ERICA ROOT: Aloud

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

I sit in the passenger seat, my hands clasped together tightly, afraid that she will bring it up.

Unhappiness. Divorce. My father.

My heart races, my stomach unsettled, as she takes a steadying breath to open her mouth, while I scream in my head: Mother, please don’t.

Erica is working on her first urban fantasy novel. While she loves writing, she isn’t so sure about this whole “editing” thing. When she isn’t working on her book, she can be found planning her next trip, drinking wine (red, of course), or cuddling up with her ridiculously adorable puppy, Teddy. See more at squarerootroundworld.com

CONNELL WAYNE REGNER: Ambushed

Amusing, Submissions, ,

He saw himself laid out on the table, his heart in one place, his backbone and manhood in various containers.

It was hard to get a word in edgewise as his two ex-girlfriends kept dissecting him into little pieces.

Now he finally understood what “We can still be friends” meant!

Connell continues to be upbeat about writing his biography even if others keep refusing to do it for him. However, he knows someone will eventually take up the mantle which will then free him somewhat to concentrate on getting someone to write his 50-word stories as well.

JEAN LLOYD: Playing Dead

Adventure, Amusing, Submissions, , , , ,

Barely discernible in the gloom, he lay with twisted limbs, his eyes wide, staring. His mouth hung open. Silent. Still. Lifeless.

In contrast was the frantic rush of bluebottles.

Playing the part of a corpse was not a top acting role. He just happened to be rather good at it.

Jean lives in Bath in the UK. She likes to write the occasional fifty word story. As she gets older, they get more occasional.

MAURA YZMORE: Pizza Night

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, , , ,

Mom cuts a pepperoni pizza into eighths. “Your two slices together make a quarter,” she says, serving one slice to each of her young twins. “Still three quarters left. That’s almost a whole pie!”

The boys chew in silence. Three quarters of a family feel nothing like a whole one.

Maura Yzmore writes short-form literary and speculative fiction, as well as humor. Find out more at maurayzmore.com or @MauraYzmore on Twitter.

NATHAN ALLING LONG: Genre

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

This table, the wine, bread and cheese—that’s nonfiction; calling it “dinner” is, perhaps, a fiction.

Your silence, my tears, these trembling hands: nonfiction. Our last meal together: fiction.

Your attraction to someone else—OK, we’ll call that nonfiction. But the idea you no longer love me… must be fiction.

Nathan Alling Long lives in Philadelphia and can be found at blogs.stockton.edu/longn. His collection of fifty flash fictions, The Origin of Doubt, was published by Press 53 in March 2018.

MICHAEL MOGEL: Parkinson Reality

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, , , , ,

More than a tourist in the land of the Parkie where the governor
mumbles and shakes. I’m like a warrior trying to escape; PD has
a grip on my soul. A voting citizen, I fell off the floor and opened
the door to a new life that yells: watch out!

Michael Mogel is an out of work Fire Alarm Inspector due to Parkinson’s and has been writing poetry since college where he founded a literary
magazine.

FRANK KOZUSKO: Biography – 920

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

As a kid, I loved reading and books and decided to be a librarian when I grew up.

I memorized the Dewey Decimal System. I went to the college with the best Library Science reputation.

Alas, hopes for a career among the stacks were dashed when I failed shushing class.

Frank Kozusko is a retired US Navy submarine officer and nuclear engineer. After the Navy, he spent 20 years as a university math professor. A few years back, he started writing poetry and has self-published several collections. In full retirement now, he is writing short stories.

BILL COX: Dark Realm

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

Dark matter, a mysterious shadow cosmos existing side by side with our own.

The portal was his life’s work. He stepped through, breaching the barrier between universes. He would be humanity’s greatest explorer.

He saw structure. People.

A voice behind him, malice oozing from every syllable.

“Explorer: welcome to Hell.”

Bill is from Aberdeen, Scotland. His therapist sees his writing as a pitiful cry for help. Probably best just to ignore it. See more at northeastnotesblog.wordpress.com.

ALICE LAM: Selena’s Dance

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, , , ,

A memory, as if only yesterday.

This young woman is a metaphor for freedom
her strong hands guide the yacht
she flies over the crests of the ocean
braces against fierce, frigid salt blasts
that strike her windburnt face
over and over
flicking her blond locks into a wild dance

Alice Lam moved to Australia from the UK with her partner and they share a house in Melbourne, along with a cheese-seeking, greying Boxer dog. See more at alicelambooks.com.