TIFFANY A. ROBINS: The Reunion

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

He asked jokingly, but with accusation. “Is that why you unfriended me?”

My feet held my attention. I couldn’t lie. “I just couldn’t watch you be happy with her anymore.”

“I wanted to keep you in my life.”

“I tried… Really.”

“Then I’ll try to forgive you.” He walked away.

Tiffany Robbins was born in Kettering, Ohio, to Johnny and Cathy Lee. She moved around a lot throughout her youth, but mainly kept to the Midwest where she still resides. She attended most of her elementary years and all of her high school years in Tarkio, Missouri, which she still considers to be her home town and one of the greatest places on Earth. It is a small town where everyone knows everything and they have no idea how much of a gem they have. Tiffany went to a community college and holds an associate degree in Computer Programming, but found out that her passions lie elsewhere. She loves working with computer graphics and will do anything that gives her a creative outlet. She married Cameron E. Robbins in 2003, and remains happily by his side. They keep pet rats, which are the love of their lives, and a pet dog named Waylan.

SHELLY EADY: The Rendezvous

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

Her soft voice offered a hint of reassurance. Adrenaline rush mirrored a NASCAR member. Full-court press perspiration and anticipation of the unknown; fear and anxiety married.

Eyes closed to focus and relax my breathing.

Her hand gently touched my shoulder. Our eyes met. She smiled.

It’s over. Wisdom teeth extracted.

Shelly Eady is an emerging writer with an abundance of faith, courage and a heart’s desire. Her goal is to enrich, inspire, and encourage others to dream through the art of creativity.

SHARON ANTHONY: It Wasn’t Only a Dream

Submissions, Touching, , ,

Last night I dreamed of being with her, seeing her thinning, silver hair and looking into her aged blue eyes.

We didn’t speak. Words were never essential between us. A weave of unconditional devotion was knitting us together.

My grandmother’s gift taught me how to love in lifetime, for eternity.

Sharon Anthony is currently a student struggling through her last math class and yearning for the day she can just write and have literature classes. She is grateful that her first creative writing class was taught by Mike Hancock.

KEVIN SHEAHAN: Little Girl

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“What do you think about him dating your little girl?”

“My little girl isn’t little anymore. You can take care of yourself.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Don’t be sarcastic with me, Jennifer.”

“Call me Jenn, Dad.”

“I named you Jennifer.”

“Mom named me Jennifer. You wanted a boy.”

An avid skier and hiker, Kevin Sheahan has an M.F.A. from Southern New Hampshire University, and is now pursuing an M.Div. at Reformed Theological Seminary.

GINGER HUGHES: Vacation Fun

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

The beach, fringed with come and go rhythm of ripples, stretches past walking distance both ways, dotted white seagulls rising above.

Quite unexpectedly, one is caught by the kite racing out to sea, into wind, against nature, before plunging to drown out of the boy’s reach far beyond the surf.

Ginger Hopkins lives in the Texas Hill Country on top of a mountain where she Celtic dances and teaches English Composition online for Brookhaven College in Dallas, Texas. She holds a BA and MA in English from TX A&M University.

DELANCEY STEWART: Cold Distance

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

“You’re home. Dinner’s on the counter. The kids have been a nightmare.”

His eyes move past me, his keys slide across the cold granite. He finds a plate, and walks to his office. The screen’s glow illuminates the man I once knew, now silent.

“Goodbye, then.”

I close the door.

Delancey Stewart is a fiction writer living in Southern Maryland. When no indulging her imagination, she works for the man as a tech writer and tends two small boys who, her husband assures her, are hers. Find her at http://delanceystewart.wordpress.com.

TAYLOR M. BRYANT: The Beyond

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He thought, This is it. I’m finally going up there, where all the great ones went before me. The vast, unexplored frontier that most only dream about was his.

“One more minute,” they said. His heart counted down the final seconds.

Then the doctor pulled the plug.

This is it.

Taylor Bryant is a 4th year student at Southeast Missouri State University. He is currently studying music composition, though he writes short stories in his free time.

CONNELL WAYNE REGNER: The Juggernaut

Amusing, Submissions, Touching, , ,

“It’s the wrong way ’round!” the Captain yelled.

“Sorry Cap,” Piper replied.

“Too late to worry now. Like a whiskey, Piper?”

“Would love one, Sir. How much time do we have to drink it?”

The captain looked at his timepiece and softly said, “About two minutes to impact. Drink up!”

Connell Wayne Regner had successfully avoided writing creatively since he wrote spontaneous lyrics to music many years ago. Although from a linguistic background, he has serendipitously succumbed to fiction after spontaneously creating bedtime stories for his children. His other dabblings can be found at paragraphplanet and wtdmagazine.wordpress.com.

NATE BROCK: The Things Between Us and Them

Artistic, Submissions, ,

Inside, they watched as he sat on their back porch among the smoke of his cigarette with the oak branches between him and the stars. They were caught off guard by the way his eyes strained to break the separation through the branches and reach the stars.

They, too, stared.

Nate Brock attends the University of Indianapolis for Creative Writing. Most of his works are created with the help of his friend, Mr. Daniels of Tennessee. He blogs at natebrock.wordpress.com.

MIKE HANCOCK: Family Genes

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My father beamed at me from his leather recliner. “You know, having not been around each other, we’re a lot alike.”

Whiskey stench. The late night police visits. My mother’s black eyes.

Too young to remember, bet he thought.

But then, I hated him for that statement worse than anything.

Mike Hancock is a former wilderness guide and commercial fisherman. Now living in Wewoka, Oklahoma, he is an Adjunct Professor of English and a freelance writer. He holds a B.A. in English Literature and a M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. His fiction has appeared in multiple literary journals, and London’s Ether Books. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Hancock/112992545466326