Writer Spotlight: Michael M. Jones
Welcome to the 27th installment of Writer Spotlight. This week’s focus is Michael M. Jones. I’ve reviewed 13 of Jones’s pieces, nine of them individually on InkFoundry’s “Get WYSR” feed. (In case you didn’t know, InkFoundry is a wonderful and free resource that aggregates short fiction and poetry pieces!)
Recurring Themes:
Comedy!
The Magic of Comfort Food
Personification of Streets & Cities
Symbolism
Cats Being Cats
Pyschopomps / Grim Reaper
Day One - Aug 20
“For Sale: The End of the World” | WYSR Review
Morth wants to buy an apocalypse at the Apocalypse Shoppe.
“The Bureaucromancers’ Duel” | WYSR Review
Hazel and Jeanine are on opposite sides of a legal battle. That doesn’t mean they can’t work together.
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
These two stories were both hilarious flashes!
Individually:
"For Sale: The End of the World” This flash is a comedic parody of evil entities wishing to destroy the world / universe. It also has a dispassionate shopkeeper with all the uncaring nature of a retail worker who has seen it all and remains professional to the worst of the worst.
“The Bureaucromancers’ Duel” This one has themes of bureaucracy, falling in love with the enemy, and opposites attract, along with the idea that two things that seem in contradiction can actually work well together. I very much enjoyed the beauty in the romance between the two assistants.
Day Two - Aug 21
3. “A Day in the Life of Mr. Farnsworth” | WYSR Review
Mr. Farnsworth has his work cut out for him, saving his owners from themselves.
4. “Training Day in the Blackdeep Dungeon” | WYSR Review
Chim the Extremely Lesser isn’t sure this is better than gelatinous cube farming.
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
These stories are both humorous fantasy flashes, reminding me of the first two! I am LOVING all the comedy from Jones. Oh, also, both have an intern/newbie, though “A Day in the Life” introduces them at the end of the story.
Individually:
“A Day in the Life of Mr. Farnsworth” This one has an intelligent cat who knocks things over and “misbehaves” only to save his humans from killing themselves.
“Training Day in the Blackdeep Dungeon” The specific humor in this one was slapstick, reminiscent of Dungeon Crawler Carl or Nine Goblins (both of which I’ve read recently). Slapstick/physical humor is my guilty pleasure and this flash had all of it. There’s a theme here of not being a hero and regretting your choice of job. :D
Day Three - Aug 22
5. “Due to Unforeseen Circumstances, the Apocalypse May be Postponed” | WYSR Review
Death and the other horsemen of the apocalypse have done the unthinkable: avoided their one job.
6. “The Heartbeat of Ashentown” | WYSR Review
Ash has a visitor from someone he does not want to see.
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
These stories both have a character personifying death!
Individually:
“Due to Unforeseen Circumstances, the Apocalypse May be Postponed” This story avoids the apocalypse, unlike the other Jones story with apocalypse in the name. There are themes of questioning assigned roles and what you’re “supposed” to do / dissatisfaction, which reminded me of “Training Day.” There are moments of levity but it isn’t the heart of this one, as in previous Jones stories.
“The Heartbeat of Ashentown” This was a sad story, with elements of personification, like the heart of a city as a person, and a theme about how much you want to cling to something or someone past their time of death.
Day Four - Aug 23
7. “Sandwiches for the Soul” | WYSR Review
The sandwich maker makes the perfect sandwich for each customer.
8. “An Encounter in Space and Thyme”
Layla gets a customer in her shop who wants to bake something difficult.
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
These stories both center around food magic that satisfies the customer and have a healing, warmhearted tone. :) Both also include a shop owner helping a customer, which also reminded me of “For Sale.”
Individually:
“Sandwiches for the Soul” This story has a little romance at the end that reminded me of “The Bureaucromancers’ Duel.”
“An Encounter in Space and Thyme” This story has a theme of helping someone else gain confidence.
Day Five - Aug 24
9. “A Thousand Steps Up Godwich Road”
Sarah walks Godwich Road with a singleminded purpose: to find out what happens at the end.
10. “The Cat’s Three Wishes” | WYSR Review
A cat summons a genie by knocking a jewelry box off the counter. Hilarity ensues.
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
Both these stories include interesting methods in which people can copy/paste parts of themselves onto others.
Individually:
“A Thousand Steps Up Godwich Road” This story is eerie and haunting, and I found myself rooting for Sarah to keep going and not stumble, to find out what happens at the end of the road. There are themes of questioning a lack of connection, of yearning for something else beyond.
“The Cat’s Three Wishes” This story is another comedic one, with a flustered genie who cannot satisfy the one who summoned him. It’s not from the cat’s POV like “A Day in the Life” is, but it still has a cat as a main character and both cats knock things over. :D Ironically, the genie did remind me of Mr. Farnsworth the cat, in how he regards others, human and cat alike. It also has themes of dissatisfaction with their life, as the genie tries to find loopholes to get out of his contract, which reminded me of “Training Day” and “Due to Unforeseen Circumstances.”
Day Six - Aug 25
11. “The Midnight Bride and Her Starshine Love”
They met at the wedding of Sun and Moon.
12. “Roll the Bones”
Gambling at the Changing Fortune means risking your very destiny.
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
These two stories both have less of a focus of comedy than many of Jones’s previous stories and use more figurative language. They are also both published by Hexagon Magazine!
Individually:
“The Midnight Bride and Her Starshine Love” This has an ethereal, romantic tone with many wry turns of phrase! I especially liked the use of parentheses as a kind of running commentary on the other celestials and the plot. There are themes of yearning and secret romance, which reminded me of “The Bureaucromancers’ Duel.” There is also a lot of personification, as in “Heartbeat of Ashentown.”
“Roll the Bones” This one had heavy use of symbolism, where concepts like love, beauty, or destiny can be determined at a gambling table. The tone is more serious / dark / haunting, reminding me of “Godwich Road”, and there are themes of the dangers of the addiction to gambling and not knowing when to stop.
Day Seven - Aug 26
13. “The Tears of Bourbon Street” | WYSR Review
The soul of a street grieves the loss of his mortal lover.
“The Tears of Bourbon Street” This story includes a character with the soul of a street - which definitely echoes “The Heartbeat of Ashentown.” There is a theme here as well of not wanting to let go of someone once they’ve passed which is also in “Heartbeat” but for a different reason. This one is more about someone else, a lover. This story is also from the POV of a psychopomp / Grim Reaper, which reminded me of “Due to Unforeseen Circumstances” and “Heartbeat” as well.
Emmie’s Personal Favorite: “The Bureaucromancers’ Duel”
Interview Questions
What are the themes you tend to return to the most in your work overall? Why do think that is?
Jones: Cats, books, and food. The holy trinity. But also queerness. And humor. If I can somehow work -all- of those elements into a story, you’ll know I’m on a roll. Someone once said I had a “trademark subtlety” which is a nice way of saying I hate giving out answers upfront or overly explaining things. I like it when my stories make you think just a little.
2. What character(s) in these pieces do you relate to the most?
Jones: Obviously, I relate to the cat from “The Cat’s Three Wishes.” No, but seriously Mr. Farnsworth from “A Day in the Life of Mr. Farnsworth” just because it was so much fun to see things from his viewpoint. His story comes after almost half a dozen stories featuring Daphne and Camille, and he suffers great indignities in several of them. (See “Pet Care for the Modern Mad Scientist…”
3. How Has Your Writing Evolved Since You Began?
Jones: Evolved? More like mutated. I’ve really been all over the place in terms of style, genre, focus, tone, perspective. I’ve written hard-boiled urban fantasy, cozy humor, spicy fairy tales, mad science shenanigans, you name it. I guess if anything, I’ve embraced cozy a lot more in recent years as a response to jazz hands current events. What can I say, I do like comfortable and warm. Except, of course, when I kill the soul of a city. I hope I’ve grown a little more sophisticated over time, though.
4. Do you tend to start writing a story idea out of a particular element, like character, setting, or point of view?
Jones: Oh, all of those. And sometimes I just start from random prompts. A large percentage of my stories have spawned from writing exercises and informal contests where participants are given prompts and a very short period in which to write. Nothing says “be creative” like facing a weekend deadline to bang out a 750-1000 word first draft with no time to overthink or second guess yourself. Sometimes it’s just a mental image, or a fun quote, or an absurd character—my brain just tosses stuff out and makes me deal with it.
5. What short fiction author do you look up to? Why?
Jones: I took a ton of inspiration from Charles de Lint’s early works, particularly the way he made the city of Newford a living, breathing, magical place and populated it with a whole cast of recurring characters. Puxhill and my own repertory of characters owe a lot to his example, though obviously I’ve taken things in my own, weirder direction.
6. Anything else you’d like to say about your work?
Jones: There’s a lot of interconnectivity to my stories. Contemporary pieces tend to be set in or around the fictional North American city of Puxhill, and often in or around the mercurial, capricious Midnight Market. If you read enough, you’ll see characters visiting familiar locations, or maybe see familiar faces cross over. Mind you, this might require you to do a really deep dive into my catalogue… Meanwhile, my fantasy pieces are also loosely connected, though not always as obviously.
I also have a few recurring characters. Daphne and Camille, the couple seen in “A Day in the Life of Mr. Farnsworth” appear in a bunch of stories. Grace and Starling, Ducal Investigators, have made a few appearances (my favorite of which is in “The Regrettable Loneliness of the Great Wizard Graveblossom’s Door”). Nick St. Claus, private investigator, has shown up several times and is due for a return engagement someday.
In short, read me because you like cozy, or humor, or weird takes on fairy tales, or queer romance, or cats, or because I’m incredibly versatile and can finally admit that without feeling self-conscious.
7. Do you have any piece, listed here or otherwise, that you would like to promote?
Jones: That’s a rough question. I mean, that’s like asking which of my cats to pet first. But “The Cat’s Three Wishes” is a good choice if you want funny. Or “A Thousand Steps Up Godwich Road” if you want weird and ghostly. Have fun! Come find me online—look for Oneminutemonkey on Bluesky.