Interview: “Faery Unexpected” by Deb Logan

The most important week of Claire’s life has arrived—the first day of high school, followed closely by her uber-important fifteenth birthday—and where are her parents? Sunning in the south of France, that’s where! As if dereliction of duty wasn’t enough, they left Claire in the care of her more-than-slightly-dotty grandmother, a woman who believes in…

Interview: “The Sphere of Infinity” by Day Leitao

Alana’s dream is to leave the poverty-stricken, government-controlled planet where she lives with her mother. But that’s impossible when she can barely manage enough to eat. Her big chance comes in a well-paid mission to retrieve a golden sphere. The problem: it’s in the Ghost Ship, a mysterious alien vessel abandoned for millenia. Nobody has…

Story spotlight: “The Un-American President” by Jason Dias

The president of the United States wishes for peace in “The Un-American President,” by Jason Dias. Sometimes integrity is doing the right thing because everyone is watching. ~ ~ ~ “The Un-American President” appears in The Golden Door, a collection of stories showing the impact on people when they’re treated as “the other,” whether they’re…

Story spotlight: “Dispatch from the Other Side” by Rob Vagle

~ ~ ~ In Rob Vagle’s “Dispatch from the Other Side,” a young man who was separated from his family while trying to claim asylum in America follows the instructions on a postcard sent by his long-lost mother, and discovers things about his family he’d never expected to find. “Dispatch from the Other Side” appears…

Story Spotlight: “Needle in a Haystack” by Steve Carr

A woman and her young daughter escape death in their home country, only to find themselves separated at the U.S. border in Steve Carr’s “Needle in a Haystack.” ~ ~ ~ “Needle in a Haystack” appears in The Golden Door, a collection of stories showing the impact on people when they’re treated as “the other,”…

Story spotlight: “Ke’s Symphony” by Lesley L. Smith

In Lesley L. Smith’s “Ke’s Symphony,” a family of aliens, refugees who escaped a disaster on their own world, is welcomed with both friendship and fear on the planet that took them in. ~ ~ ~ “Ke’s Symphony” appears in The Golden Door, a collection of stories showing the impact on people when they’re treated…

Story spotlight: “Transient Pains” by Bob Sojka

An American temporarily loses his sight in an accident in Beirut in Bob Sojka’s “Transient Pains.” While recovering, he tells his nurse stories about growing up in an immigrant family in Chicago in the 1950s, where stereotyped animosities arose among people of different origins. ~ ~ ~ “Transient Pains” appears in The Golden Door, a…

Story spotlight: “A Used Pair of Shoes” by Bonnie Elizabeth

A little girl leaves her war-torn home with her parents, and learns that life is built on small kindnesses in Bonnie Elizabeth’s “A Used Pair of Shoes.” ~ ~ ~ “A Used Pair of Shoes” appears in The Golden Door, a collection of stories showing the impact on people when they’re treated as “the other,”…

Story spotlight: “The Path” by David Stier

A young woman, who moved from Afghanistan to California with her brother, has to make an important decision in David Stier’s “The Path.” Her choice will change both of their lives, forever. ~ ~ ~ “The Path” appears in The Golden Door, a collection of stories showing the impact on people when they’re treated as…