by Paula Gail Benson

With March coming in like a lion and continuing to exhibit changeable weather, why not enjoy a virtual vacation by taking advantage of some great reissued short story anthologies?

Edited by Michael Bracken and Gary Phillips, Jukes and Tonks (originally published by Down and Out Books, April 18, 2021, and issued by Audecyn Books March 15, 2026) features stories set in darkened halls with jukeboxes playing sad songs or lively bands pulsing out beats that wipe away any thoughts of regrets and have all the customers hopping. Some of the characters have reached the end of their ropes only to find new hope, while others discover what the true darkness of the place hides. The authors are all brilliant practitioners of the art of the short story: Trey R. Barker, Michael Bracken, Jonathan Brown, S.A. Cosby, John M. Floyd, Debra H. Goldstein, Gar Anthony Haywood, Penny Mickelbury, Gary Phillips, William Dylan Powell, Kimberly B. Richardson, and Stacy Woodson.

What amazed me in reading these stories is how, with such limited words, the authors drew the settings so clearly and the characters so poignantly. Both S.A. Cosby’s and Debra H. Goldstein’s stories deal with young women learning about the world through their connections with similar honky tonk venues, but each does so in a completely unique and unexpected manner. John M. Floyd’s story contains a wonderful twist in the end. All the stories are delightful and engaging.

Love in the Lowcountry: A Winter Holiday Collection (by the Carolina Romance Writers, originally published October 26, 2022, and reissued November 14, 2025) initially launched as a project of the Lowcountry Romance Writers of America, a chapter of the Romance Writers of America (RWA). When that group separated from RWA to form the Carolina Romance Writers, it undertook to republish its winter collection (with stories from Thanksgiving through Groundhog Day) with a new introduction, a few new stories, and some updates to the original stories, all set in South Carolina. It features tales of contemporary and historical romance, magical realism, and time travel, by experience and debut authors, including Rebekka DeReu, Linda Joyce, Paula Gail Benson, Suzie Webster, HM Thomas, J. Lynn Rowan, Addie Bealer, Robin Hillyer-Miles, Victoria Houseman, Elaine Reed, Victoria R. Benson, and Danielle Gadow. One hundred percent of the proceeds go directly to the Carolina Romance Writers, a nonprofit organization where romance writers connect, hone their craft, and create beautiful stories.

So try a staycation with one or both of these fun anthologies. You’ll really enjoy it!