Would you rather hop into a hot air balloon during a tornado, or be transformed into a cartoon version of yourself? Storyfeather Gazette.

Published 4 months ago • 2 min read

June 2026 Issue 2

In this issue: The Fictioneer's Field Station is open! And of course, short stories & podcast episodes from the second half of June.

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

INTRODUCING FICTIONEER'S FIELD STATION 🌿

I've opened a new area on the Storyfeather site to be the hub of all things fictioneering. So far, I've released two articles with more to come in July. If you like the articles and want more, you can sign up for my newsletter, Fictioneer's Field Guide. When you sign up, you'll get a PDF download to guide you through generating and brainstorming a story idea. The welcome emails will walk you through that PDF. Then you'll get weekly emails that provide, tips, tactics, techniques, troubleshooting, and demos centered on the theme of the month.

Visit the Fictioneer's Field Station today!

Not interested in writing fiction? How about reading it? Or listening to it? For that, venture below.

✒️ 🪶 🎙

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 powerful names and precarious pearls.

Titles and taglines below. Enjoy!

Short Stories

Digital drawing. A small dog sits in the basket of a hot air balloon with paws on the edge of the basket, looking down at sparkling brightly colored clouds, brows raised, mouth slightly parted. The balloon is slightly tilted, the top is out of frame. From behind, right side, a flurry of snowy particles sweeps toward the basket. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along curve of balloon at top left side. 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.

RUDOLPH AND THE UNRAVELING RAINBOW

A dog jumps into a hot air balloon in the middle of a tornado and is transported to a magical realm. 🐶

Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy

TWIN DOORS TO THE CARTOON REALM

Twin sisters create twin doors that lead into the cartoon realm, and have an adventure that involves a spyglass and a skateboard. 🛹

Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy

Find more Year 13 stories at the button below.

Podcast Episodes

Digital drawing. A merman, his top half human and his bottom half a fish, facing forward perched on flat earth. He is bare-chested and his tail curves up behind him to the left (his right). He wears a belt of gold around his waist, and in the center is a symbol: three upside down triangles, overlapping and growing smaller from bottom to top. He wears gold cuffs or vambraces. His right hand is curled in a fist by his side. In his left hand, he holds a golden trident, simple save that the symbol of three triangles is worked into the lines connecting the prongs of the trident. Waves splash behind him. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along outside of his upper left arm.

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 ARCANOMEN

Our ancestors possessed powers and protections that were lost upon the destruction of a machine that had only one function, providing each person with a name. ⚛️

Genre: Mythology

The Arcanomen

Jun 19 · Storyfeather

23:54

THE BRITTLE STAR

The captain and crew of a vessel-for-hire cautiously agree to help a banished merman prince find his hidden realm in exchange for a lavish undesea treasure. 🧜‍♂️

Genre: Mythology

The Brittle Star

Jun 27 · Storyfeather

38:12

Find more episodes at the button below.

🎈

The green was her garb. But she had no scent. So Rudolph knew she was not human. She was small as a child, but she was not a child. Elsewise, her head would have been much larger, as it was with pups and human babies.

His basket companion startled, but then, she grinned, and held out a hand. A silvery green ring slipped from the base of her first finger to the tip, and hovered just before her fingertip, glowing softly. Suddenly, he could smell her. Spring flowers. He sneezed.

“You’re cold!” she said.

“And you,” he replied, ” are a fairy.”

—From "Rudolph and the Unraveling Rainbow"