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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 – The EndShort 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, Gentrification, 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, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, 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,

Self-Review – The End

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 7, 2025

The End marks one of my first forays back into story writing since, egad, 1986?

I wrote this story during second quarter 2011. A quarter of a century later.

I think.

It’s a little tough to tell as its origins have been lost to the mists of time.

And now, half again years later, I’m reviewing it. Finally!

Review – The End

There is some stuff I dabbled with in law school (which I typed on paper and would have to be scanned—a daunting task at best). And there are some writing books. But otherwise, there doesn’t seem to be anything older than this.

Unless you want to count the drawings with captions I did when I was a preschooler.

On second thought, maybe don’t. And, I wouldn’t be able to find them, anyway. They’re most likely in a Staten Island landfill.

Background

This was kind of a dreamy story, as I recall. Either it was a dream about a million stars rushing toward me, or a thought experiment about the same thing. It doesn’t matter now.

Plot

A rogue star spirals into the center of the galaxy, a sure-fire collision course with an end to all life on any of its planets. After just about everyone is gone, there are only a few stragglers left to witness the end.

What happens when an entire star system has run out of luck?

Characters

The characters are Joppa and Esado. As their world ends, she has decided to stay, although I never say why.

He stays because he couldn’t afford passage on a spaceship. And, they’ve both heard ‘terrible things’ about what happened to the flights. I never really say what happens.

But my feeling is that the ships failed. After all, when you’re where they are, gravity is ridiculously high. Escape velocity is just not going to happen, unless a ship is exceptionally powerful. Were theirs? I doubt it.

Two other characters and scientists Lysom and Shanlin, who is a woman. Are the scientists human? I deliberately went vague with their names. It’s up to the reader to decide.

Because me? I’ve got no idea.

Memorable Quotes

They walked to Esado’s home as Joppa appraised him. He was so much younger than her, perhaps half her age. He’d been a delivery boy before the spiraling had begun. In another time, she’d’ve ignored him. In another time, she’d’ve had a son his age. But there was no other time.

They began preparing the meal as Esado began to babble. “I’ve heard that the time is coming soon.” Joppa didn’t have to ask what time. It was the time.

“Oh? And I have heard that for months. Every day for a while there, the media told us that the day when we would reach the galactic center would be in a week or a month. Yet it has been over a year. What news are you hearing? Aren’t the media outlets all closed anyway?”

“I, just, I know. There has been no one to tell me.” he said, lowering his eyes. “It just seems that the night is getting as short as it can. Last night was less than an hour. It must be soon.”

“Yes, I suppose you are correct. Tell me, Esado, why are you still here? I am here by choice, but you are young. Why didn’t you fly away?”

“I wanted to, but I didn’t have the money and was saving. And then we heard all of those terrible things about the flights. It seemed smarter to stay and face the end here, at home. My parents, they went to the mountains, but I said my good-byes to them. I wanted, no, I want, to be here when it happens.”

Rating for The End

The story has a K+ rating. While the really bad stuff isn’t on screen, the reader knows this is not a story with anything near a happy ending.

Takeaways for The End

There is no question that I write better these days. A lot better. But it’s not a bad little story. And I still like the premise. Maybe I’ll revisit it one of these days.

And, of course, the entire premise is faulty. Because the center of every galaxy is dominated by a supermassive black hole. This includes the Milky Way.

So, unfortunately, Joppa, Esado, and all the other inhabitants of their unlucky system wouldn’t leave fossils. They would be crushed into cosmic dust.

Who knows if there are any civilizations lost this way? I don’t believe there’s any way we could ever possibly know.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

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

Short Stories

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 – Will’s DogShort 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, Gentrification, 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, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, 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,

Self-Review – Will’s Dog

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 2, 2025

Review – Will’s Dog

I wrote Will’s Dog as a kind of palate cleanser story. I had been writing a number of heavier stories. So, this one was lighter. My main idea was to add an unknown angle to the life of perhaps the greatest writer who has ever lived.

I wrote this story during first quarter 2018.

Background

I have written canine POV before, both for fan fiction and for a story called Cynthia for The Longest Night Watch.

This is such a fun point of view to write, because dogs are so familiar to us, yet so alien, all at the same time. Because dogs are so smell-driven, I feel that their internal monologues (as it were) would be full of smells, and their value judgments about these aromas.

Someone could have a ‘good’ smell because of an association with a beloved person. Or an association with someone who gives food to the dog. Things could have good smells because of being delicious (to a dog, that is) or fun or warm.

Plot for Will’s Dog

There’s not really too much of a plot. It’s more like a small slice of life, of a dog and his master, a writer.

Characters

The characters are really just the dog and his master. Who just so happens to be William Shakespeare.

I never named the dog. Sorry, puppy!

Memorable Quotes

The smells are good. My alpha master is busy but the smells are good. He is using that feather again – scratching, scratching, scratching, like so many fleas. He works on thin, flat things which smell like they used to be wood.

He drops one and it flutters to the floor like a white bird with only one wing. I go over to sniff it, but he tells me not to, and so I obey. I lay down on the small rug near the fire.

I watch him from this vantage point. There are mice in the cottage, but I don’t chase them. Such is a job for the cats, and they don’t like me muscling in on their turf and stealing their jobs. So I leave them to the mice, and the rats, which are mostly outside.

I can hear him swearing. Something must be unpleasant or wrong with the thin, flat things that were once wood. He approaches the fire with several in his hands. But he has done this before and, inevitably, he gets upset at the loss. He is my alpha master and my job is to save him from himself. So I get up and place my body between him and the thin, flat things, and the fire.

Rating for Will’s Dog

The story has a K rating. It’s a very family-friendly story.

Takeaways

I like the idea of a dog intervening and making sure that we don’t lose something as valuable and amazing as Hamlet.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

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

Short Stories

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 – You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like ItShort 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, Gentrification, 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, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, 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,

Self-Review – You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 26, 2024

Review – You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It

The basic idea for You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like it came from an idea my father had. He wanted me to write a story about a machine undergoing a mutation, much like we (and animals, plants, bacteria, viruses, etc.) do.

The prompt was the word ‘Yikes’. The story is told from Katie’s point of view.

I wrote this story during second quarter 2021.

Background

Some of the idea for this story came from thinking about the film 2001 where Hal 9000 is not only sapient, but also homicidal. I decided my machine wouldn’t necessarily be hostile. But it would be supercilious and insistent that everything should be its way—or the highway.

Plot

A mysterious coffee maker arrives. Is it a wedding present? But there’s no card and no return address.

Characters

The characters are the couple, Katie and Paul, and Katie’s sister Marci and her husband Greg. Oh, and the coffee maker. Yes, the coffee maker is totally, 100%, a character.

Memorable Quotes

After I closed the fridge door, I turned around to find another message.

The supply of ginger ale is dangerously low. The local market has been alerted. Delivery will be at precisely eight o’clock in the morning, local time.

“But tomorrow’s Saturday. I don’t want to get up that early.” I paused. “And I can’t believe I’m explaining myself to a coffee maker.”

This is for the best. The clock radio has been alerted, and will wake you at precisely six thirty AM, local time.

“I don’t want to get up that early,” I repeated.

This is the optimal time for delivery. The clock radio will wake you at precisely six thirty AM, local time.

“I still don’t want to get up that early.”

The screen went dark.

“So now you’re not talking to me?” I stared at the black screen. “You are one weird piece of machinery.”

Rating for You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It

The story has a K+ rating. The coffee machine never really does anything violent, but its communications become more and more menacing and insistent.

Takeaways for You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It

I really love the idea of a semi-sapient machine getting it in its head (circuitry?) that it knows someone far better than they know themselves.

By the way, I know I saw a TV movie where a man was essentially imprisoned by a computer that thought it was doing the best thing for this man, and may have also been in love with him. But I can’t find it! I think it was from the 70s….?

And no, it’s not Demon Seed.

Not quite the same story, but similar enough that it may have been a bit of my unconscious inspiration. I just wish I could remember the name of that film—so frustrating!

Oh, and my dad loved the story.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

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

Short Stories

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 – Mike’s GradesShort 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, Gentrification, 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, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, 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,

Self-Review – Mike’s Grades

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 24, 2024

Review – Mike’s Grades

I wrote Mike’s Grades completely by the seat of my pants, but I still think it turned out pretty well. The original prompt was just the word ‘Question’.

I wrote this story during first quarter 2021.

Background

This story came from one idea. A tough kid, not so great student would take advantage of an open Q & A in class. Their question? Where do babies come from?.

Plot

When the teacher holds an open question and answer session, all of the students are invited to submit a question anonymously. Originally done to be disruptive, Mike just asks where babies come from. But he gets a lot more than he bargained for.

Because his teacher has just the book for him to not only read but write a long report on and present it. The book? Our Bodies, Ourselves..

Characters

The characters are Mike, his parents, his classmate Julie, and his teacher, Laura McDonald.

Memorable Quotes

“Mike! Supper!”

“Be right down!”

He shoved the book under his bed. The report was shaping up nicely. He didn’t think he had ever read anything so carefully or taken so many notes. It was … strange.

He washed his hands and face and got downstairs just as his father pulled out a whiskey bottle. “What took ya so long?”

“I was, I was studying.” For once, that was even true.

“You never studied a day in ya life,” his mother snarled.

“It’s a book report.”

“Oh? What kind of a loser book is it?” snapped his father between pulls from the bottle.

“It’s, it’s a book about, about the old west. Cowboys and Indians, that sorta stuff.”

“Oh,” his mother said. “Eat your peas.”

“Yes, Mom.” He would have to get his hands on a book with cowboys and Indians in it, just in case either of them pressed him for any more details. He’d have to go to the library, a place he rarely visited. Voluntary reading! As if things weren’t odd enough.

Rating for Mike’s Grades

The story has a K+ rating. Mike starts off reading something pretty risqué, and his parents are none too gentle with him.

Takeaways for Mike’s Grades

I really like the idea of redeeming Mike. He could have been (and pretty much was) just another nasty kid with a bad home life who wouldn’t make much of himself. This is how I originally wrote him, too.

But then I realized I kind of liked him.

And I also love that he’s being disciplined yet it has the very real chance to utterly change and make over his life.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

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

Short Stories

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 – Sarah’s InventionShort 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, Gentrification, 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, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, 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,

Self-Review – Sarah’s Invention

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 19, 2024

Review – Sarah’s Invention

I really love Sarah’s Invention, because its message is, in essence, that you can pull yourself out of poverty using just your ingenuity.

Because my father is an inventor, I know his experiences were in the back of my mind when I started to write this one.

I wrote this story during first quarter 2021.

Background

Sarah and her family are poor. Her mother and her brother both work several jobs. She’s just a nine year old kid in elementary school, so she’s not working. Yet.
Like a lot of kids, she mainly wants to use her after school time to play. And maybe do a bit of her homework. She is certainly not trying to change anyone’s life.

Plot

Alone in the family trailer after school, Sarah combines the contents of a few dozen different flavors of toothpaste and some coarse salt. When she brushes her teeth with her new concoction, it tastes horrible. But her teeth are the whitest they have ever been.

When her invention whitens her mother’s teeth, and it completely clears up the chewing tobacco stains on her brother’s teeth, Sarah’s mother LaToya decides they need to talk to someone about what to do next.

Characters

The characters are Sarah, her brother Randy, her mother, and the members of the law firm—Jenkins, Rollins, and Joan, a legal secretary.

Memorable Quotes {This Section is from the POV of Jenkins, a Lawyer}

It has been the weirdest day in the history of days, or at least it sure as hell feels like it.

I was having one of these days where I just have no idea how or if I’ll ever make it in the firm. You’re supposed to be a damned rainmaker, and bring business in. But it’s not exactly easy. I’ve been having a lot of those doubtful days lately.

Then in walks this woman—Joan said she didn’t have an appointment but hey I was free, so could I? Sure, what the hell.

Her name was LaToya Carling. And she had a tube of toothpaste with her. At least, that’s what she told me it was, but it was in one of those old guacamole tubes from the local fast food place.

She told me it could whiten teeth, and it had cured her toothache.

Now, I’m skeptical by nature, so I asked a bunch of questions. But at least I have the mental wherewithal to not laugh at the poor woman.

She said if someone brushed their teeth with it, that she could prove the stuff worked.

I called Joan back in, and she said she’d do it. She’s an older woman, with the weight of the world on her face and, a bit, on her teeth, which were dull.

And I said ‘were’ because I’ll be damned. The stuff worked as advertised. The moment Joan had rinsed her mouth, I swore her to secrecy. I would have to talk to old man Rollins. Mrs. Carling gave me the tube and I promised to have it analyzed.

It was maybe seven before Rollins could see me. Joan, God love her, stayed late. And we showed it to him. He was impressed.

It was his idea to see if the invention could be duplicated. It’s the only really good way to secure a patent. He was truly flabbergasted when I related what Mrs. Carling had told me: it was the work of her nine-year-old daughter.

The next few days were kind of a blur. I spent half my time working with Mrs. Carling to help her get the raw materials together for her daughter—and not to say why she was doing so.

The other half was divided between working with an analytical chemist, sending both Joan and Mrs. Carling to a dentist to be checked out, and discussing money with Rollins.

I even went to the trailer to watch the girl, Sarah, mix up the stuff again. This time, I tried it, and it worked like a charm. A little too well, I’d say. I look like a damned Osmond.

Rating for Sarah’s Invention

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways for Sarah’s Invention

Sarah is just a kid and has no idea what she is doing. She isn’t trying to invent anything. She really just wants to combine a bunch of different toothpaste types and flavors to see what they taste like.

I like to think that if something like this ever really happened, that lawyers like Jenkins and Rollins would have the wherewithal to not only help the family get the invention to market, but to also not exploit them.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

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

Short Stories

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 – And the Band Played the ApocalypseShort 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, Gentrification, 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, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, 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,

Self-Review – And the Band Played the Apocalypse

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 17, 2024

Review – And the Band Played the Apocalypse

And the Band Played the Apocalypse harkens back to my childhood. Now, of course I didn’t live through an apocalypse. And I hope I never do! Rather, whenever my family would visit my grandmother in Brooklyn, I would have very little to do.

I’d get really, really bored. I would be so bored that I would search for something, anything to read. There were two books there which I read and reread, over and over again. One was The Wizard of Oz.

The other was a set of Greek and Roman myths. These had been adjusted for what we would now call middle grade readers. It might even be this book.

The latter book had a story called Baucis and Philemon. In that story, an old married couple who provide hospitality to disguised gods are rewarded with being saved from a flood. Their wish is to die at the same time. The gods grant their wish.

They die by being transformed into trees. It was this bit of the story that I decided to emulate as the end of this story (oops, big spoiler alert!).

I wrote this story during second quarter 2021.

Background

This story came from a one-word prompt, when I was writing every day and creating random prompts that I followed in alphabetical order. This prompt was the word Jazz.

So, what better place to convey the prompt word than New Orleans? And then the plot took a few weird turns.

Plot

As the last of the human race dies out due to the effects of a virus meant to only kill rodents, the anti-Adam and Eve meet for one last song. One last riff.

Characters

The characters are the Saxophone Woman (not-Sally) and the Tambourine Guy (not-Lloyd). Plus the countless dogs and cats still alive, haunting the streets of New Orleans.

Memorable Quotes

“Pretty soon, there won’t be any more language. Except for dolphins, I guess. We should’ve been cetaceans. No opposable thumbs, no civilization. But at least no self-inflicted genocide.”

The stranger touches the instrument’s keys. “Then again, no saxophones, either. Whatever will some future alien explorers think of us? What fossils will we leave? Will it be the grillwork fences here on Bourbon Street, rusted to a fare-thee-well? Bones for my chorus’s dinner? The marble mausoleums? Stone and bone, I bet. Crumbling, rusty dust where there were once cars, and buildings. And, hell, clipboards and knitting needles. All the ephemera of our existence. Gone, like swallows at the end of summer.” A few coughs.

“Yes, yes, I am well aware that I’m being dramatic. But I don’t think overly so. After all, the end is nigh. If I can’t get bombastic now, then when can I?”

A jangle.

“What was that?”

The stranger glances around and spots a dog that still has its collar and tags. The stranger kneels, knees cracking. “C’mere! Come on! Good doggie. Good doggie.”

The dog trots over, its matted reddish-brown fur daubed with mud. “Just a sec.” The stranger unbuckles the collar and reads from the tags. “Rusty. You’re a good dog, Rusty ole pal.”

Another jangle.

The stranger freezes. In a moment, trembling, she straightens up. “More collars, I bet. Well, I suppose there are worse ways to spend your last hours. I can spend mine freeing Fido and Spot from the oppressive yoke of ownership. Humanity in our final moments goes commie. Who’d’ve thunk it?”

More jangling. But this time, in a semblance of rhythm.

Trembling, the stranger calls out, “Who’s there?” And then, thinking better of it, the stranger blows a few notes on the sax. An old song by Bob Dylan. “… there ain’t no place I’m going to.”

A pause.

“Ain’t that the truth?”

Rating for And the Band Played the Apocalypse

The story has a K rating. While the prospect of the end of the world is always going to be unsettling, the characters do their best to make do in a bad situation. Nothing violent happens ‘on screen’.

Takeaways for And the Band Played the Apocalypse

I think my biggest takeaway is that inspiration can strike in all sorts of wacky and unexpected ways.

As writers, everyone tells us to read—constantly—and this story is proof of that concept. Essentially, you can get ideas this way. And in the case of this particular story, my memory of the myth I had read during my childhood came in handy a good four decades later.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

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

Want more apocalyptic stories? Then be sure to check out:

† Alix’s Apocalypse

Short Stories

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 – Lizzie Borden is Vital to the TimelineShort 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, Gentrification, 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, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, 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,

Self-Review – Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 10, 2024

So, Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline is a short story I wrote to try to get into an anthology.

Review – Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline

Yes, it’s really about that Lizzie Borden, from Fall River, Massachusetts.

I wrote this story during third quarter 2024.

Background

The Lizzie Borden House and Riverdale Avenue Books teamed up to create an anthology all about Lizzie. One of the suggested genres was time travel. So, I took that and ran with it.

Plot

When temporal criminal Franklin Milhouse goes back to the 1890s to try to save the Bordens from their daughter’s axe, it’s not to help them out. Rather, it’s to get Lizzie’s father to slay Joseph Kennedy, the father of JFK. And by doing so, propelling Milhouse’s ancestor, Richard Nixon, to the White House in 1960 rather than 1968.

But this is going to mess up so much of the timeline that time traveler Julia Rosen has to go back and undo it all. For bad news for the elder Bordens is good news for the timeline.

Characters

The future characters are time traveler Julia Rosen, her boss Sylvia Kowalsky, and Chief Engineer Kevin. Plus temporal criminal Franklin Milhouse. Future robotic AI characters are Grant and Betsy.

The characters from the past are Lizzie Borden, Andrew Borden, Emma Borden, and Abby Borden. These were all very real people.

Memorable Quotes {Julia’s Cover Story is She’s a Maid Named Julia Doherty}

A younger woman, her hair coming undone, looked in on the kitchen. “Are you the new maid?”

“Yes,” I said, elbows deep in suds.

“Of course she is. You’re such an ignorant girl, Lizzie,” said Mrs. Borden. “And you! Those dishes had better sparkle when you’re through with them. Don’t be taking all day, either. Oh, and, Doherty, a broken plate means you’re fired.”

“I understand.” Yeah, it’s official. I hate her.

“Could you also clean the front steps, please?” Lizzie asked me. “The pigeons made a bit of a mess.”

“You’ll do that on your own time,” said Mrs. Borden.

“Which one of us will?” I asked.

“Doesn’t matter to me. But while you’re paid by me, you’re working for me.”

I turned to Lizzie. “Sorry, but you’re on your own.”

“Ah, well, it was just a thought.”

“See, that’s your problem,” scolded Mrs. Borden. “Always trying to think when you haven’t got half a brain in your head. Such a stupid girl, don’t you think, Doherty?”

Well, this is awkward. “I, er, well, you don’t pay me to provide my opinions, ma’am.”

Mrs. Borden raised a hand as if to strike me, but then laughed. “See, Lizzie? You pay attention and you’ll get things right from time to time. Oh, and Doherty, you missed a spot.”

“I’ll go over that part again carefully. Thank you for your instruction.” And kiss my future ass.

Rating for Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline

The story has a K rating. Even though Borden probably really was a murderer, there’s nothing really about it on screen.

Takeaways for Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline

I think it’s okay. I was under a time crunch, and that probably shows. Also, while rereading, I discovered an inconsistency. Oh, well.

Short Stories and Novellas

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

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

Short Stories

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 – 1960s Temporal CrimesShort 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, Gentrification, 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, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, 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,

Self-Review – 1960s Temporal Crimes

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 5, 2024

I wrote 1960s Temporal Crimes by the seat of my pants. But I don’t think it shows its seams too badly.

Review – 1960s Temporal Crimes

Welcome back to my universes, time traveling bounty hunter (at times) Sharon Ensley.

I wrote this story during first quarter 2023. It’s kind of long. So, I’m not so sure it qualifies as a short story. Maybe it’s a novella? I don’t know. I just work here. 😉

Background

It was maybe half a year after I had been working closely with a critique group. It went all right, but they were on the west coast. When time switched to daylight savings, I could not make the meetings any longer.

One of the stories was about a Jewish gangster. This may very well have been on my mind when I dreamt up small time Jersey thug Ray Hall.

Plot

On her first solo trip in time, Sharon Ensley’s tech cracks. Unable to get home, she enlists the help of small time mobster Ray Hall. Sharon has to capture criminal Marcus Vandermore and bring him back to their time. And the only way she’ll be able to do that is to take Marcus’s tech.

But the trip to 1961 New Jersey isn’t all it seems, because Ray isn’t what he seems. For Sharon to do the right thing, but also do her job, it’ll take some fancy footwork. Is the rookie time traveler up to it?

Characters

The characters are Sharon Ensley, Ray Hall, Peggy O’Shaughnessy and her father Declan, Marcus Vandermore (in the past, he calls himself Victor), mob boss Les Hargreaves, and mob lieutenant Ralph Appleton.

I really enjoyed giving the hoods such all-American/nonethnic names.

Ray also refers to nurse’s aides named Rosalie (with her son, Jean-Paul) Baptiste, Juanita Rodriguez, May St. John, Micheline St. John, and Deborah Toussaint.

The story is from Sharon’s point of view. It works as more or less a prequel to both A Chance Encounter in Time and …And the Walls Came Tumbling Down Again.

Memorable Quotes {Ray and Sharon are Speaking}

“Oh, no, you don’t. Don’t be changing the subject on me. How can I help you? Tell me, flat out, the whole truth.”

Peggy arrived with the fries. “The complete, flat out, whole truth is these were reheated.” She winked at Sharon. “But you never heard me say that.”

“Of course not.” Sharon took a still-hot fry and tasted it. Good Lord, real potatoes are amazing. I don’t even care that they were reheated. These people have no idea what they’ve got.

Once Peggy was gone again, Ray leaned over, closer to Sharon. In a low voice, he asked again, “What’s the whole truth? You know, so help you God and everything.”

Sharon sighed. If this wasn’t my first time soloing, I’d probably have a good answer for that. So, I guess my only choice is to tell the truth. “The guy I’m looking for, Vandermore, can be dangerous. I figure you can put your hand on weapons if you ever have to.”

“And?”

“And part of my taking him back is taking possession of his tech.”

“Er, why? Don’t you have some sort of a machine or whatever of your own? Otherwise, how could you have gotten here in the first place?”

“I do. But it’s not working quite right.”

“Ah, and there it is.” He stole one of her fries. “You’re afraid you’re stuck here.”

“Well, yeah. And you’ve got fries of your own.”

“I prefer a little petty larceny. But in all seriousness, there are other people you could have turned to. So, I repeat, why me?”

“When I scanned you, I found traces of Vandermore’s DNA. Ray, you met him.”

Rating for 1960s Temporal Crimes

The story has a K+ rating. There is no real violence, although there are hints of it. Also, there is some swearing, but not too much.

Takeaways for 1960s Temporal Crimes

Like a lot of my stories, I am not too thrilled with how it ends. So, I will most likely start to think of an alternative one of these days.

It was fun bringing Sharon back. This story works particularly well as a prequel to A Chance Encounter in Time. But since both stories involve her being stuck due to her tech failing, I should probably rethink the pretext as well.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If the story of Sharon Ensley collaborating with a small-time hood resonates with you, then check out my other articles about my shorter works.

Short Stories

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 – Out of the Work Camp Frying PanShort 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, Gentrification, 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, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, 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,

Self-Review – Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 3, 2024

Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan could have been just another escape story. But I think it’s a bit more.

Review – Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan

I wrote this story during second quarter 2021. This was a year when I was writing every day, and I started the year off with various short stories. These were mainly from one-word prompts I wrote myself. For this particular story, the prompt word was X-axis.

Background

The vast, vast majority of the short stories from 2021 had no outline. There was no background, and no plan. I was flying by the seat of my pants.

But then again, so were the characters.

Plot

When four humans escape from a Ziranqui forced work camp, they do so in a stolen alien craft. They don’t understand the written language, and the instruments are unfamiliar.

And, they don’t even know how to point the craft toward Earth. But at least they’re free.

And then, they come across a planet…

Characters

The human characters are Chris Delaney, Lana Marshall, Zach Peyton, and Gail Aronovich. Tronian characters include White Wing, Golden Beak, Gray Down, Bright Plumes, and Gentle Whisper. If you haven’t guessed it by now, the Tronians are birdlike.

The story is from Lana’s point of view.

Memorable Quotes from Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan

Outer space is three dimensional. If you really want to get technical, all space is. But driving along on a country road on Earth, even if the road goes up and down in altitude, all you really need to know are two dimensions. Horizontal, the x-axis. And vertical, the y-axis. All the myriad variations on that particular theme are our directions. West, east, north, and south.

But space has more up and down, no matter what your garden variety science fiction show might lead you to believe. The familiar compass rosette goes in all directions, almost like a dandelion that’s gone to seed.

And so, our breakout from the forced labor camp is an extraordinary thing. I won’t deny that. But Delaney really has no idea where we’re going. I would tell him to pull over and ask directions, but I doubt speaking the right language for asking is possible. Or anyone knowing directions, anyway.

Or even effectively and semi-safely pulling over, for that matter. I’m sure he really doesn’t know how to fly this thing. We could be flying the alien version of going backward, and we would never know.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t blame Delaney, and I don’t mean to sound so critical. He got us out of the camp, and that was truly amazing all by itself. We all owe him a debt of gratitude. We all owe him our lives. But never has the expression ‘going from the frying pan to the fire’ ever been more apropos.

Rating

The story has a K+ rating. The characters have just gotten out of a horrible place. But they don’t really talk about it all that much.

Takeaways for Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan

One rather subtle bit is a callback to another short story I wrote in 2024, Alix’s Apocalypse.

When Gail mentions the Earth being hit with a ‘poisoned radiation beam’, it’s the exact same weapon which hits the planet in Alix’s Apocalypse. I like to think of them as being in the same universe and timeline.

Maybe Chris, Lana, and the others can come back and save Alix in some possible future sequel? I currently have no intention of writing a sequel. But never say never!

And as for the bad guys, the Ziranqui? I’ve used them in a few different stories, and I do believe they will show up in the third Obolonk trilogy as well.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

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

Want more stories featuring the Ziranqui? Then be sure to check out:

• A School for Scavengers
† Alix’s Apocalypse
• Message in an Odd Bottle
† Nuremberg Redux

Short Stories

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 – Frozen AssetsShort 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, Gentrification, 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, Aenor the Wanted, Alien Justice, And the Band Played the Apocalypse, Babel 2.0, Back, Front, and Side Pages, Camp, Courier to the Soviets, Frozen Assets, Julie's Dollar, Mandy Goes to Aspen, Martin's Choice, Mike’s Grades, Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan, Saddle Up, Bank Teller, Sarah’s Invention, Small Acts of Defiance, The Future Has No Foundation, The Ides of the Secretarial Pool, 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,

Self-Review – Frozen Assets

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on November 28, 2024

I like Frozen Assets, as it’s a latter-day crime adventure, with a twist or two. In some parts, it’s almost like a caper story. Plus, I bet there are people who have really thought of doing this.

Certainly, after the killing of CEO Brian Thompson of United Healthcare, it’s obvious that a lot of people take exception to America’s current healthcare system and insurance coverage in general.

Review – Frozen Assets

I wrote this story during third quarter 2021. This was a year when I was writing every single day.

Background

Medical bills are outrageous in the United States. And what’s more expensive than organ transplants? But what if, somehow, that could change?

And would you help change it if it turned out the means were less than legal?

Note: I wrote this story long before Brian Thompson’s murder.

Plot of Frozen Assets

Grace and Theo stare down bankruptcy when Grace’s mother dies, leaving them with nearly a million dollars in unpaid medical bills. Complicating matters is the fact that Grace’s mother sometimes used her daughter’s insurance card, and Grace and Theo cosigned on the bills.

This means the debt survives even though Dottie did not. And it’s bills for procedures and transport like a transplant and a Medevac (medical evacuation via helicopter). That is some really big bucks, right there.

As they consider their next financial moves, Theo and Grace realize the solution to their financial issues is staring them right in the face: harvesting organs and selling them on the black market.

And that’s when the fun begins.

Characters

The characters are Grace (the story is from her point of view) and Theo Barton, retired doctor Max Schulman, Max’s daughter Laurie Drew, Robbie Drew, Gina Chun, and Max’s friends, Ben, Louie, Ken, and Harry.

Oh, and a winning Standardbred sulky horse named Alaskan Holiday.

Memorable Quotes

Laurie folded her arms. “He needs to nap.”

“Can we wait?” asked Theo.

“No. He’s got to nap now.”

Max’s shuffle had become unmistakable in the months they’d been getting together—and Grace could hear it.

So, why are you protesting all of a sudden?

And then Grace knew.

The holidays are coming up. And I bet you’re lonely.

“Laurie, would you like to come with us?” Grace blurted out as Max arrived.

Theo glanced over at his wife. Grace tugged on her right earlobe. It was an old signal they’d agreed upon decades ago. It meant tell you later. Theo nodded once.

“I’m sure Laurie would find our meetings dull,” said Max.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Laurie said. “Why don’t you let me judge for myself?”

“Er, okay,” said Theo. “Do you want to ride in our car, or should we take two?”

“Two, I would say.” Laurie looked at her father. “You need a sweater.”

“Bet you do, too,” Max said.

When they were in their car and had started driving, Theo turned to Grace and asked, “Why’d you invite her along?”

Grace put on her turn signal. “She won’t be happy until she can check us out. All we have to do is make the whole thing incredibly boring to her—but harmless.”

“So, we’ll be talking about the weather?” He snapped his fingers. “And we can discuss the finer points of the Designated Hitter rule.”

“Don’t make it so boring that even Max will be done with us.”

“I’m a retired accountant. I’m professionally boring.”

Rating

The story has a K+ rating. While nothing violent happens onscreen, there are a number of illegalities. And… you don’t want to know what’s in the ice cream truck.

Takeaways for Frozen Assets

The price of organ transplants and the existence of a black market are both very real issues these days. And while I don’t recommend a life of crime, something’s got to give.

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