Break From Reality. Daily.
The following is a guest submission by Anthony Mastri. If you enjoy Anthony’s piece, check out more of his work at thevoidismyillusion.com. *ring ring* *ring ring* “Hello, thank you for calling. How may I assist you?” “Will this even work? How do we know this is actually a real thing? Oh, yes hello. Do I have…
The following story is by Jacqueline Bridges. Jacqueline works as a guidance counselor to junior high students, where she puts her Masters degree to work, and then some. She is new to flash fiction and reads it daily (even in the counseling office). Her students join her weekly for a writing club, and many of them have an affinity…
The following story is by guest contributor Frederick K. Foote, Jr. Frederick has published over forty works since 2013. You can find his work online at spectermagazine.com, akashicbooks.com, pikerpress.com, everydayfiction.com, Cooper Street Journal, The Fable Online, So Glad Is My Heart, birdspiledloosely, Sirenzine, The Blue Falcon Review Vol.2, CMC Review, and Freedomfiction.com. He has three other…
The following story is by guest contributor Harvey Lovelle. Don’t tell Mom and Dad that I suck smoke through my teeth to make my brain crackle and knuckles go numb. Don’t tell them how the chemicals pump through my blood to let my bones shake and dance and move all around. Don’t tell Mom and Dad…
The following story is a guest submission by Steffany Willey. She eyed me from across the gleaming expanse of the kitchen. “I put your things upstairs Pop. I knew you wouldn’t want them down here — you know, tonight.” I’d been staring at the glass end table where I’d left my stack of Golf…
The following story is by Michael Royce. Michael is a graduate of Portland’s 2011 Attic Atheneum, a one-year alternative to a MFA program. His published fiction and creative non-fiction have appeared in Bartleby Snopes, Blue Lake Review, Euphony, Fringe, PANK, Prick of the Spindle, Prime Number, and other on-line and print journals and anthologies. His…
The following story is a guest submission by Katherine Toran. Katherine is an economics PhD student at the University of Kentucky. She has coauthored eight nonfiction research papers, and writes fiction as a relief from the endless math jargon. At Grinnell College, she wrote articles for the Grinnell magazine The Spectator and Philadelphia’s Friends Journal. She also…
The following story is a guest post by Benjamin Dancer. Benjamin Dancer wrote the novels Patriarch Run, In Sight of the Sun, and Fidelity. The Parthenon is an excerpt from his new novel A Tale of Shame and Grace, a story about a mother and her teenage daughter. You can learn more at BenjaminDancer.com. Teri was nursing her baby when her elder…
The following is a guest post by author Andreea Daia. If you enjoy Andreea’s story, check out her website: andreeadaia.com. Dores’s fingers trembled, as she caressed the unopened envelope. She had waited her entire life for this letter, the most important message from any performer’s life. The envelope smelled of lilac oil, the genuine perfume, not…
The following story is by guest contributor Scott G. Ondercin. Scott lives in Chicago, Illinois. He has previously been published in New Realm and Cleveland Scene. She was a little girl again, sitting on the piano stool, legs tucked underneath, running her fingers along ivory keys. She refrained from putting pressure on them because…
The following post is a guest submission by Elaine Zentner. Elaine was a freelance correspondent for a national Buddhist newspaper for several years. She is focusing on completing a YA novel and editing several short stories for publication. Her first acceptance appears in the August 2015 issue of The Fable Online. He lay huddled in his…
The following story is by guest contributor Helen Marshall. I sat on the old rutted tree stump. Dad used it for chopping wood and I felt every scar through my jeans. The air was still and dense with fog. The orchard stood beyond my limited orb of vision, standing in soldier rows. Waiting patiently for…
The following story is by Poulomi Bose. If you enjoy this story, you can follow her work on Facebook: www.facebook.com/poulsapart It was an invisible island for her, the yellow line of the metro- different places on it holding infinite memories. It was like a confidante, a companion that had grown up with her in the city, discovering…
The following story is by guest author June Griffin. If you enjoyed this story you can find more of June’s work on Literally Stories, Short Bread Stories, or on Amazon. Eagle-eyed busybody Dora, was heading down the sundeck with her cruise companion when she saw something that startled her. She stopped in her tracks. ‘Gracie,’…
The follow story is by guest contributor, Andrew J. Hogan. Dr. Hogan published more than five-dozen professional articles on health services research and health policy. He has published forty-one works of fiction in the OASIS Journal (1st Prize, Fiction 2014), Hobo Pancakes, Subtopian Magazine, Twisted Dreams, Thick Jam, Midnight Circus, Grim Corps, Long Story Short, Defenestration,…
The following story is by Kaille Kirkham. If you enjoy this story, check out Kaille’s poetry, short stories, and short essays on her blog, pluscachange.wordpress.com. My grandpa is a time traveler. Most people live their time in one solid, unrelenting direction. It changes pace now and then (the slowest night before Christmas; the fastest eighteen…
The following story is by Abigail Marshall. Abigail is a writer and lowercase romantic based out of Texas. Her work has previously appeared in PressBoardPress. You can follow her on Twitter @thefirstabigail or find more of her work at www.abigailwashere.com It’s 6 a.m. in New York and the sky is a watercolor blend of pollution and royal blue….
The following story is by guest author Samantha Amenn. If you enjoy this story you can follow Samantha on twitter: @pepperdaphoenix or on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/pepperthephoenix and https://www.tumblr.com/blog/withnothingbutglory Shouts broke across the emerald land as two young men ran across the rolling countryside, hopping over fences and dodging ditches, the police close behind. Dogs barked, shattering the silent night and geese…
The following story is by guest contributor Shelagh Parkhurst. If you enjoy Shelagh’s story, you can follow her work on Twitter @ShayParkhurst or on Facebook. Walking up to the entrance I am met by the colorful clown’s big, open smile and spinning floor. The inviting smile fills me with happiness and adventure, and with my heart…
The following story is by guest author Cole Bryant. Once upon a time, long, long ago, before the sun had ever climbed over the horizon to bring the world a new day, there lived three beings that drifted along together in the vast ocean of emptiness called space. None of them knew what the other…
The following story is by guest contributor Bo Fu. The plants wave their fruits at the sky. When the first rays of sunlight hit them, their leaves swell and spring as if lifted by invisible strings. I am already up by the time the sun arrives, hobbling between the rows of plants with my watering…
The following story is by guest contributor Christina Walker. If you enjoy this story, check out Christina’s website- www.christinawalker.net. You can also follow her work on Facebook and twitter. Harlan hated tracking in the rain. Especially here in the city, where he had to remain human and smart prey could slip away. The hard rain…
The following story is by guest contributor Howard G. Morzov. ** During the 1970s in Pasadena, CA, a time before cell phones, when the police relied solely on radios, taking a call without back up was deemed so dangerous as to be completely up to the individual officers discretion. I As the young cop inched…
The following story is a guest post by Nia Ngina Meeks. Check out more of Nia’s work on her website. Nia Ngina Meeks is an award-winning media and communications professional, educator, strategist and world traveler. Her insights can also be found on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and NiaNginaMeeks.com. As a news analyst, her commentary is broadcast on various…
The following post is by guest contributor Kerry Valkyrie Baldock Kelly. Lecture given by Professor Langhan at The Calson Institute, February 17th 2087 We experience time in a clear and logical order. As scholars we are capable of forming extensive timelines showing the development of the universe, the evolution of creatures into man and the…
The following post is by guest contributor Mary Lucille Hays. Mary teaches writing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is 2015’s Jesse Stuart Fellow at Murray State University where she is pursuing her MFA. She lives in the country where she raises chickens and writes a weekly column called “Letter from Birdland” for a…
The following story is by guest contributor Weeda Mehran. Dr. Mehran has recently completed her PhD in Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. She holds an MSc degree from the University of Oxford, an MA degree from Kent University in Brussels and an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto. …
The following story is by guest author June Griffin. If you enjoyed this story you can find more of June’s work on Literally Stories, Short Bread Stories, or on Amazon. It’s Sunday afternoon. There’s lots of time before the game. My husband gets up and turns off the TV. ‘Let’s go for a ride.’ ‘Yeah! It’s…
The following story is by guest contributor Loretta Martin. Loretta is an editor who lives in suburban Chicago, IL, with her artist husband Phil. Her short-short story “The Delivery” appears in Every Writer. She has published lifestyle articles in print and online. A former piano major, she occasionally proofreads classical music scores, impersonates a gardener, and…
The following story is by guest contributor David Cook. If you enjoy this story, you can find more of David’s work at his blog: www.davewritesfiction.wordpress.com. Or follow David on twitter: @davidcook100. It was New Year’s Eve, the seventh day of Christmas. As Jess gazed around her yard, she locked eyes with Gerald and forced a smile. It…