I wanted to take a moment to tell you about about an awesome Kickstarter that is going on right now.

The WMG Holiday Spectacular 2023.

It is spearheaded by Kristine Kathryn Rusch who has many, many excellent titles to her name (or pen names), and it is in either its third or fourth year. The concept is simple… and kinda awesome. Starting on American Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday of November), backers will receive one short story per day through New Year’s Day.

Now, I want to be upfront with you. I’m not really a fan of short stories. It seems like they end right about the time I’m getting really invested, and the whole experence leaves me feeling borderline unsatisfied.

All that being said…

I am a backer. And I will continue to be a backer. Despite the fact that I don’t really click with short stories, there are some awesome storytellers in the past lineups. Kristine Kathryn Rusch has won Hugo awards for her editing, while she was at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. So, she knows how to pick good stories.

So, if I’m not a fan of short fiction, why do I keep backing an annual Kickstarter for 30 to 40 short stories? First of all, I always find stories I enjoy, even if they are dreadfully short. Second, when I find a story that really clicks for me, I study it. This is both entertainmentand enjoyment as well as continuing education as a storyteller. I could live as long as Tolkien’s elves and never learn all there is to know about storytelling.

Leveling up as a storyteller–like most other professions in human experience–becomes more difficult as you advance. Now, I am by no means a master storyteller, but neither am I some green typist stringing together the equivalent of “See Spot run.”

But I want to be as good as I can possibly be, and if Kristine Kathryn Rusch says that the stories of this years Holiday Spectacular have made her cut, then I’m going to see how many of them click with me.

And I just might discover a new writer to follow as fan, too…

If you love the Holidays and would enjoy receiving a story a day from American Thanksgiving all the way through New Year’s Day, I highly encourage you to give the WMG Holiday Spectacular a chance. I personally don’t think it’s much of a risk at all.

I hope the days treat you and yours well.

Be safe out there… at least safer than me! (🤣)