Season Four Short Story Category Winner Announcement!

A story about a desperate man who uncovers a deeper life-saving truth.

The Lunar designed by Brian Reindel and presented to Justin Deming.

Congratulations to

Justin Deming

, our Lunar Award winner for his short story, “The Fire Tower“! Justin’s story is the first dark speculative subgenre to win a Lunar, and we’re honored to recognize it. Let’s discuss Justin’s story, and our two honorable mentions, which teach us about poor choices, regret, forgiveness and redemption. Down below we recognize the winner of our first themed badge!

The Fire Tower

Redemption. It’s one of the most powerful themes in literature and genre fiction; primarily because it’s so relatable. We’ve each been wounded in our own way and done our fair share of wounding others. Sometimes we self-inflict damage, masking the emotional scars and hiding behind our inadequacies. Rising up from the ashes, reborn, redeemed, after failing to control the chaos, is often miraculous. We love to bear witness to this triumph, an example to follow after so much destruction.

But it’s also difficult and risky to repair a faulty character, from broken to whole, to glue the pieces back together, especially in a short story. If it happens too quickly, we’re left with unresolved issues and require a broader sense of justice. Penance of sins must occur, or a sincere recognition of wrong turns taken under the influence of addiction and shortcomings. If it takes too long, we agonize over the torture and reject the author’s interpretation of mercy, which requires undue punishment.

Justin takes us to that place of brokenness, but leaves us with a healthy sense there’s still work ahead for the protagonist. The revelation leading to redemption, which is indeed speculative, asks us to peer into our own souls, questioning and confronting our suffering. Our own personal hell awaits, fraught with perils, but if we look and listen carefully enough, also provides answers to those questions that previously left us feeling empty.

The same is true of “Silver & Snow” by Josh Tatter, where a man must make amends for delivering a loved one into the hands of evil. His actions need to echo his sentiment and he has to face the encroaching darkness. In “Hersh”, by Shannon Aaron Stephens, the darkness has already descended, and must be revealed through the light of reconciliation. These are exchanges of sorts, trading rights to counterbalance the predominant wrongs. All three stories examine how we should respond upon discovering truths that at first appear too difficult to face.

One thing to note about each of these stories, especially Justin’s, is that no matter your difficulty or struggle, no matter how far you must travel into the deepest, darkest pits of despair, you are not an inconvenience to society. We share in those sufferings together so that we can also learn together how to be redeemed.

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If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In the United States, you can call 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) to speak with a trained crisis counselor 24/7. A broader list of hotlines can be found here:

Suicide Hotlines and Prevention Resources Around the World | Psychology Today

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The winner of the First Chapter category will be announced this week. Thank you for your patience and for inviting us to experience much larger epics.

Honorable Mentions

In the story “Hersh”, written by

Shannon Aaron Stephens

, a man writes a letter to his brother with heartfelt apologies and a stunning revelation.

In the story “Silver & Snow”, written by

Josh Tatter

, a heroic swordsman makes a life altering decision and spends his days seeking forgiveness.

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Congratulations to

Jessica Maison

, the winner of “The Great Pumpkin Patch” for her short story “Returning” (Dullahan and Samhain)! Turn off the lights and read this highly entertaining Halloween tale by the glow of candlelight. 🎃💀👻 Thank you for sharing this with us, Jessica.

The Pumpkin Patch designed by Brian Reindel and presented to Jessica Maison.

Participants who incorporated Halloween into their short stories below are marked with a pumpkin emoji. 🎃 Thank you to everyone who made this season extra special spooky. All of your entries were an entertaining treat to read.

Participants

(In no particular order.)

"Halo E'en" 🎃 by

Michael S. Atkinson

"Of Mist and Monsters" by

Natalie Phillips

"The Quickening" by

David R. Grigg

"Samhain" 🎃 by

Daniel O’Donnell

"No Son Of Mine" by

David Perlmutter

"The Veteran" by

James Marshall

"The Waterwoman" by

Amy Letter

"The Tale of the Moon Chinchilla" by

Vanessa Glau

"Don't Summon Us, We'll Summon You" by

Eric A. Clayton

"The Rowan Glade" 🎃 by

Sharron Bassano

"Attack of the Vengeful Pumpkins" 🎃 by

Redd Oscar

"Feedback Loop" 🎃 by

Christopher Freeland

"The End" by

Olivia St. Lewis

"Speclectic" by

Jack Massa

"Into the Gates of Hell" by

Michael P. Marpaung

"Lorem Ipsum" by

Vu Phan

"The Girl With the Green Velvet Ribbon" by

Chelsea Emilia Rotunno

"The Countdown" by

Bridget Riley

"Russell's Paradox: A Cinderella Story" by

Skeptic Fail

"Space Cadets" by

James Ron

"Horror Shop" by

reinancruz

"Cardboard Robot" 🎃 by

J.E. Petersen

"The Clown" by

The Serenity Post

"Halloween Candy" by

Bill Adler

"Found" by

Jackie Dana

"Peppy the Cyber-Skunk Goes Trick-or-Treating" by

Randall Hayes

"The Lover's Fire" by

L.L. Ford