The Storyteller Who Writes in Lightning Flashes

Every Friday we receive a very weird email and it always comes from the same address.

Our tendency is not to open it until we are in a good place, psychologically speaking. Because, you know -- once read, it cannot be unread. So we often wait until the end of the day when the rigors of work and onslaught of news headlines have already worn us down. That’s when the brief but terrifying message it contains has the sudden, shocking impact of a gun jammed into one’s back from behind.  

"Trees sway, creating monsters on moonlit curtains. Fear squeezes my gut as shadows float toward me. Spindly fingers caress my throat and tighten as ragged nails draw blood. Choking, I claw at the bony wrists that vanish at dawn. Staring in the mirror, I wonder if nightmares always leave marks"

Why don’t we block the sender or report their twisted messages as threatening spam? Because we subscribed to them, that's why! They are the Friday Micro stories written by author Rita Riebel Mitchell. Friday is a day many feel is filled with misfortune and dread and that is precisely what gives Mitchell's tiny stories their particular, sudden sting.

Each week, she delivers a miniature, chilling mystery, only 50-100 words long -- brief flickers of dread wrapped in a single, perfect breath of prose. She describes these original stories as tiny fictions that linger in the shadows. They are a delight to read and invariably cause a gasp of surprise or send a shiver down the spine.

It’s no surprise that Mitchell, a flash-fiction writer of “not-so-sweet stories,” is a natural at crafting chilling narratives. When not otherwise gardening or practicing yoga on the sun porch of her home in South Jersey, she can be found roaming the dark and mysterious Pinelands (think Blair Witch) photographing spiderwebs, strange-looking trees, and “the occasional wildlife skeleton.”

Mitchell also writes longer fiction and children’s stories. Her work appears in HAD, Flash Fiction Magazine, Versification, 50-Word Stories, and more.

Q&A

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in a small South Jersey town, Barrington, in a 3- bedroom brick house next door to my grandparents. I’m the oldest of five children. I attended Catholic grammar school (with nuns), public high school, and Rowan University.

What stories inspired you – or scared you -- when you were a kid?

My parents signed me up for a Nancy Drew book club when I was a child. Nancy is a girl detective always getting into scary situations while solving a mystery. In high school, the short story that both scared and inspired me is “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. Then there were television shows like Double Chiller Theater (2 horror movies every Saturday night), Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Some of those movies and shows gave me wide-awake nightmares, but I kept going back for more!

When did you begin writing your own stories?

My first stories, as told to my four younger siblings, were meant to frighten them, just a little. I wrote stories in creative writing classes and later for my elementary students. My first publications were monthly articles in a print educational magazine, helping teachers integrate the Internet into their curricula. I also wrote stories and essays for children’s magazines. Writing novels hasn’t worked for me, yet, but when I found flash and micro fiction, I knew that was the direction I wanted to take, at least for now. 

Your tiny fiction – and especially each different Friday Micro story – reads more like tightly woven poetry as they have a wonderful cadence that amplifies their stunning effect. Is this intentional or just naturally how you write?

Thank you! I think it’s a little bit of both. When I have an idea, I write it quickly, so I don’t lose it. As the edits go along, the story changes, sometimes drastically. As soon as I think it’s ready, I read it aloud for stumbles. Then I tweak the language and sentence structure until it sounds right to me.

You began writing the Friday Micro stories in 2022 and now have nearly 200 of them. Have you thought about gathering them all into a Friday Micro book?

My son has been pestering me to do this for a few years, and I’ve promised to work on it in 2026. Finding the stories in the many files on my computer is the biggest challenge.

What time of day do you prefer to write?

Whenever the house is quiet. Early mornings or late afternoons. Sometimes, if I start writing in the morning, I’ll write all day, especially if it’s rainy. That’s my favorite.

What else are you working on these days?

I’m putting together a collection of stories with the working title, “Attracting the Butterfly,” to showcase the stories that I’ve published in Friday Micro. And I’m working on posts for my new Substack publication.

Other than reading and writing, I’m cleaning out and reorganizing my writing space – an office I created when our sons moved out. Now that it’s spring, I’ll spend more time outside in my summer vegetable garden. And I like to cook – always trying a new recipe.

You’ve said that you enjoy wandering through old cemeteries. Is that where you get inspiration for some of your stories?

Absolutely. Although it’s not often, when I visit a cemetery, I take the time to read the headstone inscriptions. I find interesting names for characters and get ideas for stories based on the epitaphs. Other times I just wander, listening for whispers from anyone who wants to tell their story.

Where is your favorite place to get lost in a book?

Curled up on the vintage burgundy velvet chair armchair that sits by our back sliding glass doors – it’s bright and comfy enough for lengthy seatings.

Who are your favorite writers these days?

I recently came back to Stephen King after not reading his books for many years. I also picked up a couple of Joe Hill’s books (King’s son).

I read flash fiction in online journals, print anthologies, and collections – various authors. I enjoy young adult novels, too. I have a tall TBR pile with everything from crime and mystery to science fiction and horror. (I save the romance for beach days.) I choose by recommendation or by wandering a bookstore or my local library and picking up whatever catches my eye.