Two Fic Tuesday for August 18th

Hey everyone, it's been a while, hasn't it?

To briefly catch you up, I had some health issues come up over the last while, and then I was getting back into the swing of being on my feet again. However, we're back to our usual posts again, and I hope you'll forgive me for dropping out for a while.

To start us off again, I've picked a couple stories I've had saved for a while now. See, I file away stories I want to put up in this newsletter into a separate space, and occasionally I'll have a pretty big backlog of them. These two were on the last bit of that backlog though, so I'm actually really glad I'm getting to share them, as otherwise I'm not sure when I would.

Look, there are just so many great stories out there and I want to yell about all of them, okay?

Recs

Her Hex, Her Heart, Helianthus - Dafydd McKimm - Factor Four
I could feel the heat in this story. See, I spent half my time in Florida, and right now it is very hot, so this felt especially close to my heart. I enjoyed how it could be read as ambiguous if you wanted to, but you could just as easily see the root of the problem too. The ending was something I especially enjoyed, and while I think it works just wonderfully as a flash piece, it leaves me wondering just what else might happen in this world as new things grow.

Sensor Ghosts - Deborah L. Davitt - Lightspeed
I really wasn't sure which way this story was going to go, but ultimately I appreciated the ending. It has a bit of a creepy vibe to it, but in the end is warmer than you'd expect. Everyone feels kinder than you expect by the end, and it left me feeling content.

I wish all of you many good stories,

• Vale

PS: If you want to find me elsewhere, I'm on Bluesky at @howsweetthewords and I have a Ko-fi and Patreon where I post prompts, more personal/writing updates, microfiction, and miscellany. Tiers start at $1, but there is the occasional free post as well.