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I made it a month. . . And failed. Although, I wouldn't really call it a failure, more of a re-alignment. Right before 2018 hit us I vowed to read 24 books this year (which is the consistent never met rollover goal), a short story every week with a review, and then a bunch of writing, both short stories and novels. Well, I'm a month in, give or take a week, and up until last Sunday I've been consistent with reading and critiquing short stories. . . . And that's about it.  I can't really complain because a lot of good things have happened. However, because of a few additions to my schedule I needed to take a step back and reevaluate a few things. Realign the priorities. So, because I haven't gotten nearly as much writing done as I've wanted to, I'm dropping the weekly short story review in favor of devoting that time to my own projects. I know, your inboxes thank me. I'll still post when I read a few here or there to BS about them, but nothing on a regimented schedule. I want to get more words on the page then I have been and this will probably help a little bit. If you haven't already, feel free to check out Songs We Play When We Pretend We're Ourselves. Reception's been good thus far and I'm really happy about it. So thank you to everyone who read it and shot me a message with what you thought. Until next time! Cheers everyone.
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Or at least that's what it seems like as we round the corner on another Short Story Sunday. But there's more to this sunday than that. So stick around after the my quick review and find out what's up.
Our pick this week was How We Escaped Our Certain Fate by Dan Chaon out of the Nightmares anthology. My first encounter with Dan Chaon was in grad school when I was assigned his 2009 novel Await Your Reply. It was a mish-mash of narratives and character types all thrown together in slightly connected story lines. His short horror story about a zombie ravaged yet still functioning America was a really entertaining read. The story follows a father and a son after a bang of an opening when said son shoots and kills someone. Not that shocking a zombie horror story. . . Except the person who was threatening the kid's father wasn't a hungry undead, but someone else trying to survive. Now we have to decide if that's okay in a turmoiled, anarchist world, or if there are still lines being drawn and subsequently crossed. Chaon captures the moral questions really well in this story and uses the world he's built to subtly ask the reader questions that are pertinent to our own lives. Who would have known that zombies could lead to life affirming questions and answers? Hint: everyone who grew up with Resident Evil : ) Next week's choice for Short Story Sunday was randomly selected by my lovely other half Eryka, and will be coming out of The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century. And that selection is duh-duh-duh Fire Watch by Connie Willis. Alright, so aside from reviewing, I have a short story post of my own to throw out here. The Lascaux Review picked up a short story of mine Songs We Play When We Pretend We're Ourselves and I'm thrilled about it. If you want to read it click here: http://lascauxreview.com/songs-we-play/ It's free to read, but if you enjoy it (and I hope you do) or any of the other stories in the review, please consider donating to the publication. It allows them to stay open and put up stories by wackos like me! Cheers everyone, have fun watching the Super Bowl! |
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