating for It’s Five O’clock Somewhere

The story has a T rating. The ending is seriously disturbing, and you may want to reach for a bottle of your own once you are done reading. Sorry.

Takeaways

This one is quite the gut punch. And it should remind a reader that there is every reason that time travel, if it is even remotely possible, should be hard to do. Really, really hard to do.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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Self-Review – Freshly Baked Bread

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Self-Review – Freshly Baked Bread

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on April 9, 2026

It is Time to Look at Freshly Baked Bread

Now, I enjoy freshly baked bread about as much as, well, anyone does, I suppose. But I really only get to enjoy it the same way the narrator of this short story does, by making it in a bread machine.

I wrote this story during the third quarter of 2018.

Background

I suspect that the prompt word for this short story was simply the word bread. But I will be the first to admit that I cannot be certain. Ah, well.

Plot for Freshly Baked Bread

The narrator, a young girl from Appalachia, comes from a family where the father does not trust the government at all. She and her parents live in a small cabin with a dirt floor and no running water or electricity.

With a belief system and a mistrust of the government a lot like the Branch Davidians, her parents make it clear: schooling is of the devil and reading is useless because the only things to read are sad and upsetting.

But the narrator, while she does not necessarily know better, at least to start, feels that her life could be different.

When she sees other children in the area going to an unfamiliar building, she joins in one day. Although she does make sure that her parents do not know what she is trying to do, or where she is going.

Since the school is essentially a modern version of a one-room schoolhouse, the teacher can advance her from grade to grade without anyone getting too suspicious. There is no place for the normal bureaucracy that goes along with enrolling a child in school, so that is not an issue.

Which I realize is unrealistic, of course. Normally, I would fix this by simply changing the story to an earlier time in history.

However, I do not want to do that because I would lose the idea of a bread machine, and I would lose the enormous gulf in the narrator’s circumstances between her and the rest of us.

After all, there are photographs that came out of Appalachia during the Great Depression which showed people in her exact, same circumstances. And I do not want to lose the contrast.

Are there still people in her original circumstances? How would we know?

Characters

The only real character is the unnamed narrator, who talks about her family and what happened after she could finally get herself out of a horrible situation.

Memorable Quotes

I suppose for some people it’s their earliest memory or it’s one of the early ones. It’s a homey smell, with the promise of something rich yet light and wholesome. It’s like the smell of incipient satisfaction. And I have never smelled it, until now. But I’ll start from the beginning.

We were poor growing up. Not the genteel poverty of quietly selling off the family jewelry. It also wasn’t the reckless maxing out of credit cards and then robbing Peter to pay Paul and sweet-talking collection agencies to keep them from repossessing the car.

It was different. I grew up in the mountains. There are still some homes without electricity or indoor plumbing. I know because I was brought up in one.

We ate wild game on the good days. On the bad ones, we would forage or make do with whatever was on the already-bare pantry shelves. My father didn’t believe in charity or government handouts, so we got neither. He would rather starve, and so that extended to us, that he would rather see us starve than take a handout.

At least I was an only child. That was most likely the sole bit of good luck my family has ever seen.

When I was six, I realized some nearby children would go someplace during the day. I asked my mother about it, and she said I shouldn’t talk about it anymore. Schools are of the devil, she said, and reading never did anyone any good because the only things to read were sad and painful things.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is contemporary fiction. The mood goes from a recounting of particularly hard times to becoming rather hopeful by the end. And if you have ever, personally, baked bread, you might see a parallel to disparate moments (ingredients, if you will) coming together at the end.

Rating

The story has a K rating. Her circumstances are hard, and she is hit on occasion. Still, I hope the reader can see that her story is moving in a positive direction. She ends up more than all right.

Takeaways (Time to Take that Freshly Baked Bread Out of the Oven)

I am not so certain that I want this character to be yet another genius. But she may very well not be one.

More likely, she is just some student, but she had to overcome incredible odds. She is the kind of person who should gain admittance to a truly great university, based on her resilience alone.

Frankly, as I have reread this story for the writing of this blog post, I have begun to wonder a bit. Like if she might merit her own actual book. Hmm.

And since her mother immediately says the only things to read are sad and upsetting, it gives me pause. Would the mother of the narrator warrant some more background and development?

Double hmm.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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Self-Review – Buzz

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on April 7, 2026

Let’s Look at Buzz

You will not need to get a good buzz on, in order to read about this short story!

I wrote this story during the second quarter of 2018. I believe the title is the prompt word. This seems to be as good a guess as any.

Background

While I cannot recall exactly what I was thinking a good (Egad, really? Yes, really!) seven years ago, the idea of using the term to denote caffeine ingestion is my kind of zig instead of zagging writing.

Plot

A member of a remote religious order loses their place in the community and their home for the unpardonable sin of going out for coffee.

Along with drinking something clearly impure and forbidden, the narrator has left the order’s compound.

And that, quite simply, is never allowed to happen.

A Small Buzz of Characters

The characters are the narrator, who talks about a person they only call the Guru, a barista for the coffee shop (never seen on screen) and at least one other person in the coffee shop.

Memorable Quotes

So I drank way too much coffee this morning and now I might be able to smell colors.

Okay, so I’m kidding about the colors, but I really am wired. Which is kind of odd, because everybody is so mellow at the retreat, so loose and calm. We all reflect, usually silently, and we eat our wholesome raw vegan foods and do yoga and the predominant fashion color choices are white, beige, blush, and saffron.

We are one with the universe.

And now my universe is hopelessly caffeinated.

It all started when I did something wrong, which I will admit to gladly and with no forcing. But we don’t call it wrong there or bad or evil or criminal or anything of the sort. I mean, it’s not horrible in the greater scheme of things, although I can tell the Guru thinks so.

My crime?

I went out for coffee.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is contemporary fiction, I suppose you could say. The mood? It is neutral more than anything else.

Rating for Buzz

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways

I really like the idea of the buzz from coffee waking us all up from our slumbers. And then, with the narrator, waking them up from simply blindly accepting every single little thing that goes on in the unnamed religious order.

In fact, they wake up so much so that they start to realize it was really a cult.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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Self-Review – Killing Us Softly

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on April 2, 2026

Let’s Look at a Short Story, Killing Us Softly

So, Killing Us Softly came from one hard to resist idea, that the alien invasion would come with neither a bang nor a whimper.

Rather, it would come with a sigh.

Of love.

Background

As far as I can tell, there haven’t been any stories about hostiles essentially killing us with kindness and love. Hence Killing Us Softly (named for the Roberta Flack song) follows that conceit.

I originally called the story The Callade Love Us. But the Flack song made a ton more sense to me.

Plot

When we finally get a signal from SETI, it is from the Callade. And they are so friendly that we let our collective guard down quickly. And that’s when things start to go downhill.

Fast.

Characters

The characters are General Susan Sheffield, President Talia Brookfield, and President Elmer Davis, along with Marshall Porter. Sheffield and Porter are scientists at SETI. Of course, Sheffield also has a military background.

Memorable Quotes

Susan stared up at the night sky. The view was off-the-charts spectacular, with more stars than she could possibly ever count. It was one of the perks of being stationed in the middle of the Australian continent.

The downsides were the abysmal shopping and dining choices, but sturdy drones and a trusty helicopter – which she flew herself – fixed all of that. She even had a tiny airfield at her disposal, in case anyone wanted to fly in but choppers gave them the willies.

The new president was gaga over anything to do with space. And so General Susan Sheffield’s agency, SETI, was more handsomely funded than it had ever been in its history.

She had her Bluetooth earpiece in her ear and was listening to a bit of late night radio when she heard the SETI ringtone. It was one special tone, directly linked to the array.

Rating for Killing Us Softly

The story has a K+ rating. While there is nothing explicit, you do know exactly what is going on. And what is going on is none too pleasant.

Killing Us Softly: Upshot

I was so happy Killing Us Softly found an audience. Corner Bar Magazine has published it. They also published Darkness into Light.

Killing Us Softly — because what if it’s not a slam-bang Apocalypse after all?

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then please be sure to check out my other articles about my shorter works.

Short Stories

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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Writing Progress Report – First Quarter 2026

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Writing Progress Report – First Quarter 2026

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 31, 2026

Progress Report – First Quarter 2026

How was first quarter 2026 for writing? So, I spent first quarter 2026 mainly working on completing the November 2025 novel, The Invisible Gang. I did a ton of writing while juggling, well, the rest of my life.

And then in mid-February, my father passed away. This colored a lot of what I was writing, and naturally took up a ton of my time. Which of course I do not mind in the slightest.

First Quarter 2026 Posted Works

First of all, I worked on The Invisible Gang, to finish up the plot and tie up loose ends.

Then on Wattpad I posted nowhere, although I did take note of stats. In particular, there was a rather kind review of Side by Side.

Milestones

Also, I have written over 4.05 million words (fan fiction and wholly original fiction combined, with about 2.26 million words in original writing!). So right now, my stats on Wattpad for wholly original works are as follows:

† Dinosaurs – 46 reads, 11 comments
• How to NaNoWriMo – ended up with 26,183 reads, 340 comments (pulled from Wattpad due to their severing their association with NaNoWriMo)
† My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 1,006 reads, 133 comments
• Revved Up – 59,567 reads, 531 comments
† Side By Side – 29 reads, 2 comments
• Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 17,194 reads, 592 comments
† The Canadian Caper – 542 reads, 37 comments
• The Dish – 260 reads, 24 comments
† There is a Road – 197 reads, 28 comments

Published Works as of First Quarter 2026

Also, I am amassing quite the collection of published works! So, here is everything that has found a home so far.

Untrustworthy, which is my first published novel. So, yay!

A True Believer in Skepticism, published in Mythic Magazine.

Almost Shipwrecked, a story in the January 2019 edition of Empyreome, a site which unfortunately is no more. In addition, this story is now a section within a longer story completed in 2025.

Canaries, a short story in the March 29, 2019, edition of Theme of Absence.

Complications, a story in the Queer Sci Fi Discovery anthology. So, this is an anthology where the proceeds went to supporting the QSF website.

Cynthia and Wilder Bloom, stories in the Longest Night Watch II anthology.

Props, a story in the Longest Night Watch I anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to Alzheimer’s research.

Surprises, a story in Book One of the 42 and Beyond Anthology set.

More Published Works

The Boy in the Band, a story in the Pride Park anthology. So, this is an anthology where the proceeds go to the Trevor Project.

The Interview, the featured story in the December 14, 2018 edition of Theme of Absence. So they even interviewed me!

The Last Patient, a story in the Stardust, Always anthology. This was an anthology where the proceeds go to cancer research.

The Resurrection of Ditte, a story in the Unrealpolitik anthology.

This is My Child, a short story published in the April 8, 2019 edition of Asymmetry Fiction, another site which is no more.

Three Minutes Back in Time, a short story published in Mythic Magazine.

Killing Us Softly, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine.

Darkness into Light, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine.

Plus Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline was published in 2025. You can buy it at Amazon.

There is even a great review of my short story on Amazon: Two of my favorites was actually The House Next Door’ by Trish Wilson and Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline.

The first being a ghost tour type story of Borden house and the second being. Type of what if for me which i cannot stop thinking about.

Hey, I’ll take it.

WIP Corner

In addition, my current WIPs are as follows:

The Obolonk Murders Trilogy – so this one is all about a tripartite society. But who is killing the aliens?

The Enigman Cave – can we find life on another planet and not screw it up? You know, like we do everything else?

The Real Hub of the Universe Trilogy – so the aliens who live among us in the 1870s and 1880s are at war. But why is that?

Mettle – so it is all about how society goes to hell in a hand basket when the metals of the periodic table start to disappear. But then what?

Time Addicts – No One is Safe – so this one is all about what happens in the future when time travel becomes possible via narcotic.

Time Addicts – Nothing is Permanent – this is the second in this trilogy. What happens when time is tampered with and manipulated in all sorts of ways? It is the ultimate in gaslighting, for one thing.

Time Addicts – Everything is Up For Grabs – as the timelines smack together and continue to diverge, it gets harder to tell the “real” timeline from all the newer fake ones. And what if some of the changes are for the better?

More WIPs

The Duck in the Seat Cushion – in the 1960s, MJ Tanner is the only Jewish student in her school in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Navigating antisemitism is one thing. But when her mother abandons the family, MJ’s life gets even more complicated.

The Invisible Gang – Tommie Schellenbach is 63, underemployed, still looking for purpose in life. When her cousin Jackie gets sick with stage 4 breast cancer, Tommie won’t sit idly by. Neither will their friends Lola and Eden.

The economics of uninsured Jackie getting care are a nightmare, until the quartet starts to fix the problem at its source.

By robbing banks.

Prep Work

So, currently, my intention, for my 2026 or 2027 November writing, is to write the third trilogy in the Time Addicts/Obolonks universe. But I need to iron out the plot! So, I will undoubtedly spend some of this year on that. I have no name for this one yet.

For 2022 – 2026 NaNoWriMo/30Day50k events, I have decided to create a prequel for each of the 5 main universes.

These are: Real Hub of the Universe, Obolonks, Time Addicts (while the Obolonks and Time Addicts are in the same universe, I just plain want to write two separate prequels!), Untrustworthy, The Enigman Cave, and Mettle.

In 2022, I wrote the prequels for Time Addicts and The Real Hub of the Universe. For 2023, it was the Untrustworthy prequel and Obolonk prequels. And for 2024, it was the Enigman Cave prequel. The Mettle prequel is set for 2026.

So, I anticipate a lot of fun and perhaps a little confusion. But it is all good!

First Quarter 2026 Queries and Submissions

The older ones have moved. You can find them on my Publishing Stats page.

It has been quiet. But that has been by design. Right now, I just plain do not feel like putting myself out there these days. There, I said it.

In Progress

As of first quarter 2026, nothing is in the running for publishing.

I have updated the Submissions Grinder and know that, at some point, I will have to get back up on that horse.

But not yet….

First Quarter 2026 – Most Popular Posts and Pages

And, if it interests you, here are the five most popular posts and/or pages from this site!

† Getting Story Ideas – tops for clicks
• Dialogue Tags — How to Use them the Right Way – best for impressions
† Self-Review: Time Addicts: No One is Safe – best for average clickthrough rate for more than one click
• Writing Progress Report – Fourth Quarter 2025 – at #1 position although admittedly for a not so popular keyword phrase
† Set Dressing—Visual Cues in Writing – best all around with more than one “best-of” designation

I currently look at the following metrics:

† Clicks
• Impressions
† Clickthrough Rate
• Position

In addition, self-reviews of the following somewhat newer blog posts all showed up with stats this quarter:

† Community Management – Are Off Topic Posts Ever Okay?
• How Online Community Managers Can Follow Corporate Requirements Yet Go With the Flow
† Putting the Brakes on the AI Hype Train

First Quarter 2026 – Productivity Killers

My biggest priority had been my father. I went to see him twice during this quarter and the second time ended up being for his death and subsequent funeral. He was 94 years old when he passed, almost exactly three years after my mother.

In addition, at the end of January, we got over a foot of snow. And the truth is, that runs your life, because we had to shovel our (no lie) seven car length driveway.

It is more than just time-consuming. It is also an act that fries your brain after a while. Therefore, snow shoveling days were usually sparse when it came to creativity.

Then we had another major snowfall in February, when I was sick and then my husband was. So, again, there was a lot of mind-numbing shoveling to do. At least March eased up.

So, it was also looking for work. First quarter 2026 is most certainly not the end of that.

Also, I have been kicking around self-publishing for quite a while. And I just might have an idea to get it underway. But this will take a while…

Querying and Publishing Stats
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Self-Review – Canaries

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 26, 2026

Review – Canaries

I can scarcely recall how I got the idea for Canaries. It is entirely possible I had recently heard the Police song, Canary in a Coal Mine. But I will be the first to admit it: I am not sure.

Background

The great battle for the Earth is over. And – spoiler alert, sorry, not sorry – we lost. So, what do we do now?

The Plot of Canaries

The first paragraph contains one of my favorite phrases to write. And yes, I have used it before. But it still works.

“… when they came.”

It is obvious there has been some sort of a disaster. And we humans types are not doing so well. Nope. Not at all.

But there is an opportunity out there. We just need to figure out how to seize it.

Characters

The characters are the narrator mainly, along with the birds she (he?) has brought along. The narrator references other people, but the reader never really “meets” them. Plus there are the birds he or she is carrying, in a cage.

But where are they?

Memorable Bits

The first night, in the big common room, their twittering kept people up. People complained, yes, but no one threatened me or the birds. After all, there are so few of us. To harm or threaten one of us is to threaten all of us.

I carried my cage wherever I went on the ship. I got to see what other people had brought along. One woman had a glass bottle of expensive perfume, wrapped in layers and layers of plastic. She told me she had been wealthy back on Earth. It was all she had from her glory days. So she understood why I had brought the birds.

Rating for Canaries

The story has a K rating.

Upshot or, Birds to the Rescue?

It was so great to hear Canaries would be published in Theme of Absence in March of 2019. So this was my second short story published by them. The first is The Interview.

So, I am also glad that the story ends with the slenderest thread of hope. There may be a way out, somehow, some way, after all.

And what would this review be without a quick musical interlude?

Canaries — because an early warning system just might save us all.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then please be sure to check out my other articles about my shorter works.

Short Stories

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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Self-Review – The Interview

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 24, 2026

My Review of My Short Story – The Interview

The Interview came about because I conjured up a kicker of an opening line. After that, it immediately started to fall into place.

Background

Since I have been on countless job interviews, this one was rather easy to write. So, I brought forth a memory I have of an interview being conducted over lunch. It was an odd situation. Two guys met with me and neither of them ate anything. I ate a Caesar salad by myself.

Also, as I recall, they were supposed to take me to some swanky-ish place. But instead, we went to Pizzeria Uno. At that moment, I should have known damned well it was not going to go well.

Plot of The Interview

The narrator meets a woman who runs an agency which hunts demons. And then things go a little haywire from there. In particular, during their meeting, the narrator gives away how she can sense demons. So this starts out as being vital information. But not when the story ends, it isn’t any longer. Then it turns into an albatross around her neck.

As for the restaurant, it is a combination of a number of places I have been to. The parking lot, in particular, is from Jasper White’s Summer Shack in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But with the wine steward and all, the pretend restaurant in The Interview is a lot more hoity-toity.

Characters

The characters are the narrator and the head of the agency. The narrator is the interviewee.

Memorable Quotes from The Interview

“So, how long have you wanted to hunt demons?” The question hung in the air for a second.

The job interview was being conducted over lunch and I had just taken in a big forkful of Fettuccine Alfredo. I washed it down with iced tea, swallowed, wiped my mouth, and tried not to look stupid. “It’s since I was just out of school. My classmates didn’t see them. But I did.”

Rating

The Interview has a K rating. While there is some menace behind it, nothing violent happens “on screen”.

Upshot

I was so happy when The Interview was the featured story in the December 14, 2018 edition of Theme of Absence. So they even interviewed me! Canaries is another story in Theme of Absence. So I guess they like me.

Fortunately I have never had an interview quite like this. #amediting

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then please be sure to check out my other articles about my shorter works.

Short Stories

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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Self-Review – Fatima’s Minnesota Wish

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on March 19, 2026

Review – Fatima’s Minnesota Wish

In 2021, I tried to write or at least start one short story per day. Fatima’s Minnesota Wish came from a single-word prompt: carousel. It is the third story I wrote during the first quarter of 2021.

Background for this Minnesota Wish

Fatima’s sister Aaliyah is dying of some unnamed heart or muscular disease. Their parents have brought their children to the Mayo Clinic, in the hopes that somewhere, somehow, there can be a miracle and there will be a suitable donor. But Aaliyah’s time is running out.

For Fatima, who is in the seventh grade, school is a mystery. She is learning English on the fly, but at least she understands math, for the numbers are the same. In order to help her acclimate better (and faster), the school offers the services of its speech therapist for some individualized instruction.

Into this difficult and sometimes bewildering world comes an expression from the speech therapist, Miss Crane: Go for the brass ring.

The first part of the story is Fatima figuring out just what that is, and hoping against all hope that it will be the one thing that saves her dying baby sister.

Plot

It’s all the Hussein family can do to try to keep their younger daughter Aaliyah alive. But every day, that gets harder and harder. Fatima, their elder daughter, is just trying to navigate life in a new country, with a bewildering new language.

Fatima’s own grief and sadness are spiked with a dose of the novelty of being in the United States and learning English. And maybe talking about boys with her new friends. But then there is that brass ring, and all it symbolizes.

Characters

The characters are mainly Fatima, her parents, Ali and Maryam, and her sister, Aaliyah. At school, Fatima’s teacher is Mrs. Murphy. Her speech teacher, helping Fatima learn English, is Miss Crane. Fatima’s friends are Nicole and Debbie.

At the hospital are Mr. and Dr. DePels and their daughter, Doris, along with Dr. Rosenthal. Also, there are Shmuly Baum’s parents, Herschel and Raya.

Memorable Quotes

Months went by, and of course Mrs. Murphy was right about the Minnesota winter. But it was only my parents and me who ever saw it. Aaliyah stayed in the hospital, month after month.

In the meantime, I was making friends with some girls: Nicole and Debbie. My father went to work at an engineering firm whenever he could. He would switch off with my mother, who would work in architecture, from home. But I could see how worried she was. It was hard for her to be creative. I suppose that’s understandable.

When May rolled around, the lovely weather got us all itching to go outside. Miss Crane used a rather odd expression with me. She said I should “reach for the brass ring”.

Rather than ask her what she meant, I decided to figure it out for myself. I just asked her for a hint, and she told me to go to a local park, to the carousel. She had to show me a picture, as I had never seen one before.

The park was open that weekend, and so I, in my halting English, asked the man running the carousel what the brass ring was. So, he showed me. There are rings in the center and, as your ride goes up and down and around, you lean over and reach out to try to grab one. And he said I could get any prize if I brought him one.

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Upshot for Fatima’s Minnesota Wish

I like the idea of this story probably more than how it actually came out. In part, this may be because it does not quite end. Rather, it just sort of runs out of gas. Which can happen with stories, naturally. And it follows vis a vis how her sister’s health is declining.

Perhaps I will try to pick it up again in the future, particularly if it becomes a story to query or to self-publish.

Fatima’s Minnesota wish is truly heartfelt. And maybe one day medicine will be able to grant it. #amwriting

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then please be sure to check out my other articles about my shorter works.

Short Stories

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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