I just don't write that many short stories any more. I've got a bunch of half-written, not so good ones here. I would love to like any of them enough to finish them. I would love to be in Crime Factory, Needle, Noir Nation, and all the others, but I'm not happy with writing short stories right now.
I like writing novels.
Now, I know short stories are important, especially for finding new voices. One of the reasons we started Plots with Guns was simply to have a place where we could read more stories we liked. And it's often a great way to get students interested in a writer. I love the annual "Best Of" collections (well, some of them) for discovering the temperature of the shot story scene.
But still, I don't read them all that often. Not really.
I'd just rather read novels.
I dunno. I've been thinking about it recently because I've got a stack of anthologies on my desk, checking out a few writers I've heard about but haven't read yet. And I just realize that it's only an occasional thing now, not part of my normal reading routine.
And even with the explosion of novellas on Kindle, I kind of find myself not that interested in those either. Guess I need a more complete experience.
Anyway...I've got a stack of novels here, too, that I'm really excited about reading this summer.