I love short stories when they are done well  .  A short story should be a punch to the solar plexus, leaving the reader breathless. Long after the punch, the reader can still feel the short story. My kids all hate me for making them read The Lottery. But Shirley Jackson knew how to throw a mean punch.

But the emotional punch doesn’t have to be about shock and horror. It can be about wonderment. A story can enchant. One of my favorite short stories read in recent years is Made of Stars by Anne Fraiser. This is a vampire romance, which is a departure from her usual writing. I was bedazzled by this mesmerizing story about a vampire in love with a stranger. It is a bargain for 99 cents on Amazon.