For this spotlight on ten of my favorite short science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories I read in April, I’ve got stories that will make you angry, stories that will make you anxious, stories that will empower you, stories that will rankle you, and stories that are just plain weird.

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Look, we’ve had thirty-one (31!) atmospheric rivers in California since the start of winter. Every time the sun starts shining, a storm cloud steamrolls right over it. I’m stressed, I’m exhausted, and I’m very moody. So don’t be surprised by the dark tone of most of the stories in my March spotlight of my ten favorite short science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories.

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February brought a host of new short science fiction, fantasy, and horror from big names I’ve followed for a long time. But there’s always room for new discoveries, and a handful of emerging and new-to-me writers also cracked my ten favorite short stories. The theme this month: finding hope in the face of disaster.

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The first month of the new year is done and dusted, so let’s go back and look at my ten favorite short speculative fiction stories from January. We’ve got cannibalism, the apocalypse, and dangerous technology to tempt you.

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Every month I read a couple dozen or so short speculative fiction stories from 60+ publications in order to put together my monthly short SFF/H column. That’s a lot of reading! It’s always impossibly hard to narrow down to just my ten favorite pieces; if I had the time and energy, I’d do a massive list every month. So this year, instead of doing a best of list, I thought I’d put together a little collection of my alternates, one story from each month that I loved but that didn’t make my original spotlight. Let’s take a walk back through last year and some absolutely epic short fiction.

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December is a bittersweet month for me. With decorations lighting up the streets yet the days getting shorter and colder, with the avalanche of romantic movies yet family and friends hundreds to thousands of miles away, I always end up feeling a strange mix of both melancholy and cozy. And so, not surprisingly, those were the short speculative fiction stories I was drawn to the most.

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I’ve got some short pieces, some creepy pieces, some cute pieces, and some unconventional pieces for all your November short speculative fiction needs. It may almost be the end of the year, but there’s still a ton of great fiction out there for you to read.

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Sometimes it feels like all of history is happening all at once. In October, I needed some short and sweet stories, stories with a little lightness and ease, stories that had me gasping or laughing but didn’t leave me feeling overwhelmed. I’ve got a little Halloween horror for you, too, don’t you worry.

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From warfare to deadly plants, ghosts to spaceships, spirits to ‘droids, and then some. My ten favorite short speculative stories I read in September are scattered across worlds and time, but most will leave you with a melancholy feeling.

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Whenever I put together my list of ten favorite short science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories, I go by what strikes me the hardest, what sticks with me the longest, and what makes me go “Oh!” Often, as I’m writing up the blurbs, a theme emerges, one I wasn’t aware of when I was picking the pieces but connects most of them. For August, I was apparently feeling contemplative about death and endings, not sad or grieving but processing. I hope you’re ready for some capital “F” Feelings.

Read the rest of this spotlight at Tor.com.