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: concert tickets that changed a life; an antisocial girl's encounter with an obnoxiously ugly boy; daughters who make a choice; the true age of maturity; a game that gives meaning; a murder investigation - in space; a kiss that is never enough; a strange man in a pink sombrero; an aunt whose weekend is disrupted; a mirror worth dying for; a boy who does not like to clean his room; a birthday party meant for more; and the only place where an author can thank their characters. The 2011 Short Story Collection includes all thirteen stories that were released that year.