Monthly Recap Live! #11 in 2025

Any errors seen below such as typos, miss-labeling of genre or category, wrong link, wrong person mentioned, etc. please state the error in the comments and I will update immediately. Mistakes can happen. I am only human.

If you missed this conversation, you’re in luck cause the Live is here for your listening (and viewing) pleasure. Apologies if the volumes seem off, I’m not a sound tech!

We discussed TMVII, the process, the sponsors, and of course the stats, as well as a bit about the future plans of The Midnight Vault overall.

J. Curtis

,

Shane Bzdok

, and

Bryan Pirolli

have been working hard to make TMVII the viral success that it is today and soon, we’ll get to see a physical representation of their hard work when Volume II is released. Honorable mentions should also go to

Sean Thomas McDonnell

who was there from the beginning on this project. And all the writers who made the first, and especially the second iteration such an integral part of the fiction community.

It was a great hour long discussion that I think I’ll start to look forward to having with them every year. As they up their game with bridging community and storytelling, I hope to up my game with questions for them.

Below are the usual callback stories from the last four weeks of November, PLUS, I’ve gone ahead and included 25 stories from The Midnight Vault II. They are, by no means the best, as that honor is subjective to you, dear reader. But I hope they are as much of a varied selection for you to sink your teeth into, and if you have the time, go read all 98 of them!

Issue #45 | Issue #46 | Issue #47 | Issue #48

POETRY

Winter’s hold - 11/9/25 [Fantasy]

A.M. Bowman

of Navlys Unlocked

---

SHORT STORY

(MAN)I(N)FESTATION - 11/2/25 [Horror]

Drew Valdez

of MEAT SANDWICH

A complex case - 11/5/25 [Mystery]

Didrik

of Grime Light

The Waiting Well - 11/13/25 [Horror]

Jenifer Jorgenson

of Snark Floats

The Stranger-in-Red and the Three Sealed Gifts - 11/20/25 [Fantasy]

E. H. Lau

of Hatching Stories

Tubby Time - 11/21/25 [Horror]

Sincerely Seb

of My Sebstack

Iridium & Ichor - 11/26/25 [Romance]

L.G. Wells

of Ink & Shadow

Jeepers Creepers, It’s The Grim Reaper - 11/25/25 [Comedy]

Howard Fox

of The Joke’s On You

---

THE MIDNIGHT VAULT II - A SMALL SAMPLING

With 98 stories to choose from, it’s difficult to say which is best. They’re all so damn good! I don’t envy the boys and the hard road ahead to putting together their next anthology. Till then, if you haven’t started yet, here are a few to get you started. But check out The Entire Vault here.

Waiting for the End by

Nissa Harlow

Birds of a Feather by

Sean Thomas McDonnell

W29 by

Asteria Geisterblum

The Ferryman by

Angela Allen

Hell’s Mirror by

Liz Zimmers

The Whistleback by

DJ Stapleton

For a Muse of Fire by

Garen Marie

No Promise But Enlightenment by

EJ Trask

It’s Never Aliens by

A.P. Murphy

Sympathy from a Devil by

Author Michele Bardsley

The Digital Reflection by

Milla Stellan

The Gospel According To Us by

J. Curtis

The Gap by

John Ward

The Billiardist by

Layne Mercer

Opposite Attraction by

Bryan Pirolli

Lonesome End by

Miguel S. | The Fiction Dealer

Last Call by

Michael S. Atkinson

Achievement Unlocked by

Andy Futuro

M.I.R.A. by

Erica Drayton

Fall Back by

Ben Wakeman

Trompe L’oeil by

Shane Bzdok

A Perfect Guest by

S.E. Reid

Blackbird by

Hanna Delaney

3 Curses by

Tell Me a Mystery

The Wager by

Matthew Spence

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