Author: Yelena Crane

Preorders are now available for Offshoots: Humanity Twigged, an anthology all about exploring how humanity will change, grow, regress, as it branches from its myriad potential futures.

You can preorder it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8CVYDMY

I have a short story in this “Messiah in the Machine.”

Desperate for a minyan (a quorum of 10 men for prayer), Rabbi Morris navigates a simulated reality and discovers a world where Judaism can embrace its version of temple times. In this digital domain, humans create their own dystopian worlds, with some worshipping themselves as gods, and others transforming into anything they desire—code, numbers, even dinosaurs. As the rabbi delves deeper, he encounters beings who appear as code, dinosaurs, waves, and grapples with profound questions about faith and identity. Will he be able to return to reality afterward? Does it matter if the world we experience is through flesh or wires? And in a place where anything is possible, what remains of our humanity and spirituality? All this is explored through the context of Rabbi Morris’s Judaism but it’s about so much more.

I am so incredibly honored to be part of this issue at FFO. I have been with them since 2020 and have had many stories rejected through the years.

Check it out here: https://www.flashfictiononline.com/article/face-full-of-nations/

In The Devil Wear’s Prada there is a famous scene where the character Andy thinks she is above fashion and its scruples:

Jocelyn: [holding up two belts] It’s a tough call. They’re so different.
[Andy snickers; everyone in the room stops and stares at her]
Miranda Priestly: Something funny?
Andy Sachs: No… No, no, nothing’s… you know, it’s just… both those belts look exactly the same to me. You know, I’m still learning about this stuff and, uh…
Miranda Priestly: “This stuff”? Oh. Okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select, I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. And you’re also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, wasn’t it, who showed cerulean military jackets?
[turns to an outfit she is styling]

We sacrifice a lot for fashion/beauty, often without realizing it. In this surreal flash I explore not only strange future beauty trends but their cost as well.

My story, “The American Dream” will be available in the It Was All A Dream 2 anthology soon and I can’t wait for you all to read it. In the meantime, you can read this interview with me about the trope I used, my fears for the future, and future projects.


Check it out here: https://www.hungryshadowpress.com/news/crane-dream-2-interview

What tropes are you tired of seeing in media and which do you think need a revival?

I have a new publication I am happy to share with you all. It’s my second publication in Nature Futures. Given the ongoing war in Ukraine, this piece is especially meaningful for me. It has gone through various title changes throughout the editing process starting off with “Where Have All the Gulags Gone” to “The Last Witness” to “Determined to Witness” and last to “Eyes on History.”

Importantly this flash isn’t all fictional. There was a nunnery that was turned into a gulag called the Sukhanovka, which is now a monastery.

I worry the horrific misery tourism I envision in my flash will come to fruition if we ever have use of this technology. I see it now with the movies people watch, the pricey excursions to see the Titanic, etc.

Free version available here: https://media.nature.com/original/magazine-assets/d41586-024-00338-8/d41586-024-00338-8.pdf

Read my story here and let me know what you think both of the flash and my author’s note:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00338-8

This beautiful anthology Learning To Be Human will be available for purchase in the USA on February 13th here: https://www.flametreepublishing.com/learning-to-be-human-short-stories-isbn-9781804177792.html

In the meantime you can read about what inspired my story and other stories with similar themes I love here: https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/learning-to-be-human-author-qa-story-inspirations

https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/learning-to-be-human-author-qa-best-stories-writing-practices

Also this is a great song to get you in the mood for my story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY&list=RD8UVNT4wvIGY&start_radio=1

Would you love me if I was a worm/whale/lanternfly?

Say yes.

They came to find love but all they found was death until…

“Full of Sound and Fury” finally available for you to read. I dedicate this to all the spotted lantern flies I’ve killed in an effort to minimize the invasive species and also to my husband. I wouldn’t be able to write love if he didn’t show me how to live it.

https://www.heartlines-spec.com/full-of-sound-and-fury-by-yelena-crane/

Let me know in the comments what you think of my foray into romance.

https://www.heartlines-spec.com/full-of-sound-and-fury-by-yelena-crane/

I’ve been submitting to the Furious Fiction contests for 3 years now. I was once long-listed (for a short then published in FFM) but today my story went up on the shortlist and was actually showcased on the site!

It’s less than 500 words. Check it, and the winning stories, out here: https://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/furious-fiction-december-2023-story-showcase/

Mine is the 12th story down. Let me know how you think I handled the prompt!