On "The Beat of Sorrow" by Brett Rosenblatt (1901 words) ***

In one of the best moments in Rosenblatt's story, the narrator recounts how the life of the drummer is one of numbers, of counting. The passage is beautiful, and this concern--with time, with counting, with the beat of the heart--is what the story focuses on. Rosenblatt uses the drumming motif throughout the story to tell a sadder, deeper story of a relationship heading south. Read the story here at Susurrus.

On "A Close Call" by Ashley S. Kaufman (2643 words) ***

What happened? I suppose that's the question virtually all stories told in the past tense pose. Many a story does it by juxtaposing the present with a discontinuous past. How did the characters get from point A to point B? Kaufman's "Close Call" works within these parameters. We know something is wrong, but we're not quite clear. Midway in, we get the full story--that past incident. And then, the story does something a little out of the ordinary. It changes the past, gives us another version. The characters' sanity comes into play, and that is as it should be given the situation. Read the story here at Susurrus.