REBECCA WILLIAMS: Golden Thread

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

In the night I am worthless. I dissolve as the darkness presses down onto me. I curl into the toxic embrace of the silent emptiness within and without.

The baby feeds on, needy and warming. A tiny golden thread of love connects us, draws me back up to the light.

Rebecca Williams loves the darker side of fiction and is currently working on a novel about two housewives on a vigilante crime spree. She also dabbles in flash and shorter fiction – you can find her work in EllipsisZine, Spelk, The Cabinet of Heed, Retreat West and more. She can be found on Twitter at @stupidgirl45.

KARA JOHNSON-MARTINEZ: They Only Ask, What’s Next?

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

Endless pots of coffee drunk. Countless pages gorged upon, regurgitated, wept over. Knowledge tested and realized. Credits accumulated. She reached the end of the text only to find a perplexing blank page.

They call her name. The tassel dangling from the mortarboard throws her off-balance as she traverses the stage.

Kara Johnson-Martinez is a freelance writer and novelist based in Colorado. For a preview of her fiction visit kararochelle.com.

TAMSIN SEYMOUR: The Hotdog

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

With ketchup trickling from her broad grin, his daughter looks like a cheerful, diminutive vampire.

The food is too fast, the street is too crowded, the fireworks are too loud. She is loving every single minute, and her mother will be furious.

Both of these things give him deep satisfaction.

Tamsin wishes she wasn’t too cowardly for fireworks and broad grins.

CALEB FITTING: Intimate

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

Lydia dropped off Hannah at her dad’s place, a rocky walk from home. She enjoyed the trek. They both did. The bubble helmet radios picked up every single word. Every breath floated into mother’s and daughter’s ears.

It was intimate, unlike with her ex-husband, the only other human on Titan.

Caleb resides in Arkansas where he plays beach volleyball.

ALANNA DONALDSON: Lucky

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

When Mrs Brain’s dog bit off her thumb, the whole village soon heard about it.

As the rumours spread, the thumb became all five fingers, which in turn became her hand.

In this way, the village devoured more of Mrs Brain than Lucky had ever done, or hoped to do.

Alanna writes short stories and flash fiction and works in publishing in Oxfordshire. She can be found on Twitter at @alannamadeleine.

PENNY SENANARONG: Heartless

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

A void sits in between his rib cages; he lacks the beating bit of flesh that makes humans human. So, she fills the emptiness with memories of overgrown moss and poisonous flowers, along with false promises of eternity.

It is the closest thing to her heart that she can give.

Penny Senanarong is currently an A-Level student who grew up in the bustling city of Bangkok. Although Thai is her mother tongue, the world of English language and literature fascinates her, and she wishes to be a part of it through writing fiction.

VIV BURGESS: Frequent Flyer

Amusing, Submissions, ,

After years of business suppers, his wife put him on a diet. The benefits were obvious. The uniform was looser and his delivery route was quicker. He could go in and out of buildings faster and travel lighter.

But refusing client generosity proved difficult. He never could resist mince pies.

Viv Burgess is aware that he also likes cookies or biscuits but on a diet he should really only eat the carrots.

CHELSEA ROBERTS: The Saucers

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

The saucers appeared at 12:15 pm on Feast Day, when we celebrate victory over body shaming and our collective morbid obesity.

The saucers searched for intelligent life, abundant natural resources or a population able to power their work force back home.

The saucers left at 12:16 pm on Feast Day.

Chelsea Roberts on most days can be found writing essays and short stories at pastpaperanswers.com.

JOSÉ JAIME PÉREZ: Someone Different From the World

Submissions, Touching, , ,

He was lost in thought again. Someone took over his mind, someone with a heart able to enjoy every single moment as if everything was special.

He stared at her and she smiled back happily, unaware of her own uniqueness. That ignorance, he pondered, was also part of her beauty.

José Jaime is from Spain and is studying at university.