Inspired to write a short story every month of the year, Michael Ruiz imagines a wide variety of fiction filled with romance, ambiguity, and humor: a percussion competition; a coworker's confession of love; a reporter with a deadline; the essential items necessary for the perfect date; a pirate captain and his wife pillaging the seven seas; the first human teacher in the galaxy; a first kiss that means everything; getting tested at a clinic; a rocking chair; a birthday party meant to be freaking awesome; a father's childhood hero; bunnies searching for eggs; and a hero who must defeat a villain to restore order to the Ninja. The 2012 Short Story Collection includes all thirteen stories that were released that year.