This 5,000-word short story challenge from Globe Soup features a random genre mash-up.

You don’t know what your mash-up will be until you purchase the ticket to participate in the contest. Mine ended up being a dystopian-romance.

My submission is titled In Time of Roses, a nod to the poet E. E. Cummings whose work is featured briefly in the story.

The year is 2406. The atmosphere is toxic. The world is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party. Elliot’s wife, Talulah, suffered a traumatic accident and remains in a vegetative state, and with help from a robot, Elliot must communicate with her.

I sent in my submission; contest results are due by December 2023. More to come!

Well, it’s December 17, the winners were announced, and the story didn’t final. That’s too bad — but I think there’s a future for it elsewhere. Upward and onward!