Since long before reviewing a product was as simple as typing in a few words on our phones, word-of-mouth has been considered the absolute best way to sell something. Think about it: when someone you trust and respect suggests you try something, you seriously consider doing just that. Food, travel, cleaning products, shoes, books…you name it.

Look at the success of Instant Pot. I see posts all over Facebook from friends singing the versatile cooking device’s praises. I’ve even considered buying one even though I have a similar brand sitting in my cabinet as-yet unused (I bought it two years ago). Yet, every time I see the cult of Instant Pot posting, I think it’s something I might need. (Don’t worry, sanity prevails…but I do need to try that thing I already have…)

When it comes to books, word-of-mouth has great power, too. Oprah’s Book Club makes books an overnight success. Book reviewers helped guide readers’ and book store purchases. And one of the best tools in the business is the Recommended Reading List.

I love seeing WMG stories on such reading lists. And when the list is compiled by a science fiction and fantasy magazine with 24 years of history, it’s especially humbling.

Enter the Tangent Online 2017 Recommended Reading List, which features ten Fiction River stories, from six different volumes. The stories are ranked as follows, according to Tangent Online: “As is our custom, there are four sections to each length category. Those making the list in the short story, novelette, and novella lengths but having no stars, and those with either one, two, or three stars, according to how well the reviewer or reviewers valued a particular story.”

You can see the entire list here, but the Fiction River stories and their respective categories are:

Short Stories
“The Four Thirty-Five” by Annie Reed (Fiction River: Editor’s Choice)
“Dust to Dust” by Annie Reed (Fiction River: Pulse Pounders: Adrenaline)
“Legs” by Steven Mohan, Jr. (Fiction River: Feel the Fear)
“The Sound of Salvation” by Leslie Claire Walker (Fiction River: No Humans Allowed)
“We, the Ocean” by Alexandra Brandt (Fiction River: No Humans Allowed)
“The Legend of Anlahn” by Eric Kent Edstrom (Fiction River: No Humans Allowed)

Short Stories One Star
“Killing Spree” by Brigid Collins (Fiction River: Tavern Tales)
“The Glass Girl” by Leah Cutter (Fiction River: Editor’s Choice)

Short Stories Two Stars
“The Hot Eagle Roadhouse” by Chuck Heintzelman (Fiction River: Tavern Tales)
“Trees” by Diana Benedict (Fiction River: Editor’s Choice)
“Bad Dates Bite” by Kerrie L. Hughes (Fiction River: Editor’s Choice)

Short Stories Three Stars
“The First Ingredient” by Eric Kent Edstrom (Fiction River: Tavern Tales)
“A Ballad of Osmosis McGuire” by Travis Heermann (Fiction River: Superpowers)

So, if you missed any of these stories, or their respective volumes, be sure to check them out. And you don’t just need to take my recommendation on that <grin>.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.