To Fit The Theme

Flash Fiction is fun, and Karen Wojcik Berner posts Flash Fiction Friday each month with different themes. January was "open" month, and I'm pleased to have my "Birthday" story there. Karen also posted one of her stories. A fun read.

"Birthday" is from my short collection LOST NEWS: Short Stories and Long Poems. The primary heading of "Birthday" is "Runaway Dads Cause Problems For Child Aid Programs."

Two headings? Yes, all to fit into the theme; a collection needs a theme. I reflected on what news headlines tell us about real people and events (not much), and I used a Norman Mailer quote: "Once a newspaper touches a story, the facts are lost forever, even to the protagonists." I use a headline as it would be in the paper and then give the fiction title. The short stories and poetic fiction in Lost News could be sidebars to newspaper headlines.