I’ve never been very interested in writing short stories, but last year I came across an intriguing contest by Literary Taxidermy that piqued my interest. The challenge was to use the opening and closing lines from The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett, Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, or “A Telephone Call” by Dorothy Parker and write a short story.

I decided on the Dorothy Parker story and wrote a little piece called “Skip Counting” about a dog thief. “Skip Counting” was chosen as a runner-up and included in the contest anthology Telephone Me Now. If you’re interested, check it out.