Havok Season Two: Stories That Sing Anthology Finalists

We know you’ve been waiting patiently for news about your Season Two anthology winners. The “Stories That Sing” season covered so many fantastic songs from across the history of music, and the stories themselves were fabulous.

If you’re new to Havok (and as a refresher for those who’ve been around for a while), we operate as an ongoing contest of sorts. Each weekday, we publish stories that fall into five broad genres:

• Mystery (anything mysterious, unknown, with a question to be answered)
• Science fiction (futuristic, technical, spacey)
• Humor (comedic situations and funny characters)
• Thriller (action, suspense, life-threatening situations)
• Fantasy (made-up worlds, mythical creatures, and magic)

Each month, every story published fits within a theme, which fits within the overall context of the season. For “Stories That Sing”, each month was a decade of music, with December being “Open Mic Night” and covering any kind of musical inspiration you can imagine.

Today’s celebration includes the stories that rose to the top of the charts based on editor and reader feedback and evenly selected across all five broad genres and each of the six monthly themes. Without further ado, here is the Season Two anthology “long list”, the stories that qualified for consideration in our next printed anthology, along with the names of the songs that inspired them!

1950’s (July)

• Blue Moon by J. L. Ender – “Blue Moon”
• Woman of Letters by A. K. R. Scott – “The Book of Love”
• The Clock by Susan Lyttek – “Rock Around the Clock”
• What Happens in Las Veggies… by J. L. Ender – “Blue Suede Shoes”
• Ties That Bind by Stephanie Scissom – “I Walk the Line”
• Unknown Neighbors Join Together by Abigail Falanga – “Chanchiki Okesa”
• Mothership by L.N. Weldon – “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”
• Voices in Twilight by Andra Marquardt – “Twilight Time”
• Radio Stars by Teisha J. Priest – “The Purple People Eater”
• Salty by Michael Dolan – “Why Do Fools Fall in Love”

1960’s (August)

• Fire and Stone by Zachary Holbrook – “Puff, the Magic Dragon”
• The Untethering of Caroline Donadeiu by Sam Shaw – “She’s Not There”
• The Game by C.S. Wachter – “Sympathy for the Devil”
• Samara Spade and the Case of the Antelope Mickey by Susan Lyttek – “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
• Everyone’s a Henry by Charles Frierman – “I’m Henry the VIII I am”
• Muzzle by Abigail Falanga – “I Love My Dog”
• Surf’s Up by J.M. Cobb – “Catch a Wave”
• Ruined Boys by Brianna Tibbetts – “House of the Rising Sun”
• Old Fashioned Letters by Dalia Grigorescu – “Return to Sender”
• Potato Panic by J.L. Ender – “Octopus’s Garden”

1970’s (September)

• Weaver of Dreams by Jebraun Clifford – “Dream Weaver”
• Stealer of Secrets by Cassandra Hamm – “Message in a Bottle”
• Identity by Abigail Falanga – “Let It Be”
• Cadillac Cold Case by Lauren Hildebrand – “One Piece at a Time”
• Taller Than Ever by J. L. Ender – “The Little People Work” (instrumental from Star Wars soundtrack)
• No Barrier Strong Enough by Ronald A. Lindsay – “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”
• The Devil Tries Again by R. F. Grammon – “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”
• Fly by Emily Grant – “Freebird”
• Slippers by Abigail Falanga – “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)”
• Weary Dreamer by Lila Kims – “Dreams”

1980’s (October)

• Snowfall by Jonathan King – “Snowblind”
• Reign’s End by Ayame Whitfield – “King of Pain”
• From the Mind of the Dead by Josiah Dyck – “Always Something There to Remind Me”
• Samara Spade and the Case of the Romantic Arsonist by Susan Lyttek – “In Your Eyes”
• Rave by Justin Mynheir – “Dancing In The Dark”
• On the Back Alley Wall by Amber Woods – “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)”
• Fail-Safe by Nathan Conlon – “Metal Gods”
• Split by Renae Brumbaugh Green – “The Raider’s March” (instrumental from Indiana Jones sountrack)
• Dinner for Two by Katie Robles – “Every Breath You Take”
• Dave and the City of Radishes by Justin Mynheir – “Holding Out For A Hero”

1990’s (November)

• Resurrection in a Bottle by Zachary Holbrook – “Ghost Train”
• Mischievous Fire by Josiah Dyck – “Night of Fire”
• Siege of the Dead by Kristiana Sfirlea – “Zombie”
• Getting Jitters by Dan Megill – “Closing Time”
• Four Pillars by Andrew Swearingen – “Jumper”
• Careful What You Hunt For by Emily Grant – “Genie In A Bottle”
• Skinthief by Cassandra Hamm – “Bitter Sweet Symphony”
• Precious Dirt by L. J. Skelton – “Mmmbop”
• Inverse Life by Maku Kasai – “Semi-Charmed Life”
• Rubbed the Wrong Way by Laurie Lucking – “Genie in a Bottle”

Open Mic Night (December)

• Mine by Sophia Hansen – “Earth Angel”
• Wilson’s Smile by Zachary Holbrook – “Smile”
• A Good Night to Be Alive by Meaghan E. Ward – “Who Let the Dogs Out”
• Samara Spade and the Case of the Mystified Misfit by Susan Lyttek – “Roundabout”
• Darksoul by Rachael Kemme – “Mirror Girl”
• The Invasion by Abigail Falanga – “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
• Real by Lindsi McIntyre – “I Want To Know What Love Is”
• The End of Everything by Edward Sand – “Somewhere Only We Know”
• Peanut Butter Paralysis by A. C. Williams – “I’m a Believer”
• Dust Bunny Revolution by Kathryn Rose – “Dust in the Wind”

Congratulations to those who made it this far! If you don’t find your name on this list, authors, keep trying! You’ll never know how close you came (because we won’t tell you), and there were a lot of close calls in this competition. We look forward to seeing your future submissions.

Stay tuned, and we’ll be announcing the winners of the Season Two anthology “Stories That Sing” later this month!