PAUL FINNIGAN: Nobody’s Perfect

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

Doctor Lorne Calder returned home to meet with Bert Ryan, a carpenter he’d hired to complete renovations at his home. Upon entry, he noticed a flaw in the foyer.

“You’re a master carpenter? Just look at that!” Calder complained.

“It’s easier for you,” replied Ryan. “You bury all your mistakes.”

Paul Finnigan is an Ottawa-based writer who has a collection of short fiction that has appeared in both Canada and the United States. Some previous publishers of his work include Boston Literary Magazine, Feathertale, Polar Expression Publishing, and Every Writer the Magazine.

FRANCISO TUTELLA: The Ladybird

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

He watched the ladybird crawl up the blade of grass. He pitied the beetle, its perspective confined to the soil; its miserable existence regulated by the basic needs to eat, defecate, and reproduce; its life dependent on the man’s whim.

He did not envy the ladybird… until it flew away.

Francisco Tutella’s fiction and poetry reflect his experiences growing up in northeastern Pennsylvania and his time spent studying and traveling in Italy. He has written for Wilkes magazine, and his poetry was included in the Luzerne County Transportation Authority’s 2014 Poetry In Transit program. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Wilkes University and teaches composition and literature in northeastern Pennsylvania.

BRENDA ANDERSON: Unicorn Heaven

Amusing, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, , , , ,

My invisible unicorn dies, so I dig a big hole in the garden and sing a happy song. My parents come outside and frown.

“If he’s in unicorn heaven,” they say, “why dig the hole?”

I cry, and they hug me. I love all this.

My unicorn dies quite often.

Brenda Anderson’s fiction has appeared in various places, from Andromeda Spaceways to SpeckLit. She lives in Adelaide, South Australia and tweets irregularly.

ANGELA MORRIS: Ruptured Membrane

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

The Facebook status read: “We have a ruptured membrane!”

I panicked.

The other women laughed at me. Google helped let me in on the joke.

Why he couldn’t just write “Her water broke” seemed a better question than why, at twenty-seven and a female, I know so little about pregnancy.

Angela Morris earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Oklahoma. Her works have previously been published in This Land Press, Chaffin Journal, Atticus Review and other literary journals.

JAMES P SPITZNOGLE: Coldest Love

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

It was terminal, sure. That didn’t mean she’d give up.

Even now, when visitors were few and far between, she never left his side. Devoted to a fault. She’d lost her job and apartment, but not her heart.

“I love you, dear.”

No response.

Those six feet felt like infinity.

James P. Spitznogle is an aspiring writer from the amiable hills of West Virginia.

STORY OF THE WEEK: February 14

News

The story of the week for February 8 to 12 is…

Chance Encounter With a Dream Girl by Guy Preston

There’s so much to think about with this story, set into the foundation of complex emotions. More great work from last year’s Story of the Year winner.

ALISON CARROLL: The Monster in the Closet

Adventure, Submissions, , , ,

It was a nightly ritual. “Daddy, there’s a monster in my room.”

All the parenting journals promised: “Let her cry; two nights, and the crying will stop.”

Proud Daddy noted that after only fifteen minutes the crying had indeed stopped, as the monster dragged little Dana into the closet’s depths.

Alison spent many a night tucked under the supposed safety of her sheets, crying for Mommy and Daddy to rescue her from night terrors and other perceived threats. She is still wary of the closet and what lies under the bed once the darkness comes.

MARK FARLEY: Dissecting

Artistic, Odd, Submissions, , , ,

I hovered above the students as they gathered around my frozen body.

“The tumour was here,” said the professor, “but the heart was the problem.”

She reached in with gloved hands, pulling aside my ribcage to reveal the hole in my chest. Nothing there but thorns and soft white dew.

Mark Farley is attempting to write 1,000,000 words in 2016. Please wish him luck!

BRANDON SCOTT: Perfect Harmony

Odd, Submissions, , ,

I sing to my mirror. And it sings back. We harmonize, match our lip movements perfectly.

I pull out the medicine cabinet mirror, and we are four. We look at each other and smile with one-half of our faces.

Once I’m done, we leave. All except the one with horns.

Brandon Scott is a man of Florida and a freelance writer with a love of dark fiction.

KENT V ANDERSON: Mutual Obsession

Amusing, Submissions, ,

I hear a knock at my door. It’s my stalker, Kurt.

I call out, “I’m not home.”

Kurt says, “When will you be back?”

I say, “Not for a week.”

You might have guessed: Kurt is not too smart.

After all, I gave him my new address three weeks ago.

Kent V Anderson writes a variety of stories, most of of them rather whimsical. Lately he has been writing even shorter short stories, to conserve his vocabulary. These have appeared in 101 Word Short Stories, Flash Fiction Press, Short Humour Site, Espresso Stories, Nailpolish Stories, The Story Shack, A Story in a 100 Words, and elsewhere.