From Author Merriam

One of the stories we are pleased to feature in the November 2021 issue of Electric Spec is "The Most Wonderful Time" by Michael Merriam. I think it's our first official holiday story. Michael shares a few words with us about it.

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I originally wrote "The Most Wonderful Time" as a spoken-word piece.

Here in Minneapolis there is an open mic event called Not-So-Silent Planet, which is a science fiction, fantasy, horror open mic. Typically the monthly event is themed, and the theme that month was "Holidays". I knew there would be plenty of holiday horror stories (and I was not wrong), and I really wanted to write a space opera story. I felt like you don't see holidays depicted in science fiction and wanted to write a fun piece.

The monthly show also included a challenge line to be integrated; "That's when Uncle Jeff chimed in." This was great fun because a few years back a friend of my brother-in-law - named Jeff - got into an argument with my wife at Christmas and he said to me, "You need to control your woman." at which point my wife stood up and sent him scrambling to get away. It was too good not to add.

I'm pleased to present you with "The Most Wonderful Time," one of the funnest stories I've written.

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Very interesting! Thanks a lot, Michael!
Be sure to check out all the stories in the November 2021 issue!