Weathering Youth: “Salt Circle” and “Kick in the Door and Improvise”
Because Weathering Youth is my biggest collection to date, I’m grouping the short stories and flash fiction stories in pairs for my posts, based on the way they fall in the collection. This lets me look at the connections between the stories and how I decided to arrange specific stories in the collection!
“Salt Circle” and “Kick in the Door and Improvise” are a flash fiction piece and short story, respectively, which may not seem on the surface to have much in common. However, they both feature a main character dealing with a problematic authority figure and a bit of thinking outside the box. Neither protagonist is a young adult in the strictest sense of the word, but the stories are appropriate for young readers.
“Salt Circle” has a toad as its protagonist, and the toad is stuck with a witch who hasn’t treated him well. On observing that he’s not the only one who doesn’t like the witch, he strikes a deal that’s mutually beneficial to him and the other entities.
“Kick in the Door and Improvise” takes its title from a joke amongst our gaming friends about what most RPG plans devolve into. In this case, the protagonist, when given a task from an exiled princess, takes this advice to heart, making up her plans as she goes. She’s ultimately able to help the princess get back at the king who exiled her and gets paid for her cleverness.
“Kick in the Door and Improvise” originally appeared in Tales from the Magician’s Skull, while “Salt Circle” is exclusive to Weathering Youth. You can read them, along with other stories featuring young protagonists in a variety of settings, in print and ebook formats!
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