Sweet Success for Gwynne Stanker

Published March 13, 2025

Congratulations to Gwynne Stanker on her recent short story release: Night of the Cheetah (Penumbric Speculative Fiction Magazine)

ABOUT THE STORY 

Eleven-year-old American Asia Jefferson’s plane crashes on the South African savannah. She is the sole survivor. She overcomes encounters with vultures, hyenas, and cheetahs only because a local tribesman gifts her with a mysterious stone doll that all the animals revere, as do the humans who come into contact with it. The black stone doll–known as the Mother of All Africa–has dominion over the two-footed, the four-footed, and all creatures that fly above or walk upon the African earth. Because of the stone doll, Asia’s encounter with the cheetahs in the dead of night will change her life forever in ways both strange and unexpected. Read for free: Penumbric Speculative Fiction Magazine.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Gwynne Stanker taught English as a second language for two years in Africa. This story arose from that experience. She writes across genres both historical and speculative with elements of fantasy and the supernatural. She has a story in the anthology Fresh Starts and another appearing in The Sunlight Press. She took top honors in The Zebulon for her novel THE SUN WALKERS. She recently completed DARK MOUNTAIN, a novel. Together with her spouse and an overly-affectionate poodle-terrier mix named “Lovey,” she calls the beautiful Colorado prairie home. Follow her on Facebook.