Magic in a magician's hat, supernatural strangeness in a briefcase, and glowing yellow eyes in a dark, dark wood. Storyfeather Gazette.

Published 3 months ago • 2 min read

May 2026 Issue 2

In this issue: Let's get right to it, short stories & podcast episodes from the second half of May.

Circle format, a three-quarters view of Nila's smiling face from a photo with an oil paint filter applied.

AH, THE BRIGHT HAPPY SUN OF SUMMER 🌞

Who needs it?!

Love you, Sun. But sometimes, I'm drawn to shadow. You?

Say, why don't we go somewhere cool and comfortable, like, oh I don't know, outer space?

Alright, then, how about a cabin in the mountains (heh, heh).

✒️ 🪶 🎙

Greetings! I'm Nila. Every week, I release a new short story and a new podcast episode spanning the genres of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, mythology, fairy tale, fable, and horror.

Whether you're in the mood to read or listen, I've got stories to tell you.

🏛 MYTH-STERY MAY 🪙
Myths & Mysteries in May

✒️ For this month's theme, mysterious myths and mythological mysteries.

🎙 The podcast episodes are about vast beings and the magic of creative spaces.

Titles and taglines below. Enjoy!

Short Stories

Year 13. This year's theme is WildCards. Cards pulled from games. Maybe characters who are wild cards? I'll figure it out as I go.

Each link below leads directly to the story post.

DROPS OF MORTAL SPIRIT

They march in and they march out, believers believing, faithful and forgiving. They have been betrayed. 🏛

Genre: Mythology, Mystery

A HARROWING NIGHT AT A HOLIDAY CABIN

A man on a mountain vacation fears he might run into a bear, only to learn that there are far more fearful things lurking in the woods. 🐈‍⬛️

Genre: Mythology, Mystery

Find more Year 13 stories at the button below.

Podcast Episodes

Digital drawing. A young woman at center seen from knees up, dressed in top hat, ruffled shirt, and a jacket with coattails. She stands facing forward, turned slightly to the right, arms raised and bent, hands flourished. From her right shoulder, a flock of a butterflies fly up to upper left corner, one of them perched on her right index finger. Bottom right corner, waist-high to the young woman, stands a classic style robot made out of blocks and circles, with right arm raised, see from mid-section up. Watermark of “Storyfeather” beneath right collar of jacket.

The Wheel of Fiction turns and decides each story's theme. Thirteen spokes total. Eight are the themes of past seasons, one is a Wild Card, one is "Turn Again," and three are a mystery.

The text links below go to the Explore page on Storyfeather, where you can listen to the episode and find more info about the story

Pressing on the Spotify embed image leads to the episode's Spotify page.

TRANSDIMENSIONAL TOP HAT

Hoping to find some inspiration and direction in life, an aimless young woman buys a top hat at the estate sale of a magician. 🎩

Genre: Mystery, Mythology, Science Fiction

Transdimensional Top Hat

May 15 · Storyfeather

40:16

ENCOUNTER WITH SHIP 47

A cartography vessel mapping a sector of space that's expected to contain nothing of interest encounters...something of interest. 🚀

Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery

Encounter With Ship 47

May 22 · Storyfeather

37:09

A BRIEF CASE OF DREAD

A man opens his new briefcase and discovers that something else lies beside his files, something...vast. 💼

Genre: Mystery, Mythology

A Brief Case of Dread

May 29 · Storyfeather

42:36

Find more episodes at the button below.

⛰️

Halfway through a plate of lukewarm spaghetti in marinara—parmesan forgotten in the fridge—Tomo heard a scream.

High-pitched, and sharp. Different from the yowling. Then, a wooden thud.

Tomo bolted up, pushing his chair back, heart hammering.

That thud had come from the back porch.

—From "A Harrowing Night at a Holiday Cabin"

Attention Fiction Writers ✒️

I have another newsletter, one for fictioneers. Every month, I pick a topic or theme to cover. I send out a short weekly email to introduce the topic, cover a technique, talk troubleshooting, then use one of my stories to demonstrate some aspect of the topic. If you're a Gazette subscriber, you can get the fiction-writing newsletter by simply pressing the title here: Fictioneer's Field Guide.