Just Published: Impromptu Performance!

I tend to set my stories in times long-ago or in places far away. (Or both!) As such, my latest story “Impromptu Performance,” which is featured in the April 2021 issue of Cricket Magazine is a departure from my usual MO.

Click here for a link to the magazine!

My short stories are usually tailored to specific Calls for Submissions, and for this one, the submissions theme was “Yikes!” I don’t know what that word conjures for you, but having volunteered backstage in numerous live productions, I immediately envisioned a stage disaster. And that was the spark that brought about “Impromptu Performance.”

So instead of ancient Greece or 1950s China, the story is set in a modern-day Silicon Valley inspired suburb. And to  suit a middle grade audience, the performance in question is a middle school play.

Compared to my other short stories, this one got written lightning fast. Mainly because it didn’t demand the level of fact- and cultural-checks required by my long ago and far away settings. Not that it was completely spared that, though. However, as it turns out, a member of my critique group Alex Doherty just happens to be married to Stacie Doherty, the managing director of the Portola Valley Theater Conservatory. As such, getting my theater terms vetted out was super easy.

Anyway, it was a fun piece to write, and hope you enjoy reading it!