Editor Favorites for June 2021

Editors’ Picks

Mystery Monday

• “Once Upon a Pumpkin” (Beka Gremikova) More enchanting than a fairy godmother, this hilarious and heartwarming story weaves several familiar fairytales into a sweet portrayal of second chances. We were spellbound!
• “A Pair of Spectacles” (Cortney Manning) An actress-turned-investigator takes center stage in this murder mystery set on a cruise ship. A clever twist at the end may makes the reader look twice.

Techno Tuesday

• “The Eye of the Beholder” (Rose Q. Addams) is sweet and optimistic, a ray of hope for anyone who feels like an outcast. Everyone is different, even if those differences aren’t visible.
• “A Thousand Wings” (Patrick M. Fitzgerald) explores what could happen if the butterfly effect was real–and literal. The longer you read, the less crazy this idea seems!

Wacky Wednesday

• He has the clifftop castle. He has the monstrous pet and creepy laboratory. But Dr. Despicable cannot seem to find a decent assistant. “Bad Help is Hard to Find” (Todd Hertz) is a side-splitting spoof of the mad-scientist trope.
• “The Unexpected Paraducts Detour of Stuart Fairfax” (Michael Dolan) —Ever wondered how all those magical portals send unlikely heroes on adventures? Interdimensional pipes don’t maintain themselves. It takes a tapir-tortoise-anglerfish construction worker and plenty of paraduct tape to keep travel between worlds flowing smoothly. Beautifully absurd from beginning to end.

Thriller Thursday

• “Beware the Winter Man” (Lincoln Reed) transforms the once-magical image of a snowman into a game of desperate survival. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as the story comes to its terrifying conclusion.
• A tiger stalks the villages sprinkled among the mangroves, and one intrepid villager risks all to put an end to the killing. “Tiger Bright” (Beka Gremikova) will transport you to the shimmering jungle of Uraku and a struggle between life and death.

Fantasy Friday

• “Potts and Pumpkins” (Hannah Carter) is such a fun, unique story. The characters are utterly lovable and entirely likely to bring a smile! Who can resist a story of child-detectives with sibling relationships and a little twist of magic?
• “Blood and Ashes” (Hannah Carter) has wonderful hints of a reimagined story of the Romanov family. Heart-wrenching, epic, and magical, with a beautiful glimmer of hope at the end.