Hello again, friends.

What can be said about the upcoming week other than I hope you find something to read here that lets you avoid thinking about the obvious distraction for a little while, and that next week when I write our collective stress levels are down.

On Monday Ceillie Clark-Keane reviewed Tabitha, Get Up by Lee Upton and published by Sagging Meniscus). A novel which, from Ceillie's description of it, sounds like just the kind of thing to be reading over the next few days:

When Tabitha, a fifty-year old writer in urgent need of cash, learns that Brent Vintner, a recognizably famous actor, and Piper Fields, a beloved children’s book author recently outed as the writer of erotic adult novels, are both staying in her small town for the summer, she hatches an ill-conceived scheme to complete both of their biographies at once.

Ceillie has reviewed for us numerous times, and you'll find links to more of her reviews and other writing on her website.

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Then on Wednesday our monthlong series of stories about dangerous creatures came to close with "Wolf Skulls, Four Dollars (Harwich, 1713)" by Corey Farrenkopf. 

 Transgression is a defining feature of horror fiction and one that has, over the centuries, shifted considerably. Contemporary horror often subverts antiquated notions of power, hierarchies, and villainy to engage in new ways with ideas about transgressions. In Corey Farrenkopf's story "Wolf Skulls, Four Dollars (Harwich, 1713)," Richard transgresses by going against his father's wishes; however, by the end of the story, humankind's dominance over the natural world is called into question when an alliance is formed between interspecies victims. 

This is the third story we've published by Corey and we're glad to have him back.

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And on Friday we closed the week with Lori D'Angelo (who recently wrote a review for us as well) sharing some research notes for her story collection The Monsters Are Here from ELJ Editions. 

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Elsewhere, contributor Marguerite Sheffer will see her debut story collection The Man In The Banana Trees published in the coming week, after it won the Iowa Short Fiction Award. It includes her story "The Midden", first published in our pages.

And contributor Avitus B. Carle ("The Woman Inside") also sees her debut collection These Worn Bodies published this month, by Moon City Press.

In music news — not our usual beat! — contributor Ben Loory collaborated with composer Nathan Hudson on the newly released Music for Falling and Flying, pairing music with Ben's stories.

And to close things this week, contributor Abigail Oswald ("Notes on a Departure") writes with a reading recommendation:

I haven't been able to stop thinking about S. by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst. The book itself is a beautiful and mysterious object, designed to look like an old library book with all sorts of postcards and clippings tucked in its pages, as well as a ton of handwritten marginalia. It turns out that the novel is one story -- about a man with amnesia trying to uncover the truth about who he is -- but there's a second story unfurling in the margins, as two students write back and forth to each other trying to unravel the mystery of the author's identity. It's a fascinating metafictional experiment, an incredible ode to storytelling, and just really freakin' fun to read.

Thanks for reading everyone, and I will see you on the other side of this week.

Steve Himmer