Those of us who write short stories are glad to see a whole month devoted to them. We like to think that the short story is undergoing a bit of a renaissance. In the past, as Anne R. Allen mentions in her blog post from yesterday, The New Golden Age of Short Fiction: 12 Reasons to Write a Short Story This Month, authors have used short stories as practice runs for longer works, such as novels.
But some of us write short stories predominantly, and there are even online groups for authors who do so. Like the Short Mystery Fiction Society, for example. I'm a proud member of the group.
One of our members, author Susan Oleksiw, is writing on the SMFS blog today about her experiences in writing short fiction, and the differences in writing short crime fiction vs. the crime novel.
You can read one of Susan's short stories, The Secret of the Pulluvan Drum, free online.
Other members of the SMFS have stories free to read online:
Ben Solomon, The Hard-Boiled Detective, has a story, No. 3: Simeon Von Runk, here.
Georgia Ruth, has a story titled The Blue Ridge Wreath over on Stupefying Stories.
Other online stories to read or listen to were written by SMFS member Rob Lopresti.
Shanks on the prowl (podcast)
Shanks holds the line
Snake in the Sweetgrass (podcast)
Crow's feat
And here are two dramatizations of his stories by the Midnight Mystery Players:
Crow's avenue
Crow's feat
And a story by Jan Christensen, Why I Quit Jogging. You can find more of Jan's mystery stories on her website.
With the ease of publishing digital e-books now on Amazon for the Kindle and for other devices, many authors are taking matters into their own hands and publishing their own collections of stories. Many small presses are popping up and publishing anthologies of stories, too. From science-fiction/fantasy, to mystery/suspense, action-adventure or horror---no matter what you love to read, you can find numerous short story collections out there now. And many of the classic pulp authors are being re-published, too.
There are lots of new online 'zines that publish short stories, way too many to mention here. Over the past few years, some of my stories have been published online, free for readers. And many public libraries have special sections for short story collections. Check 'em out!
If the last short story you read was something back in high school, give it a chance again. They are great for filling in all those "waiting times"---take out your smart phone or Kindle and read a short story.
A few of my short stories that have been published over the past few years are listed through the "Free Macabre & Mystery Short Stories" link above. I hope you enjoy them!
I have also published a series of "Nameless, Texas" short mystery stories for sale over on Amazon.
Happy reading!
bobbi c.
