I am happy to announce that I have published another short story! “The Red Shoes” is included in the Back Roads Literary Review Spring 2026 anthology (link for purchase on About Me page). When I saw that the theme for the Spring anthology was “the moment when,” I realized I already had the beginning of short story that would work. The problem was, it wasn’t finished. When I first wrote it a couple of years ago, I tried a half-dozen different endings, but none of them seemed to be the right one. With a deadline for submission in mind, I found the google doc, dusted it off, and reignited the process of trying to finish it. Nothing like a deadline to get a writer writing! Once again, my main character could not solve her dilemma of wanting a pair of ladies’ red shoes that she sees in a shop window. After all, she was only eight years old, so what could she really do to get them, and then what would she do with them once she had them? Then I had a lightbulb moment: what if she is older than eight? It seemed so simple, but a few years makes a big difference to a kid. Now my protagonist is twelve years old, just on the cusp of being a teenager, but not quite there yet. Suddenly the stakes were higher: she could wear them to a junior high dance; the other girls would be jealous; people would treat her like an adult. Bingo! Just the change I needed to show her desire and her desperate attempt to get them. I hope you enjoy reading it!