I am a huge fan of short stories that also span multiple genres. One of my author heroes from my childhood was Robert E. Howard, who wrote not just the Conan tales which people are more familiar with, but stories that spanned time and space. From the prehistoric past to what would be for him "modern day" of the 1930's. What most people don't realize, Conan is a series of short stories that were published in "pulp" magazines. However, at times you would see his themes recycled from Conan to a more modern tales about an American sailor cast adrift in an exotic land. I read Pigeons from Hell as part of a Howard collection set in the 1930s, but the stories range from the pre-historic the the "present."

Short stories are not novels. They are not entruncated versions of novels. In my earlier post from 2015, when writing on this same topic I noted that author's choose short stories for a variety of reasons. For example, Murder on the Rue Morgue or even Tell-Tale Heart tell very contained stories that while connected by the theme of murder, the stories that are wildly different. The first is told from the perspective of a detective, sort of a proto-Sherlock Holmes, while the other is narrated by a murderer descending into madness. The characters, the narrative voice, they are all very different. One of my favorite writers of short stories is also a novelist. He used to comment that he chose the short story or novel based on what he intended to convey to the reader. I imagine they would find humorous observations that short stories are inferior to novels in some way.

My collection of Tales of the Lost Horizon are similar in that they span genres because there were different purposes behind the origin of the tale and the story I intended to create. So, for example, Dancing with Demons was composed to show the descent into madness of a young king who began his journey based on good intentions. But by the end of the tale, his choices led him to an unescapable pathway.

Why a short story?

Short stories allow authors to focus on themes, characters, setting, motivations, etc. in a very different way than novels. They permit the author to craft tales that deliver very differently because of the compactness of a short story. For example, Ellie, in the post-apocalyptic thriller Cast Iron Sights, undergoes a journey in her story that is very personal. She begins extremely cautious at the beginning of the tale, a deer ready to run at the thought of living or dead being close enough to do her harm. Over the course of her journey, she finds something inside that allows her to rise above that fear. She accomplishes something she never would have thought herself capable of. The story, like most short stories, doesn't tie up all the loose ends, and shows that life is more complicated than that. But she is given by the experience what she needs to push on with life in a very bleak world.

The Cyborg Heartache focuses on a mother's journey and her perspective throughout the quest to find her son's reanimated shell that is assigned a mundane task by the authorities. But the hook at the end is how human spark for life can overcome the barriers placed around it, push beyond those who would control and suppress that spark to become whole once more.

Complexity in Short Stories

Faulkner and Updyke are two of my favorite short story authors from the mid 20th century. In their work, you find motivations to explore, character development realized, and watch life lessons unfold. Short stories provide the author with a pallet from which words and sentences matter in a way not seen in novels. Literally word choice can be very deliberate to paint the story in a way that provides twists and turns that the reader must navigate and puzzle over. Short stories are not "easy" reads. In the award winning What's in a Name?, the hero of the tale begins as a young Elvin officer who has had leadership thrust on him by a mission that has gone awry. Through his journey, he exhibits foibles, humility, and willingness to learn, allowing him to be successful when confronted by the horrors of a war that breaks out around him between good and evil. The end of the tale finds the hero elevated by his adventure.

Tales of the Lost Horizon is very typical of other author anthologies that follow their interests, reflect their own journey in life, and their understanding of themes, settings and characters. My stories were written at different points in that journey. They are a collection that exist for no other reason than the author's daughter wanted to share them. They are tied together by my life's experience and bring together themes that I've thought about through my life. Whether it is the growth of someone with a biased view of another, or thinking about death and what lies beyond. Many excellent authors have written short story anthologies bearing that same diversity of themes, styles and thoughts.

While in college, I took a number of short story classes. And the thing that was drilled into my head was to be prepared as a reader to think, and put a bit of effort into reading short stories. You cannot consume them like fast food at the drive through. You need to set aside time to read, ponder and savor. That takes effort. And it takes, if you don't read them often, dropping preconceptions of what a short story should and shouldn't be.A short story doesn't suffer from not including things a novel might include. In fact they often focus where novels cannot. They do not necessarily follow the same rules as novels, or your rules as a reader. And they are not intended. to.

But if you are like me, you could take a short story collection to read beside a campfire, spend some time with the stars and the expanse of the sky, and uncover worlds that take your breath away. In my case, some short stories also made it hard to turn off the lights.