Righ, so this was meant to be my final post of 2025, but somehow, I never got around to doing those last edits and pressing "Publish" in time. I'm sure all of you have survived the wait, though. So here are the story recommendations for December/January. Loneliness Universe by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny): The story starts … Continue reading Story Recommendations – January 2026
Short Story Recommendations – November 2025
It’s time for another round of short story recommendations. I’m doing thing a bit differently this time, or rather, more like I used to back when I started doing these reviews way back. I’ll be recommending both old and new stories, and I’ll be including stories from a wider array of magazines rather than just … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – November 2025
Short Story Recommendations – October 2025
It's time for another round of short story reviews, marking the first time in loooong while that I've managed to do these posts two months in a row. (I'm still not sure I'm ready to make that a habit again, though.) We will start out strong. If an Algorithm Can Cast a Shadow by Claire … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – October 2025
Short Story Recommendations – September 2025
It is about time I posted my lasted short story recommendations. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of Clarkesworld, Podcastle, and Flash Fiction Online (FFO) (all three some of my favorite magazines), trying to catch up on what they have published during the summer. That really shows in what made it to the list of … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – September 2025
Short Story Recommendations – July 2025
It's time for another (very late) round of short story recommendations. This one was meant to go out start of June, but life got busy as always, and I only just had time to clean up my notes. Anyway, I hope you find these stories as enjoyable as I did. Woodmask by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Uncanny): … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – July 2025
Short Story Recommendations – May 2025
Redo by Brigitte Winter (Podcastle/ New Year, New You: A Speculative Anthology of Reinvention): A fresh but disturbing take of the age-old SF trope of time travel. From the start, it’s clear that the MC is stuck in a less-than-ideal relationship, being severally subdued by her dominating and inconsiderate husband. Things starts to take a … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – May 2025
Short Story Recommendations – March 2025
Well... It's been a while since I last did short story recommendations. I needed a break from short fiction, from reading it at least. And while it might not become a monthly segment on the blog again (at least, not yet), it's time I start diving back into the wonderful world of short fiction. So, … Continue reading Short Story Recommendations – March 2025
Reading list for 2025
In enjoy reading. That shouldn't really come as a big surprise to anyone. I am a writer after all. I've never really been structured about my reading, though. When it comes to writing, I strive to apply the principles of deliberate practice: praticing with a specific goal in mind, doing target exercises, getting feedback, trying … Continue reading Reading list for 2025
2024 – My Year in Writing and Reading
2025 is well under way already, and it's perhaps a bit late to start looking back at the previous year and how I fared. But, well... it's been a stressful January, and it's only really now that I've had both the time and energy to reflect on 2024. The obvious place to start is probably … Continue reading 2024 – My Year in Writing and Reading
Publication News – January 2025
2024 came and went, and it feels like I was one my backfoot throughout most of the year. I was sitting down to do a sort of summary of how the year went and what I plan for the new year, but then I realized I hadn't even cought up on my latest publication news. … Continue reading Publication News – January 2025
Toby Backman 