Due to some family obligations and travel, I did not post suggestions the first part of May. In total, I suggested fifteen (15) stories and poems.
Auspicium by Diana Dima was published at The Deadlands in February.
I loved this story of our internal birds that carry us away when the time is right, and the grief and pain involved when it is our loved ones and when it is us.
Small Wonders published:
If I Had a Time Machine by Angela Liu in March.
What would you do if you had a time machine?
By a Doorstep That Never Receives You by Ai Jiang in March.
(Again with the fact I will never not post an Ai Jiang story.) This one about finding connection when you shouldn’t and then loss of the connection.
Grandma is the Final Girl by Wen Wen Yang in March.
Let’s just start with the title, and the intergenerational story is great!
Inner Worlds published:
The Long Hauler’s Garage by Chad Gayle in February.
A story of grief and loss when your job requires travel near the speed of light and who is left when you return.
Recollections of the Abyssopelagic Dredge, by Aster Olsen in February.
This story had me wondering about narrator reliability, and I loved the setting and scientific framing.
Wyldblood Flash Fiction Fortnightly published:
Promise Me You Will Stay by KT Wagner in May.
A story about an immortal who keeps the mortal around her – forever.
I Like to be Hit by David Lee Zweifler in 2021.
I probably shouldn’t like this story as much as I do. It hits my dark humor bones.
Ten Easy Steps To Destroying Your Enemies This Arbor Day by Rachael K. Jones was published at Diabolical Plots in April.
What an interesting list of action items for Arbor Day (which was April 26 this year – maybe for next year)!
Interstellar Flight Press published To Kiss the Chrysanthemum Moon by Wen Wen Yang in May.
A story of a warrior & general who’s reward is to become concubine to an Emperor.
Unspeakable by Sarah Jackson was published at 7th-Circle Pyrite in March.
What happens when you find the truth, then bury it?
Lightspeed published We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read by Caroline M. Yoachim in May.
This story is amazing and if you missed it, don’t sweat, just read it now. It’s beautiful and at the end I said, “Oh!” out loud to my dogs in my living room.
The Portmeirion Road by Fiona Moore was published at Clarkesworld in May.
I adore these stories of Morag, the tech-builder from The Spoil Heap. Read the earlier 2 stories linked at the bottom of the story page first for setting and context.
Speculative City published A Tool to Carry Us by Stefani Cox in 2018.
A story of engineered dragons saving the world.
Contract Witch by Elizabeth Cobbe was published at Fireside Fiction in 2021.
When what the main character does and what she tells herself to do are not quite the same thing.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these stories as much as I did! Please consider reading more at the magazine if you really liked a story and subscribing to them! Short story markets come and go far too quickly. Monetary support helps keep them alive.