Author: Allison

Allison

Round 2 of March Sadness

My March Sadness essay about “Kiss the Rain” by Billie Myers is facing off against Melissa Faliveno’s fantastic essay about “Round Here” by Counting Crows in Round 2 of March Sadness!

The most special part of it all is that Billie Myers herself read my essay (WHAT?! Still in absolute shock and so flattered and grateful) and shared it on her Instagram!

But if you’re inclined to vote, there’s still time. (Well, depending on what time you’re reading this post.)

Voting is open until 11am CT on Saturday, March 14th.

VOTE HERE!

Allison

NFFD Highly Commended Microfiction

I’m so thrilled to announce that my piece “I’m invited to Watch Them Feed Her Body Into the Incinerator” was highly commended in the 2026 National Flash Fiction Day Microfiction Competition!

You can read it online HERE and in the anthology released this summer!

Allison

“It Feels like You’re So Far”: March Sadness

Update: Made it through round one by the skin of my teeth! Stay tuned on social media for round 2 voting: @HowIFeelAboutBooks and @allisonwrites.bsky.social

Today’s the day! My March Sadness essay about “Kiss the Rain” by Billie Myers is LIVE and waiting for your votes!

VOTE HERE!

Voting is only up for 24 hours, so if you don’t see this before March 3rd at 9am Arizona time, you’ve missed your chance, but you can still read the essay – plus all the other awesome essays in the competition (as strange as it feels to call sad essays about sad songs “awesome”…).

Allison

“Engagement, April 2010” published at Roi Fainéant

I’m happy to share that my flash CNF piece “Engagement, April 2010” is published in Issue 93 of Roi Fainéant!

I wrote this in Nancy Stohlman’s “Courting the Muse” workshop back in May 2023. We were asked to “plunder” another writer or story, studying what we loved about it and then trying to emulate that in our own work. I love “Egg Toss, August 1989” by Meagan Cass, so that was clearly my inspiration here!

Allison

“Washed Away” published at The Hoolet’s Nook

I’m excited to share that my micro “Washed Away” is published in Issue 3 of The Hoolet’s Nook! There are so many great pieces in here, including nanofiction, microfiction, and poetry, so go check it out.

I wrote this story in Meg Pokrass’s Surrealist Microfiction workshop back in summer 2023 and am so happy it found a home!

Allison

2025 Writing in Review

My biggest writing accomplishment this year was, of course, publishing Green Light… even though it was written back in 2022! I’m glad it wasn’t immediately picked up, though, because publishing it on the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby is too perfect. A lot of my “writing” life dealt with interviews, reviews, podcasts, and fun extras relating to the book and its release. Get quick links to those things here!

I did a lot of my usual favorite writing experiences, like National Flash Fiction Day and the Ekphrastic Marathon.

I only had 26 submissions this year, yikes! I slacked a lot earlier in the year, but with my birthday resolutions in September, I promised to submit 4 places each month, and have done so since then! I just needed to kick my own butt into gear. I had 8 acceptances from those submissions. (I submitted 45 times in 2024, 111 in 2023, 134 in 2022, and 52 in 2021.)

I wrote several reviews for MicroLit Almanac, plus three craft essays for Intrepidus Ink. (I also wrote and submitted my essay for March Sadness, which of course won’t go live until March, but it’s definitely an accomplishment and I’m really proud of it.)

I started a monthly Substack, posting an article on the 14th of every month. I’ll be honest, it’s mostly just me trying to harness my LiveJournal days, but I have ideas for next year that might truly orient the posts toward “the love of writing,” as the name suggests it should.

While not specifically writing related, I was accepted to be a Short Story/Flash Fiction reader for Split/Lip Press. I’ve missed working with that team and am glad to be back in some small role, and I really think this will help my writing and editing life so much to read amazing submissions during the reading period. I’ll also continue to be a contest editor for Flash Fiction Magazine throughout the year; it’s always inspiring to read stories and help writers revise them (if necessary!).

Speaking of that… I also celebrated the one year anniversary of Lightning Flash Writing!

If you need help polishing your work (flash fiction, short stories, novels – I do it all!), getting your ideas on the page, or marketing yourself or your book, I’m here to help!

Related Posts:

2024 Writing in Review

2023 Writing in Review

2022 Writing in Review

2021 Writing in Review

Allison

“The Sky is a Neighborhood” published at Ghost Parachute

I’m excited to share that my micro “The Sky is a Neighborhood” is published in the November issue of Ghost Parachute! It’s paired with an amazingly perfect piece of art, so go check it out – along with all the other fantastic stories and artworks in this issue.

I wrote this story in Nancy Stohlman’s Pop Lit workshop back in September 2022 and am so happy it found a home!

Allison

Finalists in the Ekphrastic Marathon

In July, I took part in the Ekphrastic Review‘s Ekphrastic Marathon for my third time! It’s become one of my favorite flash fiction events to do each year.

This year, I wrote 14 pieces inspired by amazingly unique works of art. I submitted five, and two were listed as finalists!

Read “Current” and “Collage”, plus many other amazing pieces, here.

click the pics to read the full pieces

Allison

“Everything she knew she’d read somewhere”: A Review at MicroLit Almanac

I have a review up for The Dime Museum, a novel in stories by Joyce Hinnefeld!

Check it out at MicroLit Almanac and then get your copy of the book!

Allison

Green Light on Book Squad Goals Podcast

Janet Dale and I got to talk Gatsby on an episode of the Book Squad Goals podcast! Mostly we talk about the 2013 film version but we go off the rails in a few (aka many) parts for a delightfully good time.

Check out their podcast page so you can listen via whatever service you use.