Short Stories

… Ah, Short Stories

I do love writing short stories, particularly because I can just toss them off relatively quickly and easily. So, probably the best part about them is: there’s a lot less planning to do. A lot!

But what do I, personally, think?

I firmly believe that a novel starts at something like 50,000 words. Although I will be the first to admit that a lot of my thoughts in this area are directly related to participating in NaNoWriMo.

Then it gets a bit trickier.

Novellas

So, evidently a novella is supposed to be somewhere between 10,000 and 40,000 words. But where the 40,001 – 40,999 word pieces fit in is anybody’s guess! However, I imagine that it’s a question more of how complete a story is, versus a hard and fast word count.

But I’m not 100% sure if I’m right. Eh, it is what it is.

And what is interesting (to me, at least) is that this does not seem to take into consideration chapters. But I don’t think short stories (usually) have chapters. Maybe just sections, if there is any sort of a division at all? Yet I am certain that novellas pretty much always will.

Flash Fiction

So, mainly because I really do not feel like creating yet another category, I am tossing my flash fiction together with the stuff that really belongs here. So apparently, flash is 500 words or fewer.

But if you thought I wasn’t planning my short stuff, well, the flash is really something I do not plan. And of course that much is totally all right.

Themes

So, do these stories really have any themes where you can categorize them in some manner? First of all, there are stories which I wrote for various iterations of The Longest Night Watch. As a result, you’ll see a number of stories where the underlying mood killer is Alzheimer’s disease.

But for other anthologies, there may be an LGBTQ+ element. In addition, there may be a cancer element for others.

But then there are those which I just plain wrote. Also, if you think you’re seeing some repetition, you’re not mistaken. Because I will be the first to admit that, sometimes, I just didn’t have gas in the tank.

So, I ended up cribbing from myself, heh.

But here are a few themes.

Personal Tragedy

So, for stories like Jared’s World Turned Upside Down or Mandy Goes to Aspen, the underlying elements are loss—lots of loss. With Jared, it’s the last day of his mother’s life. But with Mandy, it’s the big earthquake, which topples California into the Pacific.

Fatima’s Minnesota Wish is another such personal tragedy. Gentrification is, too.

Living With Aliens

I love the idea of human-alien romance, so I just had to write about it. The Courtship of Jeremy and Mitalisque is one such tale. Another is the combination of The Meeting, Just Married, and Designer Maroon (those are being combined).

But I also like the idea of alien children among us. This is My Child, Almost Shipwrecked, and The Student all reflect that.

History

Just like in The Real Hub of the Universe, I like a little history with my fiction. Stories like Aenor the Wanted, Vive André, and Saddle Up, Bank Teller! take the reader to another time, another place.

But speaking of time…

Time Travel

As I was writing the 2020 short stories, a character named Sharon Ensley caught hold of my mind and would not let go. So, she stars in 1960s Temporal Crimes (from 2023) and A Chance Encounter in Time.

She may or may not be the heroine of Front, Back, and Side Pages (even I don’t know yet).

School Daze

I tend to put students into difficult situations, and the theme of years of testing came up a few times. Testing, 1,2, Forever… and The Test reflect this (no surprise there, I suppose). But so does (in a way) The Guitarist.

Prison Escapes

I am a big fan of World War II escape films, so it’s no wonder that they would sometimes be my go-to for a short story plot. Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan and Breakout… And Then What? are in this vein.

The Present Time

The Wine, the Music, and the Injury, and Julie’s Dollar are both from right now, more or less.

Post-Apocalypse

Not surprisingly, Alix’s Apocalypse, plus And the Band Played the Apocalypse are both in this group.

Of course, there are other little subcategories. I’m sure I’ll find them once I start really rereading these.

The Daily Prompt Short Stories

In 2020, I made an effort to write every single day. I took the alphabet and pulled a single prompt word out of thin air. But the truth is, all the word had to do was start with the correct letter. Otherwise, it didn’t truly matter to me.

Then, once the 26 letters were out there, I had two choices. One was to just start over again. I did that after the last day of a quarter, no matter what.

But the other thing I would do was write chapters for them. As a result, I ended up with a number of short yet multiple chapter works.

But are they good enough to go to a publisher or an agent?

Eh, maybe. But more likely, I will cannibalize them for something longer.

The same is true for daily prompt stories from 2023, although I almost always took the daily prompts and turned them into novella chapters. Also, there are some short stories on the list from 2021 that should probably be combined into novellas.

But in 2024, I didn’t follow the alphabet quite so closely. So, for the most part, I just wrote what I wanted to.

For 2021 and 2023, I mainly spent the last quarter on NaNo. But in 2024, I spent part of the last quarter on 30Day50k. And I spent the last weeks on finishing some older stuff.

What About Finishing Older Stuff?

So, don’t get me started on the stuff I never really finished. So, should I take the plunge and complete them? Or just leave ’em hangin’? I think, if I am going to write a blog post about them, then eventually I will have to bite the bullet and finish them. Or kill them with fire.

So, we’ll see. But the more promising ones? Oh yeah, I’ll finish them. Although they may change a lot. And, so far, as I have been completing some, they sure have changed.

But the others, the wispier ones? At this point in time, hell if I know. Yet.

Short Stories Are the Short Trips

I think if you can view creativity as a car ride, then the short hops are right here. The novels, of course, are the lengthy trips.

Novellas are somewhere in between, like when you drive for a few hours and hang around somewhere (like a beach, maybe) but you don’t stay overnight. But flash, I would say, is the really short hops. So, those are kind of like running errands.

But what’s the gas in the tank?

So, it’s imagination. In addition, it’s prompts. Also 30Day50k, God love it. Also, observations. In addition, there are all the other things which just plain push me to write. So this includes, of course, characters that cannot shut up to save their lives.

That means you, Craig Firenze. You, MJ Tanner. And you, Trixie LaRue.

At last, it’s time to turn the key.

Want More of my Short Stories?

If my short stories resonate with you, then please be sure to check out my other blog posts and landing pages.

So, it’s about everything from a job interview for a role hunting demons to the rambling mind of an Alzheimer’s patient who thinks the care home is evidence she’s been abducted by aliens.

These are all written under my name, Janet Gershen-Siegel although some may be under JR Gershen-Siegel.

Along with a few stops in a magical dive bar, a mob enforcer escaping to Alaska with the woman he loves, a wild ride escaping from an alien work camp, and also…

Short Stories ~ Apocalypse One of These Days

So, here are stories all about some sort of an apocalypse.

• A Path Not Taken … Much – this one is more of a personal disaster.
† A School for Scavengers – is Ava the only person on the ravaged Earth who knows how to read?
• Alix’s Apocalypse
† And the Band Played the Apocalypse
• Babel 2.0
† Beacon: A Light Shines in Gloucester – will damaged, distrusting people look to a lighthouse for guidance?
• Coping – what was it like, before the Earth went to hell in a handcart?

† The End – what happens when a civilization is destroyed by the decaying of its relationship to the center of the galaxy?
• The Future Has No Foundation – what happens when the survivors of a long-ago apocalypse split into two separate factions?
† How Much? – the sale of an alien pet means its new child owner had better learn some responsibility.
†  I’d Rather Have Plastic
• In the Direction of Prejudice
† Killing Us Softly
• Leedie and the Shine – can a girl in a post-apocalyptic future reinvent the process for extracting ore?
† Your Call is Very Important to Us

Short Stories ~ Historical/Prehistorical

Because I love history and prehistory, it often inspires. So, please check out some stories about what may or may not have happened in the distant or not-too-distant past.

Prehistory and Biblical Times

So, the truth is, sometimes these are not much more than a bit of biblical fan fiction. Heh.
† Cave Canem and Cave – is this how we first domesticated dogs?
• The Field Gleaner – what if Ruth truly valued her independence before meeting Boaz?
† The Great Cleanup. Because Noah after the Great Flood is… not a nice guy.
• The Panther

Dark Ages, Medieval Times, and the Renaissance

I also have some stories about a kind of middle part of our own human history.

† Aenor the Wanted – when the miller’s daughter suddenly becomes wealthy, everyone wants to court her.

• Quack – why is the village doctor making everyone worse?
† The Village’s Death, and its Rebirth
• Will’s Dog (1599 – 1601) – who really saved Hamlet from being discarded?

1700s and 1800s

So, here are the short stories about some of my favorite parts of history!

• And the Horse You Rode in On
† The Bride
• The Cause – will women ever get the right to vote?
† Halfway – Napoleon’s army tries to survive the awful Russian winter.
• Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline (1890s) – and you thought she was just killing her parents for fun.

† Mina’s Mission (1860s) – what if President Lincoln was as interested in orchestrating regime change as later presidents (such as Reagan) were?
• Saddle Up, Bank Teller! – in this western, the last person anyone would ever suspect becomes a renegade.
† Vive André (1790s) – when an executioner becomes a kind of father confessor, will Marie Antoinette finally own up to her selfishness and misdeeds?

Also these, many of which coincide with my own life span.

20th Century

• Camp (1970s) – a story only based a little on my own experiences.
† Courier to the Soviets (1962)
• Handle (1970s)
† The Hermit
• I Trade This For My Life (1920s)
† The Ides of the Secretarial Pool (1960s)
• Never (1970s)
† The Resurrection of Ditte (kind of the 1930s and 1940s, kind of not)

Short Stories ~ Living With Aliens

So, these are stories about humans living with aliens. And they can take place here on Earth, or on an alien planet, also on a spacecraft of some sort. But sometimes living with aliens means life is not so great.

Working and Going to School with Our Alien Partners

† A Hot Time in the Alien Town
• Alien Justice
† Art Has All Sorts of Effects
• Disaster with Place Cards
† Jurisdiction – who should be trying an alien shapeshifter after they commit crimes?

• Naturalization – will space aliens ever be able to fit into human society?
† The New Kid
• The Shimmering Wasteland
† Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog
• Zeugma- read this one and find out about this little-known part of speech!

First Contacts, Proving Ourselves, and Exploration

So, these are the good, the bad, and the weird. Sometimes, it’s the really weird. So weird.

• A Show for the Galaxy – when Earth’s fate is decided by an American Idol-style competition, things get weird. And when the only script is Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, will the classics win the day?
† A True Believer in Skepticism
• Alien Allies
† All My Aliens – how do aliens ingratiate themselves into our society? With a place in our popular entertainments! But what if that means the soaps, and all their attendant… issues?

• Almost Shipwrecked
† Beauty is Only Earth Deep
• Beware – the latest space invaders on board a spaceship are small, cunning, and make everyone’s skin crawl.

† Feathers – what if the first aliens we meet have feathers?
• Fragments – what happens when explorers find the remnants of a lost moon? Can they prove there was a civilization there once?

† Glass – when a human is abducted by aliens, they fixate on the only thing that’s even remotely familiar—a pane of what appears to be glass.
• Guinea Pigs – on a mission to find a successor planet, can a pilot and the rest of the crew figure out how to navigate unfamiliar space?

† Hot Mess
• Interstellar Adoption
† Miss Milky Way
• Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM
† That’s Alien Entertainment!
• They Must Be Angels… or Not…

Battles, Wars, and Otherwise Negative Relationships with Aliens

But it’s not all sunshine and roses. So, from initial issues to the aftermath, here are some ways we just might fare in conflicts with aliens.

• Canada Saves the World
† Canaries
• Color and War
† Glad All Over the Galaxy
• The Interview – so, how badly do you want a job hunting demons?
† Inventory

Dating, Love, and Marriage With Aliens

But there are also times when we just plain love our alien pals. And they even love us back!

† Complications
• The Courtship of Jeremy and Mitalisque – love, fish sticks, and a tasty bouquet.
† Leave Your Tone at the Message
• Prom Night Was Never Like This – when a winged alien is asked to the prom, will disaster strike? And, more importantly, what are they going to wear?

† This is My Child – what happens when the human race helps out an endangered sapient species in the most intimate way possible?
• Tying the Knot With a Tefrain {a combination of The Meeting, Designer Maroon, and Just Married}

Short Stories ~ Our Future—Maybe?

There are also some stories where it’s almost a prediction of a possible future for us. But it’s possible that this is just for some other timeline. And much of the time, God, I hope it is. Because these can often be rather dark.

• The Bleeper – what if the seeds of humanity’s destruction were sown by someone who was really just trying to make a buck?
† Dinosaurs – also available on Wattpad! – what will we evolve into? And what happens to those who don’t want to evolve?
• Frozen Fortress – can we make a frozen weapon to dispatch our heat-loving enemies?
† None of This is Real – when fantasy and entertainment collide, what happens next?
• Peddler – what’s the meat that Ancha is selling?

† Quartz
• Skating
† Soul Rentals ‘R’ Us
• Stellar Stowaway
† Verity – what happens when the casualties of war are truth and courage?
• Water – how will we invent terraforming?
† What’s an Animal? – when an environmental disaster has gone on for so long that people forget there were ever animals on the Earth, what happens when two young girls find something?
• You Will Drink Your Coffee and Like It – uh, oh, the new coffee maker is judging us.

Short Stories ~ Personal Tragedy

So next, here are stories where personal tragedy comes to the fore. Some of these may be difficult to take, so consider this to be your very own personal trigger warning. Because I ain’t kiddin’.

† Jared’s World Turned Upside Down – the bottom drops out of Jared’s life when his mother dies. How will this profoundly disabled man navigate the world without her?
• Julie’s Dollar – human trafficking victim Julie already has the dream. She just needs a dollar.
† Mandy Goes to Aspen – the first thing that goes wrong for Mandy is the avalanche that buries her while skiing. But that’s just the start of her misfortunes.
• Martin’s Choice – a fraternity keg party goes horribly wrong as one brother weighs whether he should call the police.
† There is a Road

Short Stories ~ The Present Day, More or Less

I also wrote some stories with so much taken from right now that we may as well just call them as being from the present time.

• A Kitten – Susie just wants a kitten for her sixth birthday. But will the people in charge say yes?
† A Place – because a room of one’s own means a lot more when you’ve never had one before. And when just about everything you own comes from donations.
• AM/FM Ghosts – will a phalanx of demons derail one retiree’s planned investments in an old radio station? Do you have to ask?

† A Trip – if you live long enough, you’ll probably end up in a similar place—a nursing home.
• A Tumble in a Tomb – what if you were trapped in an Egyptian tomb? And there was an earthquake…?

† The Boy in the Band
• Building Trust – can Bethany tame Running Wildfire? Can anyone?
† Buzz – if drinking coffee is against your religion’s beliefs, and latte means you’ll lose your home, you might have a problem…
• Captive – can an elderly hostage get a group of terrorists to treat her more like a beloved granny than an enemy, particularly when she can’t say more than a few word in their language?

† Caring for Carole – how do you keep life enriching for your mother as she slips into Alzheimer’s?
• Carney Crash Canyon
† Courage – sometimes, you need a ton of courage just to ask someone if they’d care to dance.
• Cynthia – can this non-human help her all-too frail human as he slides into dementia?
† The Dish
• Dominick and Angela – is love enough to help Dom and Angie get away from the mob?
† Eight Nights

Also these…

† Fatima’s Minnesota Wish – when your little sister is dying, and the Mayo Clinic is doing all they can, can you blame Fatima for also depending on the brass ring from a carousel?
• First Real Job
† Freedom of Choice
• Freshly Baked Bread – from grinding poverty to a hopeful future, with plenty.
† Frozen Assets
• Gentrification – peeling back layers of wallpaper also peels back layers of a family’s shameful secrets.

† The Guitarist
• Impromptu Memorial – based on real events.
† Jealousy – oh, the pain of being replaced by someone else!
• King Me
† The Last Patient

And then there’s…

† No Trip to Jupiter
• Props – going to a nursing home is too confusing a concept for one new resident. So, she invents a new scenario, where she’s been kidnapped by aliens.

† Quarrel – ripped from the headlines, MAGA meets a liberal rep and her resourceful aide.
• Rage – what happened to that cosplayer?
† Rescued – will Samantha survive what turns out to be more than an earthquake?
• Rivalry – of the sibling variety, that is.

• Scavenger Hunt at Lanterman’s Mill – is the prize money really worth all this… work?
† Shadow Puppets – how can you relate to your husband when he’s in the later stages of Alzheimer’s?
• Small Acts of Defiance – Susanna and her family help people cross the border all the time. It’s illegal. But is it, maybe, ethical all the same?
† Uninformed – a story which almost seems quaint now.
• When Russia Attacked Texas (originally, I called this one Odessa) – Mom and Dad might never be coming back. Can Carly and her brother fend off invaders from the other side of the world?
† The Wine, the Music, and the Injury
• Wilder Bloom

Short Stories ~ Prison Plus Other Escapes and Their Aftermath

This is so directly related to my favorite type of film, it’s not funny. But what is my favorite type of film? It just so happens to be World War II prison escape films!

• African Escape – Alicia just has to get the artifacts home so they can be verified. Poachers and her boyfriend’s violently jealous wife don’t make it any easier.
† Appealing – exoneration brings with it some new possessions but very little in the way of personal vindication.

† Breakout… and Then What? – digging out of an alien prison is the easy part.
• Escape from Alien Mines – Xavier has known no life beyond working in the minds. So, when Amy, a new prisoner, preaches to him about freedom, he doesn’t believe her.
† Unexpected Help

Short Stories ~ Sharon Ensley’s (and Others’) Time Travel Adventures

Long after the Time Addicts Trilogy ends, the tripartite human/Obolonk/robotic society still exists. So, who’s one of our fearless time travelers? Why, it turns out to be Ms. Ensley herself.

But there are some stories where it may or may not fit the same universe. Yet those are still all about time travel. So, I’m putting them here. At least for now.

† 1960s Temporal Crimes – Sharon Ensley needs small time hood Ray Hall to help her bring back temporal criminal Marcus Vandermore. What’s the best way she can repay Ray?
• A Chance Encounter in Time – when Sharon Ensley meets Tim, sparks fly. But he’s centuries older than her. And is he really supposed to die on 9/11?

† A Crime in Time – Salene’s got a time traveling agent turned rogue. But his own behavior may have led to more of a punishment than the law can dish out.
• A Life in Maps

†  … And the Walls Came Tumbling Down Again – when a biblical event turns out to be real, and a rival time traveler prevents it from happening, can Rachel and her team put back the original timeline?
• Back, Front, and Side Pages
†  Clay – what happens when a future society learns that time is malleable?

Plus…

† It’s Five O’clock Somewhere – when the consequences and collateral damage from time travel bite hard, how can anyone recover?
• The Lost Luggage of Time
† Recruitment Time – will Hudson Leduq be able to successfully recruit professional time traveler Sharon Ensley to his side?

• Side by Side – a crude form of temporal (or perhaps universal) sensitivity raises more questions than it answers
† Three Minutes Back in Time – Rosemary wants to believe it’s real. Because if it is, maybe her brother Freddie won’t have to die this time.
• Time Stretching

Short Stories ~ Students and Other Kids Under Pressure

Now, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t, at times, still dream about being in class! Because that sinking feeling is just so universal, I have taken it and run with it!

† Examination
• Failure – which is an option a lot more often than you might think.
† Mike’s Grades – be careful what you volunteer for
• Sarah’s Invention – she’s just a kid, but Sarah may have just changed the world.
† The Student
• The Test
† Testing… 1, 2, Forever

Short Stories ~ Magic and Fantasy

So, there are a few stories where the plot is a lot more like magic or fantasy than actual science fiction or realism.

• A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults – who is this mysterious stranger who’s just appeared in Flora’s home?
† A Touch of Gray Hair – can Bigfoot find love?

• Dragon for Sale, Cheap
† Enchantment Street
• The Escape Violinist – what if the afterlife was all about paying it forward?

† The Forest
• I Hate Promises – babysitting Earth is such a drag for a demigod.
† The Metuchen Mystery

• The Myth of the Last Try – can a dive bar be magical?
† Pixies – which I could probably subtitle something like, I get by with a little help from my semi-magical friends.

Short Stories ~ Tyranny in All Its Forms

While of course it’s a horrible thing to think about, it does inspire some writing. But some of this might be a bit triggering. And so, you have been warned.

• Blue Card – a bit of trash in the street catches the eye of a girl living in a totalitarian society. What else is the government just throwing away?
† Brown Eyes are the Law – if you don’t look enough like the leader, you’re breaking the law.
• Darkness into Light – conformity for all! Or else.
† In the Direction of Prejudice – you’re not worthwhile if you’re not an Easterling.

Short Stories ~ The Ziranqui Invasion

Since I’ve been using them as more or less the equivalent of a catch-all villain, the Ziranqui get their own section. But I will be the first person to admit that I may have relied on them a little too much.

Therefore, some of these may get a different villain species. And then, of course, I’ll move them.

† Guilty of Imperfection – when a showgirl is taken prisoner by our alien enemies, can she withstand their torture?
• Mythic – if we lose the Ziranqui war, it’ll look a lot like this.
† Nuremberg Redux – atrocities don’t go unpunished.
• Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan
† What Did You Do in the War? {technically, the alien species is the Tritti; I may use them elsewhere}

Short Stories ~ Horror

I don’t write a lot of horror. But when I do, it looks something like this…

• Coincidence – the people in the reflection of a passing commuter train don’t seem real. Are they?
† Oh Little Town – what do you see in the glass? And how will it hurt you?

Short Stories ~ Related to Novels

In addition to the above, I have a few stories which are either prequels or serve as missing scenes from much larger universes.

Enigman Cave

• Bet on Marnie (prequel) – never count out Marnie Shapiro
† Surprises (missing scene) – the long slog back to Earth is made easier with a little help from Marnie’s friends and a certain hot assistant veterinarian

Real Hub of the Universe

† A Celebration (missing scene)
• The East Side of the Universe (prequel) – why was Ceilidh able to leave Ballyvaughan, the only home she had ever known?
† Snowy Allston (missing scene)

Obolonks and Time Addicts

† Eros vs Thanatos (Obolonk prequel) – Peri and Charlie’s relationship is complicated. There, that’s a nice word for it.
• Message in an Odd Bottle (Obolonk/Time Addicts universe; will probably serve as a bridge to the third trilogy) – the president’s super-hearing seems to be turning into tinnitus as she ages. But what if she was really hearing a distant message?
† The Dust Between Our Stars (Obolonk/Time Addicts prequel) – how did the Obolonks first get here? And how did we humans prevent first contact from going pear-shaped?

Others

† Timelines are Alive (massive crossover)
• Unreliable (Untrustworthy prequel) – how did Tathrelle and Ixalla’s society turn tyrannical?

Short Stories ~ Catch-All

Finally, for the stories which do not neatly fit into any of the above buckets, here’s a place for them.

But if enough of them end up following a theme, then I will make a new section.

(A-C)

So here are some stories that aren’t yet in a category.

† The Black Month
• Candy
† Chains
• Chip
† The Court
• The Crossing
† Cultural Exchange

Short Story Reviews (D-H)

So, here’s another little group.

• Daybreak – will an operation to restore sight in a blind person work?
† Easy
• Flooding – will the colony survive a disastrous flood?
† Freedom
• Getting Over It

Short Stories ~ Reviews (I-L)

Also, there’s this smaller bunch.

† I Used to be Cruel
• I Used to be Happy
† Intolerable Behavior
• The Invaders
† The Jungle
• Justice
† Kelvin 505.928

And then there’s …
† The Landing
• The Lark – what happens when, as a race, we forget some of the underpinnings of our very humanity?
† The Law
• Legendary
† The Little Farm
• Loud – the downsides to what is essentially supersonic hearing.

Short Stories ~ Reviews (M-O)

So, these are stories only starting with these three letters, but I certainly used them a lot!

• Make a Wish
† Marked
• Medals – a 5K race is an occasion for a former sergeant to question her choices in life.
† Merciful
• The Messenger
† Modern Sonnet
• Money Changes Everything
† My Heroes

Also these…
• Neighborly – the off-kilter relationship between an elderly neighbor and her teenaged tough guy neighbor.
† The Other
• The Outside World

Short Story Reviews (P-R)

Also, there is this smaller grouping.

† The Path
• Personal Magic
† Placid – what’s in the lake?
• The Playback
† Protection – can a witness escape the mob?
• Recovery
• The Ridge
† Roommates

Short Stories ~ Reviews (S only)

So as you might imagine, there are a lot of short stories starting with the letter S.

• Save Me
† Scratches
• The Seed
† Separated
• Shadows
† Short, Sharp
• Snub

Also,…

† So Long
• Soup
† Space Con
• The Star
† Succession
• Sunshine – what’s it like on the outside?
† Suspension of Disbelief

Short Stories ~ Reviews (T-Z)

Finally, here is the last bunch.

• Taste
† Treasures
• Truth in Advertising – exile on a desolate planet with only his shrew of a wife for company? This is so not what Stavros had in mind.
† Turkeys
• Underfoot
† The Unexpected Phenom

In addition, there are these.

• Weeding
† What’s Your Story?

Also, there’s…

• The Witness
† Who Do We Blame for This?
• Wicked Ways
† Worthy
• You Never Know

Next blog post and self-review of a collection of short stories

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