Today’s story bakes up some — PUMPKIN, PUT THAT DOWN.

A Slice of (Cake) Life
[Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 1,178 words

Mrs. Cake’s life isn’t always a piece of cake. The bakery needs running, Pound and Pumpkin are always up to something, and babysitters aren’t always easy to come by.

FROM THE CURATORS: While on the surface this might seem like a modest character piece — “slice of life doesn’t get any slicier than this,” AugieDog quipped — we found that cutting this morsel open revealed a rich, sweet experience.  And we weren’t the only ones.  “Not only is it a brilliant use of dramatic monologue,” Horizon said in his nomination, “but it’s also an Honorable Mention in Everfree Northwest’s 2018 Iron Author competition, from an author new to FIMFiction.”  Along the way to a rare unanimous approval, the story also accumulated comments such as Soge’s: “This was a great read, a perfect picture of the lovely chaos brought by children, but also so much more.”

That was largely due to delicious writing, full of ideas without feeling dense.  “This one is weirdly elegant in its insanity,” FanOfMostEverything said.  “It manages to pack a lot of frantic mayhem in just over a thousand words, but does so in a way that organically flows from one crisis to another. I’m quite impressed by how Epic Yarn managed to fit a complete, satisfying plot arc in such a small space.”  That wasn’t the only thing it did well.  “The comedy shines easily through,” Horizon said, “not just in the brilliant running gags (such as the ‘chocolate’) but also in the natural child-and-parent back-and-forth illustrated by several verbal traps late in the story.”  Present Perfect added, “Like the author said, she didn’t have to dig deep to write about what having children is like, and it really shows.”

The writing style, which only reinforced that, was singled out for repeated praise.  “I especially like how the stream-of-consciousness style doesn’t try to designate what might be speech and what might be thoughts,” AugieDog said.  “It adds so much to the frenzied feel of the whole situation.”  Add that to a laudable look at romance, and you’ve got a recipe for success: “Kudos for the portrayal of the relationship between the Cakes,” Soge said.  “There is this undercurrent of mature love that shines through their interactions, which feels almost Descendant-esque, and it pays off immensely on that sweet, sweet ending.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Epic Yarn discusses minty-fresh children, interruption counting, and Rainbow Dash epiphanies.
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