‘Twas The Blight Before Christmas

Me and my accomplices in fiction thank you all for making this year bigger and better than last year. These two consecutive years offer a grand sizeable bunch of genre fiction stories we have published in recent times. Actually, in 2025, there were many firsts and many returns to the way we do things.

I can’t help but mention our resident proponent of fiction and fiction publications–Bill Tope–for his enthusiasm and support. Also thank you to Bud Pharo, our first and oldest and still contributing subscriber to our Patreon Page. Many thanks to the brilliant work and support from June Wolfman, R.K. Olson, Barry Garelick, and William Belle. Thank you for active participation also by Mark Nuzzi, Our Facebook Page made vibrant by June Wolfman, Dale Smrekar, Richard Simonds, Thomas Kropp, Jon Adcock, Bryce Thayne, Mark Nuzzi, and the delightful Jacqueline Chou. A big thank you to our Instagram regulars–James C Clar who never misses anything, Bryce Thayne and Thomas Kropp are newest heroes online, Holy Pfeiffer, Richard again, Shailendra Ahangama (keep submitting though), Damir Salkovic a true word warrior, our earliest and most consistent social media follower Marcel Gabbett, J.D. Strunk for sending us cool poignant zeitgeist stuff to publish, my friend from past online life Nicholas Coriz. My gratitude and hugs to dearest kindest friend from similarly older online life who agreed to again contribute fiction and be active on our social media Meta Marie Griffin. A big welcome to our most recent Patreon subscribers Emily Gennis and Mark Nuzzi. Many thanks to all those who agreed to try the free version of our Patreon Page. Expect the podcasting and reel making to hit Patreon soon.

These are just what is already visible to the naked eye and clothed in their beautiful narrations. Yet there are many more voices and those who quietly encouraged us throughout a torturous year of torrid tardiness and then a surge of publishing, along with intermittently sprinkled digital images and cinematically photographed pictures, artwork, illustrations and the shadow of AI looming large but elusive in the corner of the eye.

We will be opening the gates for submissions on 01-January-2026. We pay attention to all fiction, hence we can’t just skim and churn these pipelines in publication. We offer feedback often but sometimes if we are silent–it is because we are either trying to fit in more replies or because we really can’t offer extensive criticism on some submissions due to our own limitations in understanding of some narratives.

We have now a good lot in the Editor’s Choice section. You can sort through genres faster within the webpages and not just through the menu system. We are more proactive with Pushcart Prize effort as well. We aim to make the user interface simple, fast and reliable and now comments appear more instantaneously through automation.

Keep writing and innovating and reimagining. We don’t mind the experimentation–and we will get to each email eventually–even if it is to apologize for not being as capable as some larger publications.

The joy of writing is in its creation. Don’t let responses or publication portfolios distract you.

In the now–the moment of idea and vision–time and space warps inside your mind’s eye–so hammer away at the keyboard–or use apps such as for voice notes or old school legal sized pages in a folder.

Joy to the world, the Kingdom of short genre fiction is still online and thriving. Merry Merry to you and yours. Wishing all our readers, contributors and subscribers a very Merry Christmas and happy prosperous New Year. Happy Holidays and wish you a safe return to the blank empty page whenever you so desire.

–Dey and Team FFJ