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Tag: Short Stories

My short stories do double duty.

No, scratch that. They do more like triple duty.

So, You Want to Write Short Stories?

They run from drabbles to works that are just this side of novellas. My shorter pieces serve a few purposes.

So first of all, they are the usual continuation and push for creativity. If I want to write every day or at least try to, then that is going to mean writing shorter pieces. So, there’s one reason for their collective existence.

Second of all, I have had a lot more of them published! Sometimes, it’s by a magazine that cannot pay me. Or, sometimes, I get a nominal sum. Hey, don’t knock it. It beats a kick in the teeth any day, am I right?

Or, it can be just for charity. So, no matter what the outcome and the profit (if any) there is, these are a part of my writer resume. A credit is a credit.

And finally, they can serve as almost an elevator pitch of sorts. For someone who is unfamiliar with what I write, I do not want to just plonk a huge novel on their virtual desk. No.

Rather, it makes more sense to lead them along gently, with something that is maybe 2500 words or so, more or less.

Face it, if it was a first date, you would not be getting down on one knee and handing over a ring, now, would you? So, instead, a short story is more like taking someone out for coffee. Short, sweet, and without a lot of commitment.

Self-Review – CanariesShort Stories, Road, My Aliens, Last Patient, interview, Surprises, Props, shipwrecked, child, Killing Us Softly, Ditte, Band, three minutes, Longest Night Watch, Nothing Good Ever Happens, Complications, Your Call, Darkness into Light, canaries, gentrification, Cynthia, True Believer, Short Stories, Wilder Bloom, Dish, Mitalisque, kitten, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Dominick and Angela, Alix, Alix’s Apocalypse, A Chance Encounter in Time, A Crime in Time, A Show for the Galaxy, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Side Pages, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, Unexpected Help, You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It, Unreliable, East Side of the Universe, Eros vs Thanatos, Dust Between Our Stars, A Show for the Galaxy, A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults, A School for Scavengers, Frozen Assets, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, 1960s Temporal Crimes, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline, Walls Came Tumbling Down Again, The End, Will's Dog, Building Trust, Message in an Odd Bottle, The New Kid, What's an Animal, A Touch of Gray Hair, Guilty of Imperfection, Jared's World Turned Upside Down, Caring for Carole, Nuremberg Redux, Art Has All Sorts of Effects, When Russia Invaded Texas, Failure, Tumble in a Tomb, Beauty is Only Earth Deep, Peddler, Escape Violinist, Shimmering Wasteland, Cave Canem and Cave, Skating, Uninformed, Stellar Stowaway, dinosaurs, fragments, none of this is real, buzz, quartz, water, verity, quarrel, rivalry, breakout,

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.

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

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 InterviewShort Stories, Road, My Aliens, Last Patient, interview, Surprises, Props, shipwrecked, child, Killing Us Softly, Ditte, Band, three minutes, Longest Night Watch, Nothing Good Ever Happens, Complications, Your Call, Darkness into Light, canaries, gentrification, Cynthia, True Believer, Short Stories, Wilder Bloom, Dish, Mitalisque, kitten, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Dominick and Angela, Alix, Alix’s Apocalypse, A Chance Encounter in Time, A Crime in Time, A Show for the Galaxy, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Side Pages, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, Unexpected Help, You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It, Unreliable, East Side of the Universe, Eros vs Thanatos, Dust Between Our Stars, A Show for the Galaxy, A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults, A School for Scavengers, Frozen Assets, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, 1960s Temporal Crimes, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline, Walls Came Tumbling Down Again, The End, Will's Dog, Building Trust, Message in an Odd Bottle, The New Kid, What's an Animal, A Touch of Gray Hair, Guilty of Imperfection, Jared's World Turned Upside Down, Caring for Carole, Nuremberg Redux, Art Has All Sorts of Effects, When Russia Invaded Texas, Failure, Tumble in a Tomb, Beauty is Only Earth Deep, Peddler, Escape Violinist, Shimmering Wasteland, Cave Canem and Cave, Skating, Uninformed, Stellar Stowaway, dinosaurs, fragments, none of this is real, buzz, quartz, water, verity, quarrel, rivalry, breakout,

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

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

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 WishShort Stories, Road, My Aliens, Last Patient, interview, Surprises, Props, shipwrecked, child, Killing Us Softly, Ditte, Band, three minutes, Longest Night Watch, Nothing Good Ever Happens, Complications, Your Call, Darkness into Light, canaries, gentrification, Cynthia, True Believer, Short Stories, Wilder Bloom, Dish, Mitalisque, kitten, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Dominick and Angela, Alix, Alix’s Apocalypse, A Chance Encounter in Time, A Crime in Time, A Show for the Galaxy, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Side Pages, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, Unexpected Help, You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It, Unreliable, East Side of the Universe, Eros vs Thanatos, Dust Between Our Stars, A Show for the Galaxy, A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults, A School for Scavengers, Frozen Assets, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, 1960s Temporal Crimes, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline, Walls Came Tumbling Down Again, The End, Will's Dog, Building Trust, Message in an Odd Bottle, The New Kid, What's an Animal, A Touch of Gray Hair, Guilty of Imperfection, Jared's World Turned Upside Down, Caring for Carole, Nuremberg Redux, Art Has All Sorts of Effects, When Russia Invaded Texas, Failure, Tumble in a Tomb, Beauty is Only Earth Deep, Peddler, Escape Violinist, Shimmering Wasteland, Cave Canem and Cave, Skating, Uninformed, Stellar Stowaway, dinosaurs, fragments, none of this is real, buzz, quartz, water, verity, quarrel, rivalry, breakout,

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

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

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 – Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dogshipwrecked, child, Mitalisque, Alien Justice, Hot Time in the Alien Town, Alien Entertainment, Shimmering Wasteland, Leave Your Tone at the Message, Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog, Miss Milky Way,

Self-Review – Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on February 3, 2026

Time to Look at Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog

I love this line, and the title came long before the plot of Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog.

I wrote this story during the second quarter of 2018.

Background

The title or at least the idea of it came from a series of fan fiction stories I wrote during the 2010s. But this story has nothing to do with those, apart from the fact that the aliens in both instances are rather canid in both appearance and aspect.

Plot for Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog

When Private Rachel Corcoran, a data specialist, arrives to work with a canid alien species to merge their database with ours, she commits an unpardonable diplomatic gaffe almost immediately.

Characters

The characters are Rachel Corcoran, her unnamed supervisor, the canid alien supervisor, and Rachel’s alien counterpart, Gray. There is a third alien, but they never speak and I do not describe them at all.

Memorable Quotes

The three aliens standing with us were fluffy, with foxlike ears and pointed snouts. As one, they all tilted their heads to one side as they listened to the translation through their version of earbuds. I tried not to chuckle.

Their leader, who was reddish, spoke and we waited for the translation. “What does that mean?”

My superior officer was about to answer for me when I just said, “Forget it. I’m an idiot. I’ve got no diplomatic experience, and it shows.”

My superior added, emphasizing the first word, “Private Corcoran here is not used to the niceties of embassies. Her background is in data. She’s here to help you integrate your records with our own.”

“Yes, yes, of course. My right hand here is versed in such things. We are all anxious to see how our two technologies can merge.” The canid leader indicated a shorter alien with a kind of blue merle fur pattern. They were all canid, but at least they were wearing clothes. Thank God for small miracles.

“We’ll leave you two to get acquainted,” my superior said. Then she whispered to me, “Try not to make an ass out of yourself again, Rachel.” I nodded and they left.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is hard science fiction. And while the initial bit would make you believe that we might even suffer an attack for Rachel’s inability to keep her trap shut, it turns out all right. And so, the overall mood is positive.

Rating for Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog

The story has a K+ rating. There is some very mild language in there, and at the start, it does feel as if things could go south rather quickly.

Takeaways from Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog

It is a wonder, in science fiction, how anything gets done properly. And perhaps one of the biggest issues, I believe, is that there could always be someone a lot like Rachel, who would engage her mouth a lot earlier than she would engage her brain.

Oops. But at least she did not start an interplanetary incident. So, we will give her a gold star for that one. A really, really small star. Let’s not get carried away here.

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

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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Your Elevator PitchPublishing, Published, Positive Reviews, Middling Reviews, Bad Reviews, Teasing, Blurb, Query letter, Elevator pitch, teasers, pitmad, rejection, Easter eggs, Starting, Digital Publishing Game, pocket conflicts, Manuscript Wish List, Reading, Submission Guidelines, Set Dressing, Hairstyles and Costumes, Aroma vs Odor or Stench, Mixing a Score in Words and Music, Disgusting vs Delicious, Hot or Cold, Publishing Stats, Jewish characters, trust your readers,

Your Elevator Pitch

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 27, 2026

Let’s Deconstruct Your Elevator Pitch

We have all heard of what an elevator pitch is. It seems like it is the kind of stuff for some overly eager new sales associates looking to make an impression on the big boss between floors.

But there is more to it than that.

Someone has just turned to you and asked, “You’re a writer. What is your book about?”

Don’t just stand there! You have got to be ready.

Some Ideas for Your Verbal Elevator Pitch

Try something like this on for size.

Imagine if animals started talking, and they told you what to do in a topsy-turvy world.

My book is about Alice; she’s a young girl, a little bored on a sunny afternoon, when she spots a white rabbit. The odd thing about this rabbit is, he’s wearing clothes and talking. She follows him down a rabbit hole, but then she can’t get out.

That is less than seventy words, and the person asking has the basic plot, the name of the main character, and a reason to want to know more.

Also, you do not give away any spoilers with this pitch. Is that important? You had better believe it is.

Your Pitch in Writing

Yes, you need one of these, too. But a written elevator pitch is going to be a little different.

Even if readers know you for writing sweeping, epic sagas, you should still write some short stories. They can be in your universe, or not, although it might help with both marketing and your own personal creativity if they can fit somewhere within your universe.

They do not even necessarily have to be sent out for publication, but they could be good for anthologies. Do not knock that. This is exactly how a lot of people get their starts.

In fact, if you are having trouble breaking in, or want to impress a publisher, try submitting to anthologies. You can get a publication credit and impress the publisher of the anthology. And maybe also impress other publishers.

That is a win-win right there.

Point them there, if someone wants to read a sampling of your work. Do not make them commit to a 100,000 word novel.

Unless, of course, you really feel like alienating a potential customer.

In all seriousness, never, ever do something like that.

How Do You End Both Types of Elevator Pitches?

Why, with a call to action, of course! Why, here’s one right now.

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

On Balance

Finally, try to have some fun with it. Is your main character funny?

What about quoting one of her best zingers, assuming you do not need to explain the joke (that is key)?

Now that is an off-beat idea for a pitch.

And it just might be memorable enough to snag you a customer.

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Self-Review – Rescuedgentrification, Kitten, Wilder Bloom, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Props, Dominick, Band, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Frozen Assets, Sarah’s Invention, Mike’s Grades, Building Trust, Martin's Choice, World Turned Upside Down, Caring for Carole, Failure, Tumble in a Tomb, Uninformed, African Escape, Scavenger Hunt at Lanterman's Mill, Jealousy, freshly baked bread, AM/FM ghosts, rescued,

Self-Review – Rescued

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 25, 2025

It is Time to Look at Rescued

I have rescued this story from its draft, but it could stand to be longer. However, with its original prompt word, it seems like a relatively ideal story for this posting date, Xmas of 2025.

I wrote this story during the second quarter of 2021.

Background for Rescued

The original prompt was the word salvation.

Much like with the longer and better thought-out Mandy Goes to Aspen, this story is about a rather snarky woman who has to be rescued from a catastrophe.

But Samantha and Mandy end up with somewhat different fish to fry.

Plot for Rescued

Samantha is buried under rubble somewhere in Arizona, thinking that there has been some sort of an earthquake. As her calls for help turn to whispers amidst the dust and debris, she hears a bark and sees a person in full protective gear come to save her.

While things should have been looking up for her, the rescuer lets her in on what happened. It was a terror attack.

Characters

The characters are the victim Samantha, her rescuer and his dog, a few medical personnel, and a liaison named Joyce Chang who helps to give some helpful exposition.

Memorable Quotes

“Save me! Save me!” I screamed with all my might. Which … wasn’t much. But you try screaming after climbing through earthquake rubble some time and see how you do.

The only response was the sound of something falling down, and then the tinkling of breaking glass.

I bet I moved too much stuff. Shit, that might’ve been a really stupid idea.

And you were just going to hang around a bunch of mismatched body parts?

Samantha, you’ve gotta be joking. Or mental. Or both.

I never knew this area got earthquakes. Scorpions? Check. Hot weather? Check. Retirement communities by the billion? Check. But earthquakes? Arizona does not get earthquakes. Until now, I guess.

Every breath I draw, I smell dust. Thank God, no gas or ash. But it’s bad enough. I can’t stay here. “Help! Help me, please!”

Sheesh, that sounded like whining.

Oh, c’mon, you honestly think anyone would blame you for whining?

Genre and Overall Mood for Rescued

The genre is contemporary fiction/disaster epic. The mood is grim and concerning, despite Samantha joking with herself about her predicament. Because there is a very real chance that she will not survive the attack.

Rating

The story has a K+ rating. There is very little salty language, but if you had just had a building fall on you, you would be spouting off some pretty salty language yourself.

Takeaways for Rescued

I kind of like where this one was going, and so it feels rather incomplete. To this day, I have no idea who attacked, or why they attacked Arizona, of all places.

Even I do not know if Samantha makes it. And whenever I feel I want to find out whether she did, I suppose I will finish this one. And then it can be rescued from the world of literary fragments.
Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

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 – AM/FM Ghostsgentrification, Kitten, Wilder Bloom, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Props, Dominick, Band, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Frozen Assets, Sarah’s Invention, Mike’s Grades, Building Trust, Martin's Choice, World Turned Upside Down, Caring for Carole, Failure, Tumble in a Tomb, Uninformed, African Escape, Scavenger Hunt at Lanterman's Mill, Jealousy, freshly baked bread, AM/FM ghosts, rescued,

Self-Review – AM/FM Ghosts

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 23, 2025

Let’s Look at AM/FM Ghosts

The idea behind AM/FM Ghosts is pretty interesting, but very short. It’s just one page long! It would be better with some more detail, although I am not so sure how I could expand it.

Although I bet it would be kind of fun to try. Hmm.

I wrote this story during the first quarter of 2018.

Background

I do not believe there was an actual prompt word for this one. Although if there was, it may have been the word ghosts. But I don’t honestly know, and it hardly matters right now, anyway.

The Plot of AM/FM Ghosts

This story is barely a plot-driven tale and more like a vignette.

The narrator complains about the demons infesting her radio station, which was supposed to help fund her retirement. In particular, they are replacing the classic new wave and punk music with—horrors!—easy listening.

Characters in AM/FM Ghosts

The characters are the unnamed narrator and the anonymous demons possessing an old radio station.

Memorable Quotes from AM/FM Ghosts

When I purchased this radio station, I was looking for a sound investment for my retirement. Plus I wanted a little soapboxing. Nobody plays Elvis Costello anymore, or so it seems. Hence I bought a station so I could hear what I wanted to hear.

Nobody told me it came complete with a phalanx of demons.

Sure, sure, I suppose it’s my punishment for some transgression or another in my past. But whatever it is, haven’t I done enough penance by now?

It was all fun and games when the ghosts would shuffle the tunes, or occasionally start a song before a commercial was over. But seriously, I am losing money on this. You spirits are going to have to knock it off before I lose my shirt here.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is fantasy. The mood is mainly playful and humorous.

Rating for AM/FM Ghosts

The story has a K rating. The demons are more jerks than scary, and the narrator is more exasperated than anything else.

Takeaways

I think the idea of a haunted radio station is pretty nifty. And one of these days, maybe I will have the time and the ideas and wherewithal to expand this one into the kind of story it always should have been.
Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

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.

Leave a Comment
Self-Review – Breakout… and Then What?Short Stories, Road, My Aliens, Last Patient, interview, Surprises, Props, shipwrecked, child, Killing Us Softly, Ditte, Band, three minutes, Longest Night Watch, Nothing Good Ever Happens, Complications, Your Call, Darkness into Light, canaries, gentrification, Cynthia, True Believer, Short Stories, Wilder Bloom, Dish, Mitalisque, kitten, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Dominick and Angela, Alix, Alix’s Apocalypse, A Chance Encounter in Time, A Crime in Time, A Show for the Galaxy, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Side Pages, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, Unexpected Help, You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It, Unreliable, East Side of the Universe, Eros vs Thanatos, Dust Between Our Stars, A Show for the Galaxy, A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults, A School for Scavengers, Frozen Assets, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, 1960s Temporal Crimes, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline, Walls Came Tumbling Down Again, The End, Will's Dog, Building Trust, Message in an Odd Bottle, The New Kid, What's an Animal, A Touch of Gray Hair, Guilty of Imperfection, Jared's World Turned Upside Down, Caring for Carole, Nuremberg Redux, Art Has All Sorts of Effects, When Russia Invaded Texas, Failure, Tumble in a Tomb, Beauty is Only Earth Deep, Peddler, Escape Violinist, Shimmering Wasteland, Cave Canem and Cave, Skating, Uninformed, Stellar Stowaway, dinosaurs, fragments, none of this is real, buzz, quartz, water, verity, quarrel, rivalry, breakout,

Self-Review – Breakout… and Then What?

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 18, 2025

It is Time to Look at Breakout… and Then What?

For this short story about a breakout from an alien prison, I harkened back to some old World War II prison break films. And, I got to thinking about the mechanics of it. Consider this: unlike in the Second World War, there is no one who is sympathetic, willing to hide you.

There is no way for you to truly blend in with the rest of the populace, even if you speak their language fluently. And it would be hard to appeal to someone’s sense of kinship or decency.

After all, at this stage in human development, what sort of kinship could we possibly ever have with an alien race?

I wrote this story during the first quarter of 2021.

Background for Breakout… and Then What?

Prison break films, regardless of when they were made, tend to follow a relatively set formula. A person is imprisoned, often unjustly. In order to get out, they nearly always tunnel. This means taking care of certain necessities such as getting rid of a lot of dirt.

Once they are out, if they can, they do whatever is possible to blend in with the people in the closest town. This is done with varying degrees of success. Plus, the escapee(s) are hunted by their captors. Recapture and return (if those things happen at all) is not always on screen.

A few exceptions to this formula are Victory, a Sly Stallone film, where he and his comrades escape after a soccer game. Another is Stalag 17, where the escapees get out via wire cutters.

So, I had a framework already in place.

The original plot word was peninsula.

Plot for Breakout… and Then What?

Apart from the difficulty of being able to blend in, my characters would have a number of strikes against them. This meant that the time covered is rather long, much like in The Shawshank Redemption.

But I started with a simple premise that the main character would be in a prison. But they will have been told a lie. Uncovering this lie and understanding how to use this information, is most of the plot.

Characters

The characters are the unnamed narrator and her cellmate, Terri. There are various guards, but she only refers to them obliquely.

Memorable Quotes for the Breakout

When I was brought here, I was told this place was an island, and there could be no escape from it.

Well, being a skeptical sort of person, I did whatever I could to see the other side of the wall. I tunneled when I could. And I also set myself up to be a model prisoner. Eventually, the warden allowed me to be a trustee. I could go to the nearby town and work for a pittance at some miserable job or another.

The people there speak an utterly unfamiliar tongue. They aren’t even human, so I can’t hide among them. At least, not in plain sight. But I’ve got eyes and ears, and so I’ve taken to learning as much as I can of their language, culture, and gestures.

I’ve said nothing to any of my fellow human prisoners. You never know who might turn informant.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is science fiction prison break. The mood is cautiously optimistic, particularly at the end.

Breakout the Rating

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways for Breakout …and Then What?

I like the way this one turned out, for the most part. But right now, it just feels very unfinished. So, maybe I will pick it up again. In particular, if I shoehorn it into the Ziranqui war universe, then I will need to add more detail.

A lot more detail. Because someone will be asking, then what happened next? I would need to be able to answer that, ya think?
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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 – RivalryShort Stories, Road, My Aliens, Last Patient, interview, Surprises, Props, shipwrecked, child, Killing Us Softly, Ditte, Band, three minutes, Longest Night Watch, Nothing Good Ever Happens, Complications, Your Call, Darkness into Light, canaries, gentrification, Cynthia, True Believer, Short Stories, Wilder Bloom, Dish, Mitalisque, kitten, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Dominick and Angela, Alix, Alix’s Apocalypse, A Chance Encounter in Time, A Crime in Time, A Show for the Galaxy, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Side Pages, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, Unexpected Help, You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It, Unreliable, East Side of the Universe, Eros vs Thanatos, Dust Between Our Stars, A Show for the Galaxy, A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults, A School for Scavengers, Frozen Assets, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, 1960s Temporal Crimes, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline, Walls Came Tumbling Down Again, The End, Will's Dog, Building Trust, Message in an Odd Bottle, The New Kid, What's an Animal, A Touch of Gray Hair, Guilty of Imperfection, Jared's World Turned Upside Down, Caring for Carole, Nuremberg Redux, Art Has All Sorts of Effects, When Russia Invaded Texas, Failure, Tumble in a Tomb, Beauty is Only Earth Deep, Peddler, Escape Violinist, Shimmering Wasteland, Cave Canem and Cave, Skating, Uninformed, Stellar Stowaway, dinosaurs, fragments, none of this is real, buzz, quartz, water, verity, quarrel, rivalry, breakout,

Self-Review – Rivalry

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 16, 2025

Let’s Look at Rivalry

Sibling rivalry shows up a lot in my fiction, in particular my shorter fiction. But in this short story, that fact of life for so many of us takes a deadly center stage.

I wrote this story during the second quarter of 2021.

Background for Rivalry

The original prompt word was just the word that became the title.

Plot for Rivalry

As the narrator talks about her sister to…someone, it becomes clear very quickly that the sibling rivalry they shared was a lot worse than it is for the vast majority of people.

But who is the narrator talking to? Quite possibly, the audience of one is the spiritual leader who will be giving the narrator their last rites (or the equivalent thereof) just prior to the narrator’s execution.

Yeah, it’s like that.

Characters in Rivalry

The characters are just the narrator, talking about her sister.

Memorable Quotes

My sister and I never agreed on anything but where we would sit in the family car. I was always on the left. I don’t even know why anymore. I would ask her, but she’s dead.

But back to our childhood. Since we were always on our own respective sides, we would inevitably end up with impressions which differed. Differed is way too nice a word for it. Clashed. I mean clashed.

When we went to the zoo, she was the one who got to see the side with the dolphins. But I never did. It was one of those drive through places, you see. And the zoo doesn’t allow you to double back. It’s all one way.

I didn’t know there were any dolphins there until I grew up. Then again, she never knew there were any gorillas. If I had known, I would have traded gorillas for dolphins, every single time. Ah, well.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is contemporary fiction. The mood is fairly sedate until the ending, when the bottom just completely drops out. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Rating

The story has a T rating. While the vast, vast majority of this little story is almost wholesome, it does end with quite the bang.

Takeaways

While I tend to pride myself on creating original characters who I hope are as real to you as they are to me, the narrator is not based on anyone I know.

And although my brother and I engaged in our version of sibling rivalry, I never felt this way about him.
Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

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 – QuarrelShort Stories, Road, My Aliens, Last Patient, interview, Surprises, Props, shipwrecked, child, Killing Us Softly, Ditte, Band, three minutes, Longest Night Watch, Nothing Good Ever Happens, Complications, Your Call, Darkness into Light, canaries, gentrification, Cynthia, True Believer, Short Stories, Wilder Bloom, Dish, Mitalisque, kitten, Last Try, Minnesota Wish, Dominick and Angela, Alix, Alix’s Apocalypse, A Chance Encounter in Time, A Crime in Time, A Show for the Galaxy, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Side Pages, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, Unexpected Help, You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It, Unreliable, East Side of the Universe, Eros vs Thanatos, Dust Between Our Stars, A Show for the Galaxy, A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults, A School for Scavengers, Frozen Assets, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, 1960s Temporal Crimes, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline, Walls Came Tumbling Down Again, The End, Will's Dog, Building Trust, Message in an Odd Bottle, The New Kid, What's an Animal, A Touch of Gray Hair, Guilty of Imperfection, Jared's World Turned Upside Down, Caring for Carole, Nuremberg Redux, Art Has All Sorts of Effects, When Russia Invaded Texas, Failure, Tumble in a Tomb, Beauty is Only Earth Deep, Peddler, Escape Violinist, Shimmering Wasteland, Cave Canem and Cave, Skating, Uninformed, Stellar Stowaway, dinosaurs, fragments, none of this is real, buzz, quartz, water, verity, quarrel, rivalry, breakout,

Self-Review – Quarrel

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 11, 2025

It is Time to Look at Quarrel

Right about now, Quarrel seems quaint, like a vestige of a time, not so long ago, when the differences between right and left in the United States were more like arguments than existential issues.

Oh, how innocent we all were then.

I wrote this story during the third quarter of 2021.

Background

The original prompt word was just the word that became the title. Of course, I needed a good Q word. And as Q words go, this prompt word is a rather good one.

And while this story is still more of a fragment than anything else, it is a far more complete fragment than works such as Verity and Quartz.

Why Quarrel with the Plot?

Almost ripped from the headlines, the plot is essentially of a MAGA true believer screaming at his Congresswoman and her aide. I took a lot of the plot from the very real news story of Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan being threatened by MAGA protesters.

Characters

The characters are Lucy, Rep Mansfield, and a nameless hunter.

Memorable Quarrel Quotes

“We elected you!” The man wore hunting clothes, including an orange vest and a red trucker’s cap that just said MAGA.

“Yes, you did. And my boss appreciates it very much.” Lucy pulled her mask more fully around her face.

“But you still ain’t gonna change nothing. And Rep Mansfield can speak for herself, I bet.”

Rep Mansfield adjusted her own mask, which perfectly matched her gray power suit. “Of course I can. Mr…?”

“Never mind that,” snapped the hunter. “First you locked us down. Then ya closed the schools. Then you made everyone wear masks like we was in I-rack or something. And now you wanna let my boss make me get a shot? And my kids gotta get one to go back to school?”

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is contemporary fiction. The mood is tense and disturbing. Much the way real life was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rating for Quarrel

The story has a K+ rating. While the language is exceedingly tame, the implications are that Rep Mansfield and Lucy and perhaps everyone in the building are in very real danger.

Takeaways

The real life incident with Governor Whitmer was disturbing enough. And then came January 6th, which made that almost seem pedestrian. And now, we have a lot more going on.

But if anyone thinks what Lucy does at the end is unrealistic, you have got another think coming.
Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

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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