You did a great job with the pacing and the atmosphere in this piece. It was creepy and thrilling, which is the hallmark of a good suspense/thriller story. Nice work!

The logistics of what happened were a little confusing for me. Jim went into the back room and took a nap so he didn't notice in the camera feed when "the old man at the counter dropped to the floor like a sack of flour." When he wakes up to close the store, he runs into the stranger, and sees the dead guy at the counter ... and then does "a double-take around the store where he saw the other patrons from hours earlier littered in the aisles he could see from the front. All lying lifeless on the floor."

But then at the end of the story, we realize the stranger is a girl who's there to kill Jim specifically for something he did in the past. Did she come into the store and murder all of the patrons just because? Were they connected to Jim as well? Was what happened with the old man's fall against the counter an accident, or was that also the girl? If that was the girl, she killed everyone, then hung out in the store, standing there for two hours while Jim took a nap?

Some additional clarity on how the events play out moment-by-moment would be helpful to increase the tension of the story.

Overall, I think you're off to a great start with this story. Well done!

This was a really touching, emotional story. You did a great job of communicating a lot of resonant feelings in comparatively few words, through the medium of (mostly) dialogue. Well done!

I had a hard time understanding why James expected his sister to mail off his college application, or why she didn't do it. I know that's incidental to the larger point of the story, but it seemed like a very specific example, but without the benefit of specific details to better understand the "how" of what happened.

Overall, I think you're off to a great start with this piece. Well done!

The structure of this piece was really nice, and you did a great job of communicating a complete and interesting perspective in comparatively few words. Good job!

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I like the fact that this piece was simple, well structured, and still managed to communicate a clear perspective. Nice work!

I thought you did a great job with the characterization of dreaming as the same kind of affliction as any other addition; that was a really original and unique take on a familiar subject. Nice work!

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I think you did a great job with this piece. Well done!

The letter from Mirabelle to Eirwyn feels familiar and comfortable, as if written by two people very familiar with one another. I liked the informality and the sense of relationship, and it really helped anchor this piece.

As someone who's coming into this worldbuilding fresh, it felt a bit much all at once, and a little overly-expository. In the span of less than 1,000 words, we're introduced to seven named characters (Mirabelle, Eirwyn, Cassius, Belenus, Rowan, Gosse, Clementine), plus an additional five worldbuilding concepts (Enchanters, The Order, Laurentinus, Ariels, The True World) which aren't given a lot of explanation or context. And while those details do add an element of authenticity to the letter itself and it's point of view, it's a bit confusing for an outside reader who has no knowledge of these things. Presumably, they will be explained later in the story proper, but it made the prologue a little less engaging than it otherwise would have, not knowing anything about The Order, or whether the "protection of the Ariels" is significant or not, etc.

Overall, I think you've got a great starting point for a prologue (and a larger story) here. You clearly have an entire narrative backstory and setting laid out, which is really commendable. I would recommend focusing this prologue on a more digestible moment with less exposition for the benefit of the reader, and then letting some of those other elements and characters reveal themselves in time. But I think you're off to a great start!

I really liked the message of this piece, and the way is was presented. There was an eloquence to the piece that I appreciated.

No specific suggestions for improvement that I could find.

Overall, I thought you did a great job with this piece. Nice work!

It's always a pleasure to have the opportunity to review one of your poems, and this piece is certainly no exception. I really like the way you structured this piece and the homage to "The Birds." Well done!

No specific suggestions for improvement.

As always, your poetry is top notch. Keep up the good work!

I thought you did a great job with this piece. The sentiment and the structure were both great, and it was an easy, affecting read. Well done!

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I thought you did a great job with this poem. Good work!

The execution of this poem was great. I really liked the underlying sentiment, and the short, efficient structure really helped to drive things home in an impactful way.

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I thought you did a great job with this poem. Well done!

I enjoyed reading this item. I thought you did a great job telling the story in a concise and clear way, making it easy for the reader to follow along.

A bit more context leading into the job search would help set the stage a little more, I think, but otherwise this was an enjoyable read.

You did a solid job with this. Nice work!

You did a really great job with the sentiment and the message in this piece. I think it's a lovely dedication to your son's birth and something that I'm sure he'll be very touched by when he's old enough to appreciate the creativity that went into writing something like this for him.

For me, the second line needs some kind of punctuation between "You were easy to love" and "I didn't hesitate" to break up the two discrete thoughts. I also find myself wondering what the hesitation relates to. Was it hesitation with the idea of having children at all? With the idea of keeping a child, or with the process of giving birth? Some additional context would be helpful to fully understand the hesitation that you were not struggling with (that presumably other people do).

Overall, this was a delightful poem that was short, concise, and effectively communicated your love for your child. Well done!

Well, you certainly win the award for the most ambitious anthology project of the bunch! You managed to write a half dozen more short stories than the next largest collection, AND all of your stories took full advantage of the word count!

I really loved the pure variety in the stories you wrote, taking on genres as diverse as crime and fantasy, and dealing with topics everywhere from friendship to philosophy. I'm really impressed by what you were able to accomplish with this collection.

I really don't have any suggestions for improvement. Great job!

Overall, I loved your entry in the contest this year. It's exactly what I hope for as a judge of this contest. Excellent work!

I enjoyed the individual stories that you wrote for this anthology. I wasn't surprised to find that each story had your trademark flair for character dynamics that made each installment feel realistic and engaging. I also loved your choice of album and the amount of information you provided in why you chose it.

For me, many of the stories felt a little vignette-like, due to their brevity. There's nothing wrong with flash fiction, but the way some of the stories played out, they felt more like standalone scenes rather than complete stories that fully played out with a beginning, middle, and end.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed your short story collection this year. It was well written, easy to read, and very entertaining. Nice work!

I really liked the structure and the format of this piece. It was well, written, entertaining, and told a great story. Well done!

No specific suggestions for improvement.

Overall, I thought you did a great job with this piece. Although that's no surprise when it comes to your poetry!