Storyfeather Gazette: Say Farewell to the Year of Frontiers!

Published almost 2 years ago • 3 min read

November 2024 Issue 1

In this issue: A tear-free farewell to my eleventh year of storytelling, a round-up of the October stories and podcast episodes, and what's coming up next issue.

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

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STORYFEATHER!

Okay, it probably should be an anniversary celebration, since the last story of the year is posted on a different date each time. Either way, it's a celebration! 🥳

Year 11, the Year of Frontiers, is complete!

The last few stories of the year are featured at the end of this issue. But you can press the image below to visit the Year 11 page and see all 52 stories.

If you're new here, hello! I'm Nila. And if you've been here a while, hello again! 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.

For those who've read any of the stories from Year 11, thank you so much! I released a special "thank you" post for you. We crossed a lot of frontiers from space to the mind to the very borders of reality itself. You can read the full post here: Thank You!

If you haven't yet read any of my stories, go ahead and consider that post a warm welcome.

One more thank you if you responded to the poll in the last issue. The poll question?

If you only had one piece of information about a story, what one thing would help you decide whether or not to read that story?

The winning answer was: A one-sentence tagline.

🫡

I've got stories to tell you.

October celebrated Spooks 👻 and More Spooks 😱.

The theme for both the short stories and the podcast episodes was horror. So, if you're not yet ready to leave Halloween behind, I've got you covered. Titles and taglines below. Here we go...

Short Stories

Digital drawing. A creature that looks like a hybrid of various animals. The central body sits low to the ground, the front part directed to the right. The visible right forelimb ends with five sharp claws. Its back limb looks like a short tentacle that’s raised from the ground. Another tentacle extends from behind the body and curls toward the front. It has two identical lizard-like heads with sharp teeth in their opened mouths, and large round orange eyes. The heads are turned away from each other, but the eyes look at each other. Between and below the heads is a circular opening lined with square teeth. Above the mouth is a protrusion with scaly scabs at the base and cracks at the tip. The background is shards of muted colors. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along tentacle at left. Copyright notice at bottom right reads, “Copyright © 2024 Nila L. Patel.”

The links below lead directly to the story post.

CHRONICLE OF A LYCANTHROPE 🐺
When a seemingly unremarkable man goes missing, investigators find evidence that they may be on the trail of a man experiencing a profound transformation of body and of mind.

MURKOWSKI'S MONSTER 👹
On the side of a lonely road, a man named Murkowski encounters what he can only describe as "something out of nightmare, spun from threads of madness."

THE MONSTER WITH THE MIRROR-EYES 👁️
The hunt is on for a monster called a “mirror-eyes” that seems to be driving people into states of catatonia or madness, and one of the hunters is himself a monster.

The last story of October fell within the new year of stories, Year 12. Here's that story:

CREATURES IN A MADDENING MAZE 🪤
A rescuer gets stuck in a trap the size of a city block, a mind-reading trap that can manifest one’s greatest fears…

Podcast Episodes

The links below lead directly to the episode page, hosted at Libsyn.

THE MAD TUNNEL

A group of friends venture into an abandoned tunnel against the warnings of one of them, who senses there is something in the tunnel that won’t let them get to the other side.

THROUGH THE WOODS AT NIGHT

Traveling on a road at night that cuts through the woods, one driver fears encountering dangers both natural and supernatural.

THE CURSE OF THE TOOTH DEMON

A family is haunted by a demon who collects the fallen baby teeth of the children, and who soon hungers for more and more teeth, even when there are none for them to offer.

MAUSEFALLE MANOR

A young woman finally learns the truth about what happened when her grand-aunty accepted a dare to knock on the door of a mysterious manor.

EVIL EDIE'S SURPRISE DEMISE

The unexpected demise of a witch on All Hallow’s Eve prompts her faithful assistant to seek the answer to the question, “Who killed Edith Evilez?”

Parting words🪶

In the next issue, coming out two weeks from now, I'll dispel the chill of horror, and share a few warm and fuzzy stories from years past.

If you've got feedback on this issue, please reply and let me know.

Long live stories!
—Nila

💡 🧠 🌩️ ☠️ 🦖 🦀 🐉

P.S. Have you ever wanted to write fiction? Short stories are a great way to start your journey.

Allow me to be your guide, through my fun and practical how-to book on writing short stories, using the very method I've used to write hundreds of my own stories. ✒️

Get your copy: Fictioneer's Field Guide: A Game Plan for Writing Short Stories

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