SwankiVY's Short Stories
This page features my short fiction. You can either just choose a story at random or do a little reading and research through these materials to determine what you might like the best. If you do read something and have something to say, please leave a review or send me an e-mail!
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The table of stories:
If you choose a story above without reading any explanations on the factsheets below, I take no responsibility for you being appalled, offended, or just plain bored with the contents.
RECOMMENDED STORIES:
Out of the 24 short stories on this page, if you're going to read any, I would suggest the following three:
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Read reviews of any and all stories here.
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HOW THIS WORKS:
For each story, there is a factsheet to browse through, giving you as much or as little information as you want. Here's a key for how to use it:
 | Click the blue "title" button (or the hyperlinked title text) of any story to go straight in and start reading. |
 | Get story length in pages and word count, the POV (first/third person; past/present tense), the genre, the date, and story information such as characters' names and roles, setting, a general plot that's a little more in-depth than the short "hook" next to each story, and my inspirations for writing the story (if applicable). If any art related to the story exists, it will be linked on the about page. |
 | Click the green "reviews" button to read other people's reviews (including my own), or you can submit one of your own. |
| RATINGS: And at the bottom, you can see a summary of how many stars (out of five) each story has collected. The "reviews" button has the breakdown. |
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BABY TALK: A baby's view of a great plaything: the telephone. | |
| GENRE/keywords: SPECULATIVE FICTION: babies, language, child psychology. | ||
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You like a quick read; you think it would be fun to read a story that gets into the mind of an infant. |
| RATINGS: *10 reviews*: |  : 2; | : 8 |
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BAD FAIRY: Want to read the legend of Sleeping Beauty . . . from Maleficent's point of view? Turns out she wasn't such a bad fairy. . . . (Note: This short story has been EXPANDED to a full novel! The novel is VERY different and does not have quite the same storyline or the same names.) |
| GENRE/keywords: FANTASY: fairy tale retelling, medieval period fantasy, fairies, magic, dark fantasy, reincarnation. | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You like "other side of the story" tales, fairy tales, Sleeping Beauty, fairies, and stories written as if they are the character's autobiographies—or you've read the novel excerpts of Bad Fairy elsewhere and you're curious about the story that book is based on. |
| RATINGS: *10 reviews*: | : 4; | : 3; | : 3 |
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BLOOM: A coming-of-age story with a difference: Kamber Valerian is trying to find her place in the nature-based, Goddess-worshipping culture she was born to. |
| GENRE/keywords: YOUNG-ADULT FANTASY: paganism, communes, goddess, coming of age, young adult, magic, women's spirituality, growing up, elemental magic, stream-of-consciousness | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You don't mind novella-length stories; you like speculative fiction that's set in modern times with a little twist; you like realistic fantasy characters that are easy to relate to; you aren't annoyed by present-tense writing; you're interested in elemental symbolism; you like to be immersed in a story with an invented alternate culture. |
| RATINGS: *5 reviews*: | : 1; | : 4 |
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BRADY: A little high school "drama" about a girl who's lonesome by choice and a guy who's popular against his will . . . and their eventual friendship. |
| GENRE/keywords: YOUNG-ADULT FICTION: high school, popularity, unpopularity, fitting in, relationships, peer pressure, individuality | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You like a realistic teenage protagonist; you relate to having been either popular or unpopular in school; you want to read a story about a boy and a girl having a relationship that isn't necessarily romantic. |
| RATINGS: *7 reviews*: | : 6; | : 1 |
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CLOUDS: Just a simple dialogue between a boy and a girl, about aims in life. |
| GENRE/keywords: FICTION: growing up, life goals, dialogue, clouds | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You don't mind going into this knowing nothing really "happens" in the story; you like reading poised, deliberately phrased (almost old-timey) dialogue between characters; you're in the mood for a little vignette about two kids staring at the clouds and talking. |
| RATINGS: *10 reviews*: | : 1; | : 2; | : 3; | : 2; | no rating: 2 |
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THE CURSE: Speculative fiction story about the day the vision of the world suddenly changed, and a young boy's part in it all. |
| GENRE/keywords: SPECULATIVE FICTION: alternate culture, communes, post-apocalyptic, near-future, mythology, legend, tradition, archetypes, human nature, quest, coming of age | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You like the sort of story where an unnamed narrator talks to you a lot; you want to read about a slightly different quest motif that more or less demystifies itself; you like explorations of human nature; you want to read an interpretation of what would happen to the world if one event simultaneously affected everyone on Earth, and how that event would be viewed in the distant future. |
| RATINGS: *6 reviews*: | : 1; | : 2; | : 2
| No rating: 1 |
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DEAR GOD: A very short letter-like one-sided conversation with God, from the point of view of a middle-school boy. |
| GENRE/keywords: YOUNG-ADULT FICTION, LETTER FORMAT: god, spirituality, prayer, preteens | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You want to get into the head of a little boy as he tries to talk to God; you're in the mood for some spiritual meandering; you like stories in kids' voices. |
| RATINGS: *7 reviews*: | : 3; | : 3; | : 1 |
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DERIKA & EMILY: One story with two versions, different depending on who's telling it! Two girls explain their understanding of Christianity and each other . . . based on one of them leaving the religion. |
| GENRE/keywords: FICTION, RELIGIOUS DEBATE: religion, god, christianity, alternative religions, homosexuality, the bible, debate, friendship, salvation, faith | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You aren't offended by alternative religion or alternative sexuality; you've ever questioned your faith or had serious spiritual misgivings about Christianity; you're interested in seeing what happens to these two girls' friendship when one remains committed to her religion and the other has decided she no longer believes. |
| RATINGS: *10 reviews*: | : 1; | : 4; | : 2; | : 3 |
| [This story covers controversial religious topics, so people who can't keep their own beliefs out of their ability to evaluate the quality of the story tend to rate it low.] |
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THE ESCAPE: An elementary school girl retreats from the pressing reality of growing up. |
| GENRE/keywords: FICTION OR CHILDREN'S FICTION: growing up, coming of age, childhood, adulthood, moving, friendship, elementary school | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You're interested in a philosophical look at growing up pitched in a thoughtful preteen's voice; you like stories that show fairly realistic interaction between children; you've ever felt like you're not ready for the next stage of your life yet; you like the conundrum of a child who is conflicted about whether she wants to grow up. |
| RATINGS: *5 reviews*: | : 1; | : 3; | : 1 |
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FINAL VERSES: Very short poetic piece about great work right before death. |
| GENRE/keywords: SPECULATIVE FICTION: death, revelations, poems, poetry, legacy | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You want to read something very short; you're interested in (and not creeped out by) the subject of death; you like the idea of reading something about a man exploring what he wants his last message to be. |
| RATINGS: *4 reviews*: | : 1; | : 1 | : 2 |
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GLASS DAWN: This gives talking to yourself a whole new meaning; Dawn talks to a personified version of her childhood, and discusses her past's role in her present. |
| GENRE/keywords: YOUNG-ADULT FANTASY: childhood, coming of age, growing up, personality, alter-ego/alternate personality | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You're curious about the role a person's childhood should have in their lives; you like dialogue; you like realistic stories with a decidedly fantastical spin on them. |
| RATINGS: *7 reviews*: | : 3; | : 4
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GOODBYE: A breakup letter . . . with a big difference. Read it and see. |
| GENRE/keywords: FICTION: relationships, abusive relationships, breaking up, religion | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You've ever been disillusioned in a relationship; you want to read something short; you're not too squeamish about having any of your beliefs challenged. |
| RATINGS: *5 reviews*: | : 2; | : 2; | : 1 |
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GRACE: A somewhat metaphysical "coming of age" story, detailing a girl's ritual to bring her into adulthood—told by the girl's mother. |
| GENRE/keywords: YOUNG-ADULT FANTASY: childhood, coming of age, growing up, alternative sexuality/lesbianism, magic, alternative culture, paganism, motherhood | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You'd like to read one of my shorter stories; you aren't put off by the idea of lesbian relationships; you'd like to see a slightly fantasy-oriented alternate culture; you like coming-of-age themes; you want to see the experience of a child going through a rite of passage through her mother's eyes. |
| RATINGS: *9 reviews*: | : 1; | : 4; | : 3; | no rating: 1 |
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JUST LIKE STEPHEN: A young man who has always striven to follow in his brother's footsteps now has to find his own path or suffer the same fate. Set in the world we know, but with one very important difference. |
| GENRE/keywords: MODERN FANTASY: magic, sibling relationships, alternate-world, special powers | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You like "me-against-the-world" themes; you want to read one of my better short stories; you like angsty characters; you're interested in "our-world-with-a-twist" stories; you like the occasional stupid customer story. |
| RATINGS: *3 reviews*: | : 2; | : 1 |
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MODERN GODDESS: A girl with a very bad attitude comes to believe that she is apparently the daughter of God. This is her story. |
| GENRE/keywords: MODERN FANTASY: special powers, god, religion, teenagers | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You don't mind absolutely horrible foul language and blasphemy; you're interested in the irreverant ravings of an offensive teenager who doesn't appreciate her specialness; you want to read something humorous but sort of disturbing. |
| RATINGS: *6 reviews*: | : 1; | : 2; | : 1; | : 1
| No rating: 1 |
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MODERN GODDESS 2: The bad-attitude goddess is back with more observations, having made progress uncovering her God-given gifts but somehow having gotten no closer to knowing what they mean. . . . |
| GENRE/keywords: MODERN FANTASY: special powers, god, religion, teenagers | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You don't mind absolutely horrible foul language and blasphemy; you read the last one and you want to know what happens to the protagonist. |
| RATINGS: *4 reviews*: | : 1; | : 1; | : 1 | No rating: 1 |
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MOONLIGHT: Longish story about a girl who lives in a dark cave . . . follow her recollections of experiencing the outside world for the first time, and her reasons for wanting to return. |
| GENRE/keywords: SPECULATIVE FICTION: childhood trauma, self, society, growing up, culture | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You don't mind novella-length stories; you want to read my earliest "real" short story; you like introspective, dreamy characters; you don't mind the idea of reading a story that's basically one giant flashback. |
| RATINGS: *3 reviews*: | : 1; | : 2 |
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THE MOTHER: A futuristic short story with several "mother" themes; mostly dealing with the very personal alienation involved in being away from Mom. |
| GENRE/keywords: SCIENCE FICTION/SPIRITUAL FICTION: humans colonizing other planets, spirituality, family, loss, tragedy, wicca, paganism, loneliness, distant future, mother | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You are interested in the connection between a person and the planet; you are open to stories featuring characters of Pagan religions; you like sentimental yet sad stories; you're touched by the "mother" theme whether it's metaphorical or literal. |
| RATINGS: *5 reviews*: | : 3; | : 2 |
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MOTHER'S DAY: Science fiction short story set far in the future . . . a boy is born four hundred years after his mother is dead. See how he celebrates Mother's Day. |
| GENRE/keywords: SCIENCE FICTION: distant future, mother, cloning, identity, time travel, family, science, genius, music | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You want to read about a character who is a clone; you're interested in the importance of music on a person's identity; you like stories about possible futures; you want to hear the introspections of a really intelligent but really confused kid. |
| RATINGS: *4 reviews*: | : 3; | : 1
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NO LONGER JUNIOR: Speculative story about a teenage boy who thinks he is ready to take on the responsibility of caring for his family if his father is killed in the war. |
| GENRE/keywords: SPECULATIVE FICTION (WAR): coming of age, war, death, responsibility, growing up | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You like stories that explore the effects of war on the home front; you don't mind some slightly disturbing, selfish thoughts from the protagonist; you like the idea of an eldest son wondering what his place is in his family if his father dies. |
| RATINGS: *4 reviews*: |
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: 2; | : 1
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PROBLEM RECIPE: One of my unusual "present tense" stories about a girl with three problems: her boyfriend won't eat her cooking, her mother complains all the time, and her teacher seems to hate her poetry. She just needs a lucky penny. |
| GENRE/keywords: FICTION: college, cooking, identity, poetry, relationships | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You're interested in discussions of poetry; you like characters who learn to trust themselves; you don't mind reading in the present tense; you want to see a story in which three seemingly unrelated elements are tied together by common circumstances. |
| RATINGS: *5 reviews*: | : 1; | : 3; | : 1
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PROTECTOR CAT: Strange story about a street-punk kinda guy whose mind does not seem to be put together right. A typical few hours in his life. |
| GENRE/keywords: EXPERIMENTAL FICTION/SCIENCE FICTION: memory, gangs, special powers, identity, relationships | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You don't mind foul language; you like stream-of-consciousness, moment-by-moment narration; you're interested in people with quirky minds and quirky memories. |
| RATINGS: *5 reviews*: | : 2; | : 3
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UNCLE AVERY'S GARDEN: "Should I or shouldn't I?" In a sentimental fiction story, a college student wrestles with a moral dilemma of breaking a promise to a dearly departed favorite uncle. |
| GENRE/keywords: SENTIMENTAL FICTION: seize the day, family, death, aids | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You enjoy the idea of a story depicting a person finally getting someone's message long after they're gone; you don't mind reading something slightly sentimental; you relate to being broke in college; you want to read a fresh take on "seize the day" themes. |
| RATINGS: *5 reviews*: | : 1; | : 4
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WIND: Ever heard of a "Christmas fairy"? Well, Thomas hasn't, but there's a girl at his door claiming to be one, and he might just fall in love with her even if he doesn't know how real she is. |
| GENRE/keywords: ROMANTIC FANTASY: magic, reality, fairies, christmas, bereavement, romance, supernatural | |
| YOU'LL LIKE IT IF: You don't mind a little bad language or slight sexual suggestions; you want to read an honest fantasy set in modern times; you like the idea of a protagonist who doubts the existence of magic even when it seems to be right in front of him; you like stories about romances between humans and magical creatures; you don't mind reading a novella-length story. |
| RATINGS: *9 reviews*: | : 2; | : 5; | no rating: 2 |
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