Sunday Shorts—Lava Falls by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

Lava Falls is the novella for which Lucy Jane Bledsoe's collection is named, and I while I mentioned the first story in the collection (Girl with Boat) way back in January as one of the best opening tales in a collection I've ever read, this novella? Masterful. I'm not sure I can do the narrative …

Sunday Shorts—Home by Nnedi Okorafor

I read Binti a couple of years ago, I loved it, which told such a brilliant story. I'd sort of squirrelled away Home, the next novella in the series, for some unknown "later" when I'd need a novella I knew would be amazing. That time came in mid-winter this year, when I hit a wall of …

Sunday Shorts—Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole

Ohmigosh I really enjoyed this. First, I want to talk format. This Sunday Shorts series lets me take a moment to focus on shorter fictions, be it short stories, novelettes, short plays, or novellas, and this book was a perfect reminder why I wanted to take time every week to focus on those formats. I …

Sunday Shorts – “Skin,” by Christian Baines

Kyle, a young newcomer to New Orleans, is haunted by the memory of his first lover, brutally murdered just outside the French Quarter.  Marc, a young Quarter hustler, is haunted by an eccentric spirit that shares his dreams, and by the handsome but vicious lover who shares his bed.  When the barrier between these men …

Sunday Shorts – “Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles,” by Eli Easton

Toby Kincaid loves being the junior librarian in his hometown of Sandy Lake, Ohio. He spends his days surrounded by books and chatting with the library patrons. He especially adores the head librarian, Mr. Miggles, who is kind, witty, knowlegable about everything, and hopelessly addicted to Christmas. Sean Miggles is also pretty cute—especially for an …

Sunday Shorts – Sock it to Me, Santa! by Madison Parker

Ryan is assigned to Jamie Peterson for his class's secret gift exchange. If word gets out that he has to make a handcrafted gift for flamboyant and openly gay Jamie, Ryan will be the laughing stock of the school. It's a good thing no self-respecting boy would be caught dead in a craft store, because …