For the Love of Short Stories
Today at the Oort Cloud we’re welcoming Shannon Lawrence and the pre-release of Happy Ghoulidays II, Shannon’s wonderful new collection of holiday-themed horror short stories. She writes a mean short story, and has an uncanny way with a horror trope. I’ve read with Shannon a few times now, once at the the now sadly closed Bookbar (sigh…) to promote Amazing Monster Tales #2, and a couple of times during Amy Armstrong’s Stories Live! series. I’ve always enjoyed her stories. Now, a chance to read more of her stuff! Looking through the table of contents, I see some typically brilliant I-wish-I’d-thought-of-that ideas in these pages, my favorite being a monster that’s only visible in the light of fireworks.
I first met Shannon in a writer’s group we were in together (at one of those great pre-Covid, in-person, Tesla get-togethers, now sadly gone, like Bookbar; sigh). Nearly everyone there was working on novels, or trilogies of novels, and I felt like a hopeless noob. Shannon and I were talking short stories and flash fiction. I think we bonded over “short story writers not always being seen as real writers” centered imposter syndrome, though clearly Shannon is no imposter.
She knows the art and the craft of building a successful short tale, and I recommend Happy Ghoulidays I and II enthusiastically.
Another book of hers I really want to quickly shoehorn in here is Shannon’s non-fiction book about the short story biz: The Business of Short Stories: Writing, Submitting, Publishing, and Marketing. I was lucky enough to be a beta reader for this book and learned so much. Her insights on the very specific craft of writing a short story are smart and helpful, but where the book really sings is when Shannon talks about the specifics of submitting to the various genre markets, when she breaks down the basics of what you need to get your name out there to readers, and building your brand as a writer. Her examples are always specific and useful. I learned a ton from this book, and would recommend it to anyone looking to improve their story (and story submission) game.
Shannon Lawrence’s love of short stories shines through all her books. Give her a read.
Peace.