“Sweet Girl,” my 200-word micro that first appeared in Issue 6 of Epistemic Literary Magazine in September 2025, is now part of a print anthology. Epistemic Literary Magazine Volume II, Issues 5-7 includes the writing and artwork from the “Resistance,” “Nostalgia,” and “Integrity” issues and is available through Amazon as both an e-book and a paperback. Proceeds from the sale will be used to fund the magazine’s operating costs. Epistemic Literary Magazine is edited by Melissa Ruth Rotert and Kristin Houlihan.
Happy Opening Day 2026!
In honor of Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, here’s my 50-word story, “First Date,” originally published in The Dribble Drabble Review in March 2020.
First Date
Parked outside my apartment with you, I can tell you’re eagerly awaiting our first kiss, but I can’t stop talking about the game we just witnessed, a no-hitter broken up in the ninth. Tears fill my eyes. You look confused. Oops, did I forget to mention the pitcher’s my ex?
Happy Valentine’s Day!
In honor of Valentine’s Day, here’s “Dated,” a nostalgic micro first published in Friday Flash Fiction in 2022:
Dated
They crossed paths at a downtown club in 1984. When the material girl in the shocking-pink minidress, neon-yellow pumps, and armful of colorful bangles locked eyes with the spikey-haired rebel in leather pants and mesh tank, love struck. They became the quintessential eighties couple, young and stylish, with a future even brighter than her clothes. These days, he hides what’s left of his hair beneath a baseball hat and she’s traded in her fluorescent frocks for a wardrobe of neutrals, but sometimes on Friday nights they dust off their old CDs and dance ’til dawn.
Fast Food and Fast Cars
Monday is for microfiction at Fictive Dream, and featured today is my 275-word story, “Every Sunday Morning at 9, Dad Honks the Horn of His Midlife-Crisis Mustang,” a tale of fast food and fast cars. Fictive Dream, edited by Laura Black, publishes microfiction up to 400 words, flash fiction up to 1,000 words, and short stories up to 2,500 words.
Every Sunday Morning at 9, Dad Honks the Horn of His Midlife-Crisis Mustang
2025 in Review
I’m grateful to have had 12 stories and poems published this year. All but one of the stories were microfiction. The shortest was 100 words; the longest, 475.
—“Dinner Party,” 300 words, in Scaffold (January)
—“Wee Waitress,” 200 words, in Eunoia Review (February)
—“At the Book Club Meeting,” 400 words, in JAKE: The Anti Literary Magazine (March)
—“Reunions,” 350 words, in Eulogy Press (June)
—“Solo,” 200 words, in FlashFlood, the National Flash Fiction Day Journal (June)
—“Confidant,” 100 words, in The Hoolet’s Nook (June)
—“Destined for the Diner,” 475 words, in Star 82 Review (September)
—“Sweet Girl,” 200 words, in Epistemic Literary Magazine (September)
—“A Trip down Memory Aisle,” 100 words, in The Hoolet’s Nook (September)
—“A Love Song,” 275 words, in 10 By 10 Flash Fiction Stories (September)
—“Glow” and “Relic,” micro poems, in The Hooghly Review Poetry Special (October)
Highlights of the year:
—“Yard Sale,” which appeared in Heimat Review in November 2024, was longlisted for the 2025 Wigleaf Top 50.
–Two of my stories were nominated for inclusion in Best Microfiction 2026: “Sweet Girl,” which appeared in the September issue of Epistemic Literary Magazine, and “Reunions,” published by Eulogy Press in June.
–I received my first-ever Best of the Net nomination for “Reunions,” published by Eulogy Press in June.
–Two of my poems, “Glow” and “Relic,” were selected by the poet Sanjeev Sethi to appear in The Hooghly Review Poetry Special.
More Good News!
I’m thrilled to announce that “Reunions,” my 350-word story published by Eulogy Press in June and recently nominated for Best of the Net, has also been nominated for inclusion in Best Microfiction 2026.
“Sweet Girl” Nominated for Best Microfiction
How happy I am to announce that my 200-word story, “Sweet Girl,” has been nominated for inclusion in Best Microfiction 2026! “Sweet Girl” appeared in the nostalgia-themed September issue of Epistemic Literary Magazine, a publication edited by Melissa Ruth Rotert and Kristin Houlihan. Best Microfiction is an annual anthology edited by Meg Pokrass and Gary Fincke.
First-Ever Best of the Net Nomination!
I’m ecstatic to announce that “Reunions,” my 350-word story published by Eulogy Press in June, has been nominated for Best of the Net. What an honor!
Two Poems
I’m honored to have two tiny poems, “Glow” and “Relic,” in The Hooghly Review‘s inaugural Poetry Special. The Hooghly Review is a publication based in India, and the poems for this special edition were selected by the poet Sanjeev Sethi.
Fourth Publication in September!
“A Love Song,” my 275-word story about a clueless songwriter, appears in the September issue of 10 By 10 Flash Fiction Stories. Edited by Zvi A. Sesling, a former Massachusetts Poet Laureate, each edition of 10 By 10 Flash Fiction Stories features 10 writers’ work “from the humorous to the unexpected.”
A Love Song (Issue #32, pages 7-8)
lori cramer 