Would you rather attend a disco night where you might see a dodo bird, or slowly turn into a werecat? Storyfeather Gazette.

Published 5 months ago • 2 min read

June 2026 Issue 1

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

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

SUMMER GETAWAY 🏝

Is the weight of the world on your shoulders? I hope not. The weight of your own life is likely enough to make you weary, at least now and then. Let's set down or lighten our burdens, even if only for a short while, with a visit to the haven of fiction.

While we're at it, let's respect delightful things. Like non-human creatures, and disco.

✒️ 🪶 🎙

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.

🪣 CARTOON JUNE 🦤
"Would you rather...?"

✒️ For this month's theme, stories inspired by the game, "Would You Rather?"

🎙 The podcast episodes are about jewels and stones containing the extraordinary.

Titles and taglines below. Enjoy!

Short Stories

Digital drawing. A person, at right, sitting at a desk, arms crossed and resting on a stack of books and papers. The person wears a colorful hoodie and has a bucket over their head. Goggles are wrapped around the bucket. At left on the tabletop is an open laptop, facing the person, with an image of a bejeweled egg displayed on the screen. Right foreground, part of a lava lamp and various stationery like pens is visible. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along spine of topmost book. Copyright notice along left side of frame reads “Copyright © 2026 Nila L. Patel.”

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.

A TEENAGE BUCKET BRAIN

Imagine you just started high school, and a few months in, you're cursed to have a bucket stuck on your head for the next three years... 🪣

Genre: Fantasy

EXTINCTION NIGHT AT THE DISCO

There's a disco hall, see, where all kinds of people are welcome. The extant and the extinct. 🕺

Genre: Fantasy

TODAY, I AM A WERECAT

A young man experiences uncomfortable changes in his body that are not typical to human development, like growing cat ears. 🙀

Genre: Science Fantasy

Find more Year 13 stories at the button below.

Podcast Episodes

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.

THE VESSEL VESPERTILIAN

In the alley behind the factory where they toil, two friends discover something that may lead to their salvation...or to their doom. 🦇

Genre: Fantasy, Mythology

The Vessel Vespertilian

Jun 5 · Storyfeather

32:13

THE FLAMING JARGONELLE

A thief and an investigator each try to convince the other to accept the truth about the unparalled treasure that is the flaming jargonelle. 🔥

Genre: Mythology

The Flaming Jargonelle

Jun 12 · Storyfeather

30:54

Find more episodes at the button below.

💎

But then, you start to worry. Because other people are trying to help. They’re getting frustrated. You’re getting frustrated. It’s as if the bucket is fused to your head. But it’s not.

Not…physically.

And then, if you’re me, and you remember that your dad touched a bejeweled egg, and was cursed to not see the face of the person he loved most for three whole years, your eyes go real wide.

But no one can see that.

Because there’s a fricking bucket on your head.

—From "A Teenage Bucket Brain"

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.