Category Archives: Adventure

DESIREE S BROWN: The Grieving and Ambitious

Adventure, Submissions, , , ,

Magic had weight that could break a grieving mind, effectively ending any wizard’s career.

Professor Henley drew an incantation in the air. Finger-like tendrils seeped out of the pentagram and lurched into his skull, hungry for memory.

He thought of his wedding. His children being born.

The spell groaned, sated.

Desiree S. Brown is a poet and author from California. She writes when the world sleeps and her toddler’s are pacified. Her recent work, Untroubled, was published in Redrosethorns magazine. Find her on Substack at Desi’s Narrative.

JESSICA ZMUDA: It’s winter when Lake Superior eats my husband

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

His ghost looms over my shoulder as a sailor pockets my wedding ring and promises me passage.

The sailor’s cigarette glows orange, embers eating tobacco down to the filter.

A push, and the lake eats him, too.

If I sail far enough, my husband whispers, I will find him waiting.

Jessica Zmuda is an anthropology graduate, museum enthusiast, and aspiring author living in St. Louis. She shares these on Instagram at @jess.reads.too.much.

DEBORAH TAPPER: Wolf Moon

Adventure, Submissions, , , , , ,

He steals another sly glance at the hitchhiker, muffled in fleeces and darkness. “Moose aren’t the only things on these roads.” He’s half-joking, savouring and delaying, knife a promise in his pocket. “Sometimes there’re monsters, too…”

He thinks she smiles.

They’ll blame bears or wolves.

Bury him quickly, without questions.

Deborah writes at an old desk surrounded by five hundred pet bugs.

THOMPSON EMATE: Redemption

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

The moon illuminated the sky. The rhythm of the drumbeats punctuated the silence. The seers ascended and descended unveiling the hidden. I watched and listened. My mother held my hand. She looked at me with teary eyes. In that moment, it struck me: we were on the path to redemption.

Thompson Emate spends his leisure time on creative writing, particularly poetry and prose. He has a deep love for nature and the arts. His trying his hand at every genre of fiction. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria.

ALISON MOORE: Head Cheese

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

They stomped into the bar shedding barn jackets covered with snow dandruff, then hoisted themselves onto barstools – waxy red circles, like rounds of edam cheese. They rotated from side to side, exchanging unpleasantries about the weather and gossiping about the shot-dead murderer in the storage unit down the street.

Alison Moore has spent much of her career in marketing. Now she’s writing fiction for fun. Her work can be found in Edible Boston and 50-Word Stories.

DAVE SCHELL: Jeff the Karaoke Singer

Adventure, Submissions, , , ,

Jeff sings Karaoke every Friday night at the local bar. The crowd loves his booming voice and personality. As a crowd favorite, he opens and closes the night. He gives clues about his wife’s unsolved murder. Tonight was “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and “Baker Street.” The crowd sings along, cheering loudly.

Dave Schell is a web designer, woodturner, woodworker, bartender, the grandchildren’s favorite grandparent and someone who wishes punk rock was still on the radio. He lives in Lancaster County, PA (USA) and is not Amish.

J.S. O’KEEFE: The Rafting Fifty

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Apurímac River: A floating community of fifty drifts slowly toward the Amazon. Three generations share the raft, where daily life revolves around fishing, gardening, crafting, and teaching the children. There’s no hierarchy here; no mine and yours. They depend on trust, cooperation. Never anchored to land; anchored to each other.

J.S. O’Keefe has published over three hundred short stories and poems in print and online literary magazines. See more at szjohnny.net.

DAVID ALBANO: Royal

Adventure, Submissions, , , ,

They would die but not surrender. Warriors of royal ambition, they were unable to resist the bloodstained crown won at the martyr-making end of a bayonet.

The stomping of botas rattled the desert mission. The Tennessean grinned, and Colonel Crockett and his boys raised their muskets, preparing for their coronation.

David Albano is a proud native son of Baron Rouge, Louisiana who now lives in Texas. He is an avid reader who also enjoys writing, LSU Sports, and being involved in his church community. David has previously been published in Frontier Tales and Dark Moments.

MIKE KEYSER: Five Steps to Thursday

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

They announced: “The world ends on Thursday.”
In denial, we raged against shadowed figures with secret agendas.
Angry streets battered abandoned stone monoliths of authority.
Bargains offered to our gods and devils; contracts returned unsigned.
Depression discarded our fairies and magical endings.
With fate accepted, in peace, our stars faded.

Mike Keyser has survived myriad dystopian futures from the safe distance of speculative fiction.

NICHOLAS DE MARINO: White Lies & Lilies

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

It’s not all bees. Not even most: only honey bees die after they sting you. Google says that’s less than five percent of species. It’s because of your thick skin. The one you grew in elementary school. Keep your head down, hum along. Be hive. Behave. You’ll get your shot.

Nicholas De Marino is a published crackpot. More at nicholasdemarino.blogspot.com.