June 2022

We have now responded to all January submissions and chosen the seven stories we plan to publish between July and December, so please do contact us (editors@mysteriononline.com) if you sent us a story and have not heard from us. Special thanks to John Nadas for helping us out again with reading submissions!

The selected stories are evenly split between fantasy and science fiction this time around (if you count the one superhero tale as both), with two reprints and the others to be published first with us. We look forward to sharing these latest offerings with our readers, and hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

We'll be open to submissions again for the month of July, as always. Our full submission guidelines are here; but we're looking for anything speculative fiction, 9000 words or fewer, in which Christianity or Christian ideas play a significant role in the story.

Our May story was a new one from K.J. Khan, high fantasy tale "The Trial of Corin of Westfyr". We loved this story of an honest man caught between conflicting ideas about duty to one's nation, family, and vows. K.J. also had a fantasy story with us in December, "Soul's Wager", and if you enjoyed one of these two stories, we think there's a good chance you'll like the other as well.

On June 27th, we have a contemporary fantasy set in Canada, by Andrew Hansen. In "Grandad and the Lockbox", Ollie always knew the box was magic, but he wasn't prepared to be responsible for the world he glimpsed within.

Patreon subscribers at the $3+/month level already have access to the June story! If you'd like to have all our stories delivered to your inbox on the first of the month in which they'll be published, plus bonus content that includes book and game reviews, and the opportunity to participate in monthly chats on our Discord server with Mysterion editors and authors, please consider signing up. All our Patreon income goes toward paying our authors and artists; and if we can increase our support there by another $57/month, we'll be able to start publishing an additional two stories each year.

CAT UPDATE

Maxwell and Marie nature-watching from the bathroom window.

Just when we found a reliable source of Maxwell's favorite toy, he decided he doesn't really like that type of pompom anymore and now prefers the small cheap ones that we never had any trouble sourcing. (For a long time, the only place we could find the larger pompoms was as part of the Hartz Just For Cats toy variety pack, which included three of Maxwell's formerly beloved sparkly pompoms and ten other toys that neither cat is all that interested in.) We're not sure why. Unfortunately, the small sparkly pompoms are far less durable, and last maybe two days under ideal conditions (i.e., Maxwell doesn't decide to tear one into pieces, and Roomba doesn't eat it). Thankfully, Marie's love for plastic spirals, which are well-nigh indestructible, remains steadfast.

Left: large sparkly pompoms that Maxwell loved until they were easy to find; Right: small cheap pompoms and Marie's favorite plastic spirals

Now that it's warmer, they love to sit in open windows and chitter at all the birds, rabbits and squirrels they can't reach through the screens. (They would love to do this even if it weren't so warm; they have a much greater tolerance for chilly breezes than either of their human housemates.) They especially love our screened-in porch, which gives them a more panoramic view of the great outdoors, and will spend hours out there some days. 

Thank you for stopping by, and be sure to come back on June 27th for our next story! And, for all who are planning to submit stories in July, we look forward to seeing what you've got for us.

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