Development Times Vary

Winner of the 2021 Moon City Short Fiction Award Michele Finn Johnson's colorful, witty stories hum with life. Characters in each of these thirty-six stories evolve at different rates, resulting in missed connections, almost connections, and--best-case scenario--close connections. A high-schooler struggles to figure out where she fits into the stereotypical landscape, searching for her space between these castes; Baby Albert grasps the concept of gravitational waves while his parents have difficulty operating the DVD player; bats mate by instinct while pregnant humans struggle to align. Writing about love, sex, loss, and joy, Johnson exposes the core of her characters.