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POETRY
la luna. by Anna Elisabeth Vale of unreadwords [Free Verse]
one morning (First Line)
MICRO/FLASH FICTION
Come With Me to the Desert by Jessica Schmidt of Foxglove & Flame [Literary Fiction]
“I’m not afraid to die,” he said. “Come with me.” (Any Line)
Mercy's Accomplice by Caryn Cordova of firesidewhispers [Thriller]
Following his tracks, she found Abel prancing and growling at a man half-buried. (Any Line)
A Lunch to Remember by E.A. Colquitt of Exploring the Eyrie [Cozy]
You can’t have too much of a good thing… (Any Line)
SHORT STORY
Slug Spider Gecko Dog by Zachary Clark of Foolish Words [Cozy]
If you had—which one—if you had one to pick, if you had to pick one, which one would you pick? (Any Line)
The Kind of Boy They Watch by E. Pearce 🦇 of The Midnight Quill [Thriller]
My therapist, Dr Harper, asked whether I ever think about hurting people. (First Line)
Passport by Anton Anderson of Anton Anderson [Speculative Fiction]
Two lines to the boarding gate moved slowly past me. (First Line)
Cutting Corners by J.J. Walker of After Dusk [Horror]
The sky was orange. (First line)
SHORT SERIAL
The Red Line -- Part Three by Kevin M. Coleman of Forge City Noir [Thriller]
He could turn Doyle’s dirty money into the hope and healing that Forge so desperately needed, but it had come with entangling strings and secrets that needed keeping. (Any Line)
SERIAL
Diary of a Madman: Entries of Confusion (The Beginning) by L.G. Wells of Ink & Shadows [Horror]
“Let the madness BEGIN!” (Any Line)
Hey ya’ll,
Quick Note: Starting now, TiF Around Town announcements of upcoming events and important date-specific information has now been moved to The TiF Library. This will leave the email open for briefer and shorter and more personal messages, like the one you are about to read as I share my personal thoughts on the latest Substack “update.” TiF Around Town can now be found on the Issues page in a drop-down as shown below:
The Heatwave event just past and you can read those amazing stories here. If you’re looking for other major events that are coming up, reminder to visit The TiF Library where TiF Around Town has moved.
Have you heard about TiF Originals? Top in Fiction is finally going to start paying writers for exclusive short-short stories and our patrons (aka paying subscribers) will get access to these stories early. After a period of 2 weeks the story will then be made available to everyone. It’s 100% because of the paid subscribers we have that we are able to do this. And if we get more paying subscribers we can offer exclusive fiction more often next year.
Quarterly Reviews are a hit and I’m so happy to be able to say that! The next issue will come in October. Till then, keep reading and liking and commenting on the great work that’s out there. If you’re a writer, keep writing. These many ways of highlighting and promoting fiction is only possible because of each and every one of you!
AN UPDATE ON TIF STUDIO…
Moving forward the updates about TiF Studio will be made here but only if I have a lot to share. If you want to learn more about the reason for TiF Studio’s existence and what exactly it’s meant to accomplish or maybe you want to help me do some alpha and beta testing of this new platform that I hope to have ready by 2027, I suggest joining our Discord Server as that is where I’m most likely to drop information and ask questions from potential users.
For now, the URL is up and in “Maintenance Mode” which means it’s just a placeholder page until I think it’s ready to open the doors for users.
Whether or not this becomes a collosal mistake or an absolute success story will be up to you. But if you’re not hanging out on Substack Notes, here are the screenshots I’ve shared there to give you just a taste of what TiF Studio is and hopes to be some day.
BE A PAID SUBSCRIBER TODAY
Paying for exclusive fiction short stories is coming. All made 100% possible by your continued support.
Paid Subscribers will get early access to TiF Short Stories, for a period of two weeks, after which time the story will then be made available to all subscribers.
- Erica Drayton, Editor-in-Chief 😈
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Thanks so much for the feature! What a way to come back from a hiatus—I’m truly honored to be included in Top in Fiction this week. This is just part one of a planned serial, so if you liked this entry, make sure to stick around for the rest of the ride! As the Prince of Darkness would say, "Let the madness BEGIN!"
Thanks so much for the mention! I appreciate it.