Get Your Shorts in a Bunch discussion

I'm Dan. I've been a member of Goodreads for almost five years now. Over the past year or so, I've read several anthologies of short stories and discovered that, for the most part, I enjoy the medium of the short story. I started this group to give me the opportunity to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly in short stories. I look forward to meeting others who share my interests.

Friends! I'm Mal and I love to read anything good. Looking forward to enjoying some wonderful short stories. Great idea Dan! Hope to engage in interesting dialog and interact with others. Thanks for the invitation Dan, appreciate being part of the group.

Hi - I love the short story too - difficult to do well but little gems of loveliness when they click :)

Mal wrote: "Friends! I'm Mal and I love to read anything good. Looking forward to enjoying some wonderful short stories."

Thanks, Mal, and welcome to the group. I'm looking forward to some great reading and discussions as well.

Mal, encouraged me to get this group started, so I've roped her into co-moderating it with me. Thanks again, Mal.

Alyson wrote: "Hi - I love the short story too - difficult to do well but little gems of loveliness when they click :)"

Welcome to the group, Alyson. I look forward to finding lots of those gems here.

Alexandar wrote: "Hello. My name is Alexandar and I am post – apocalyptic, alternative and speculative fiction writer."

Welcome, Alexander. I look forward to hearing your insights as a writer of short stories.

Hello! My name is Jeannette and I love all kinds of stories, short and long. Looking forward to seeing what this community finds. :-)

Hi... I saw one of Dan's posts in this group on my update feed, and had to join because I love short stories.

So, hi, I'm Becky and whatnot. I like reading... but lately reading has taken a backburner to Skyrim, which I've recently discovered and now can't seem to quit. LOL

Thanks for the invite, Dan. I've been writing short stories for about 20 years, and I love reading them as well. I have four short story collections. So nice to find a group that enjoys short stories!

Jeannette wrote: "Hello! My name is Jeannette and I love all kinds of stories, short and long. Looking forward to seeing what this community finds. :-)"

Welcome, Jeannette. Looking forward to discussing stories with you.

Becky wrote: "Hi... I saw one of Dan's posts in this group on my update feed, and had to join because I love short stories."

Welcome to the group, Becky. I can tell you'll contribute a lot to our discussions. I like that.

Maria wrote: "Thanks for the invite, Dan. I've been writing short stories for about 20 years, and I love reading them as well. I have four short story collections. So nice to find a group that enjoys short stories!"

Welcome, Maria. I look forward to enjoying and sharing lots of stories.

The Semi-Official Bio goes something like this: "James K Bowers, an obsessed but infrequent writer of science fiction and fantasy, has written several things longer than his own name, usually at the insistence of friends wielding cattle prods. He has never failed to include an adverb or two for the express purpose of inciting the ire of Stephen King's Disciples of Adverbicide. He is the founder of The Herscher Project, and is a member of both Elfwood and Dr. Maureen Shannon's River Valley Voices writers group."

Hello, I'm Yve. Been a writer since birth. I think short stories are a perfect medium, and I write a bunch of 'em myself - have a collection of my own out in fact. I'm here to be introduced to some new, thought-provoking examples of the form.

Hello Everybody,

My name is Felina. I saw Becky join this group on my feed and it sounded really interesting. I really enjoy short stories so I look forward to some great reads. Thanks!

Hi gang,

I'm Devlin and I'm happy to meet all of you.

I think this is a brilliant idea for a book group. I've always treasured short story collections. I devour them like precious sweets, slowly, savoring each word and phrase. I think there is no better way to get to know a writer than through their short works. One can really see their mind and creative processes come to life in this microcosm.

On a selfish note, I can use this group as the excuse I need to place my short story collections in a treasured 'to be read' file in my Kindle.

Thank you for the invite, Dan, and for the excuse I've been needing for a while now.

HI. I'm Libby and have been writing and reading short stories over 16 years. I like taking a break from my novels to write a short story. It's a palette cleanser... actually I like to say that a novel is like a marriage but a short story is like an affair. :)

Hi there, everyone! I *love* short stories and have a particular interest in pieces that focus on erotic transformation. Dan, this is a wonderful idea and I really look forward to the discussions! Thanks so much for asking me along.

Hi everyone! Great group idea. I've always found short stories to be one of my favorite literary styles. With the short length, every word counts, and I've often found you can get just as much out of a 15pg story as a 300pg novel (plus it's easier to re-read and examine closely without having a huge time commitment ha). Can't wait to discuss with everyone!

Hi, my name is Diana. Thanks for the opportunity to read comments and opinions of other short story lovers. I'm reading a book called "100 Greatest Short Stories" right now and, of course, some of MY favorites are missing, but that's always the way with "Greatest" anything, right? I have published an e-book of short stories myself, but I must confess I would rather read than write!

Great idea for a group, Dan. I'm looking forward to discussion here. I love the short story medium as well and am working on honing my own skill at writing them (I have several on my blog). It's a shame that so few major magazines publish them anymore! I think they're a real litmus test for an author's skill.

Hello everyone...My name is Leanna and have always been a fan of short stories, the more macabre the better. Looking forward to this discussion group!

Hi, I'm Charles, just joined the group. I love to read and write short stories. I've got three professionally published anthologies out, Midnight in Rosary (vampires and werewolves), Bitter Steel (Heroic fantasy), and In the Language of Scorpions (horror). I've also self pubbed some collections, Harmland (noir/horror), Killing Trail (westerns), and a single long short fantasy called Harvest of War. It'll be good to get to know folks interested in shorts.

Hi guys,

My name is also Charles and I'm a writer and editor of short fiction, mostly Appalachian Gothic stuff. I edited an anthology called DEGREES OF ELEVATION and wrote a collection called SINNDERS OF SANCTION COUNTY.

Thanks for the invite, Dan. :) My name is Jessica Bell. I'm an author of contemporary adult fiction, award-winning poet, and the co-publishing editor of Vine Leaves Literary Journal.

This is actually the very first group I've been interested in enough to introduce myself to everyone. So thanks again, Dan, for bringing it to my attention.

I'm (real name:) Michelle. Great idea for a group. Short stories need love too!!! ;-)

Hello , I am Shawn, I enjoy short stories as well as novels and graphic novels. From the postings so far I have been turned onto O Henry and Saki. Some of my favorite short story writers are Harlan Ellison,Stephen King, and Joyce Carol Oats.

HI there! I'm Christine. I haven't read short stories in a year or so, but really should pick them back up. My favorites were by Margaret Atwood and Neil Gaiman.

Hi, I'm Mikela, and actually a novice to the short story, having in the past preferred a longer novel. I do however wish to broaden my horizons and hope you can put up with my lack of exposure as I believe I can learn and eventually contribute to the group. I am having some difficulty locating the July selection (library doesn't have it) so may have to wait until August to join discussions. Thanks for the opportunity.

Hi. New here but was invited here by a member. Reading is something I have done on and off since childhood but prefer short stories as they can be read as one-offs when time permits.

Thanks for the invite, Dan. I love the group title! Anyway, I'm a stay-at-home mom of 2 boys. I've always loved short stories but find that I rarely read them so I think this group will be perfect for me.

Welcome everyone!

Hello everyone. I'm a huge fan of dark, macabre and literary stories. I especially believe that horror stories in particular work best in short form (with a few notable exceptions), so collections like The Dark Descent, edited by David G. Hartwell most accurately encapsulate my tastes.

Dan wrote: "I'm Dan. I've been a member of Goodreads for almost five years now. Over the past year or so, I've read several anthologies of short stories and discovered that, for the most part, I enjoy the medi..."

Hi Dan. Thanks for the invite. I'm currently writing an anthology of shorts. It's a humorous look at stroke recovery and nonfiction. It's titled "Don't Get Your Panties in a Wad." No I'm not plugging my book. The title of the group struck a chord with me.

Hi everyone! I'm Jo Murphey. Until recently I didn't read many short stories or anthologies of shorts. I've written very few until recently. I'm an eclectic reader of all genres.

Hi All. I'm Betsy, reader of mostly literary fiction with a little of everything else mixed in. I've been getting hooked on short fiction again by listening to the Selected Shorts podcast and the New Yorker: Fiction podcast, both of which feature readings of short stories.

Hello, Dan! I am Becky. Thanks for inviting me into this group. I have not read short stories in years but would be more than willing with some great referrals. I took a science fiction class years ago in college and read out of an anthology of sci fi. I absolutely loved it! I hope to see what greatness comes out of this group!

Welcome to Betsy and Becky. Becky, my favorite collection of SF short stories is The Science fiction hall of fame volume 1. Great great stuff.

Thanks for inviting me to join this group, Dan. I started out writing short stories and still write them as a treat to myself between novels. I love reading them. I think the right short story can deliver a stronger punch than any novel. Some of my favorite short story writers are Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Theodore Sturgeon (my sister hired a book detective to track down his anthology E Pluribus Unicorn for me), Nancy Pickard, and Robert Reed. Some of my favorite anthologies are The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and the now defunct, Sisters in Crime. Glad to have found other lovers of short writing.

Judith wrote: "Thanks for inviting me to join this group, Dan. I started out writing short stories and still write them as a treat to myself between novels. I love reading them. I think the right short story c..."

Welcome Bobby, Charles and Judith - great to have you in the group!

Hiya, I’m Melanie (aka Helena Handbasket), and firstly- thank you Dan for the invite.

I’m very fond of short stories and I’m always trying to find someone to discuss them with. I’m not a prolific poster- but I am a prolific reader, so I figure that balances everything out. Looking forward to discussing and discovering some great new shorts.

Alicia welcome, happy to have you here.

New Folks every day! Welcome.

Hi, there! thanks for inviting me to join. probably my favorite collection of short fiction so far is The Uncollected Stories Of John Cheever, 1930 1981 and short stories by Ray Bradbury, as well as Short Cuts: Selected Stories by Raymond Carver

Naomi, I'll forgive you your Arsenal fandom for your love of Ray Bradbury's short stories!

A warm welcome to you Naomi!

David, are you NOT a fan of Arsenal? how is that possible?

thanks for the welcome to you and Mal.

Ha ha, I'm a Mancunian by birth. United not City!

Actually, I don't mind Arsenal these days. They've become likeable, somehow. ;)

I picked up this great collection by Bradbury (almost 900 pages in the hardcover edition), but he was one of my first writer obsessions when I was a kid:

The Stories Of Ray Bradbury.

Me too. It's a comprehensive overview of Bradbury's amazing short stories.

I tend to like darker fare, so some of my favourite collections and anthologies are classic horror, such as Dark Forces (Edited by Kirby McCauley), the Borderlands series (Edited by Thomas F. Monteleone), the Hartwell books I think I mentioned earlier, Clive Barker's Books of Blood, and an excellent collection of fantastic literature called Black Water, (Edited by Alberto Manguel).

Fantastic! I could probably come up with more but I didn't want to commandeer the thread. :)