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Kind Mirrors, Ugly Ghosts

by Claire Donato

In the disquieting stories of Kind Mirrors, Ugly Ghosts, a fractaled Claire Donato contemplates grief and disgust in heterosexuality, deconstructing the romance myth and the illicit fantasies which reflect our haunted selves. These fictions are populated with Lynchian characters, draped in memory and the subconscious mind, who imagine their way out of the painful limits of their world: a turtle retreats into its shell and becomes a real girl. A porn addict turns into a baby boy in the arms of hi... more

Glory Unbound

by Deborah L. King

Shackled to a controlling boyfriend by gold bracelets locked on her wrists, will she ever learn to live on her own terms? Chicago, 1984. Glory Bishop wishes to feel safe in love. Rescued by her unwanted fiancé from her abusive mother’s violence, the seventeen-year-old warily moves into his wealthy mom’s luxurious house to get away. Overwhelmed and confused by the kindness and grace her host shows, Glory struggles to know how to behave. Blossoming in the new environment where she is treated... more

Glory Bishop

by Deborah L. King

A sheltered church girl. A quiet, secret rebellion. Can she become the person she wants to be? In 1983 Chicago, Glory Bishop yearns to be normal. Under the strict thumb of her abusive and zealous mother, the anxious teenager finds relief in stolen moments and kisses with her boyfriend. But when she provides him an alibi against another girl’s disturbing accusation, she catches the eye of the preacher’s son – the twenty-seven-year-old youth minister. After her beloved joins the Navy with no... more

Please Write

by J. Wynn Rousuck

Two anthropomorphized dogs with distinct personalities, Winslow and Zippy, navigate the trials of life and loss in their human family through hilarious and heartfelt letter exchanges with "Grandma Vivienne." As their owner's life undergoes upheaval, these four-legged companions provide comfort, humor, and unexpected wisdom, showcasing the transformative power of connection, patience, and unyielding love… from dogs.

The Spearfisherman

by Ric Szabo

Steve Chambers is in need of better friends when he commences university. One will be Jason; virtuous, stalwart, and a gentleman. Together they play rugby, spearfish, and watch each other’s backs as they negotiate the highs and lows of first-year students in their prestigious, old-fashioned college. Then there will be Natalie; intelligent, big-hearted, and as devoted as a girlfriend can be. Two of the best friends a person can have. With a past like his, Steve will need both to pull him thro... more

Spoilers: Essays That Might Ruin Your Favorite Hollywood Movies

by Carlos Greaves

Superman tries to apply for a Green Card but doesn't have the proper documentation from his home planet. The Little Mermaid writes a tell-all book about her struggle to fit in with her new siren-skeptical royal family. And an increasingly unhinged J. Edgar Hoover opens an FBI investigation into a counter-cultural rabble-rouser by the name of Forrest Gump. These are just a few of the scenarios explored in this raucous collection of essays from frequent New Yorker and McSweeney’s contributor Carlo... more

Living on the Dark Side of the Moon

by Theodore Markus

Jason was struck by fiery debris escaping the North Tower with his dad on 9/11. He was eight years old. Now in his twenties, Jason lives in the shadow of a disfigured face. He’s loved by many but has had no lovers. Then he meets Ling who has just moved to New York City to work for the National Braille Press. She is a beauty of Asian decent but blind since childhood, the result of a brain tumor. Ling is told of a possible surgery that would restore her sight. Jason is privately comforted by Ling’... more

Super Short Stories

by Mark C. Wallfisch

Got a minute to be amused, entertained, or challenged? These 100 stories are super short. None is more than 300 words. You can read one in a flash. Some are funny. Some are poignant. All are short.

Fifteen

by Carolyn Doyle

Fifteen, set in 1967 Bronx, NY, is a women's fiction drama about MARIA CAMPISI, 34, a youthful but frustrated Italian-American wife, married to stubborn LUIGI, 48. Family life is chaotic, especially with ANGELINA, 15, who is immersed in the music and culture of the times. Maria’s life changes when Luigi hires a handsome roofer and he falls for her. PASQUALE, 30, charms the whole family. It is only when Maria rejects him that he turns to a romance with Angelina. In the end, grumpy GRANDMA, 76, sh... more

The Peruvian Book of the Dead

by Roger J. Florschutz

“It’s been fifteen years since Brisdon vanished into thin air…” So begins a story that will take you from post-war Scotland to the art-world of London and New York, across the Peruvian countryside during the rise of Shining Path, and to a secluded Ontario summer resort during its darkest hours. The Peruvian Book of the Dead weaves four separate narratives into a single tale of mystery, love, and horror as it examines the effects of guilt and regret, secrets and lies, and shows us how the enigma ... more

Esperanza's Way

by Cindy Maynard

Motivated by the memory of her mother dying in her arms, Esperanza resolves that she will one day walk the halls of the Scola Medica at Salerno and train to become a doctor. Fate brought Amika, a talented herbalist, into her life. She rescued the orphaned Esperanza and helped her take her first steps toward gaining the knowledge that would fulfill her dream. Unfortunately, a tragic accident forced Esperanza to flee Amika's home. Her journey toward finding the path to success is littered with stu... more

Freedom's Just Another Word...

by Len Joy

Jake Doyle used to be famous. Twenty years ago, his Chicago political column was syndicated in two hundred papers, but he had an affair — and a son — with his intern, and lost it all. Now he writes a local column and drives for Uber to pay his bills. Jake is playing out the string when his tranquil world is turned upside down. His biracial son — an ambitious entrepreneur — is marked for death by a street gangster, his alcoholic daughter is pregnant and wants an abortion — which his ex-wife... more

Bland Loafer

by Billy McCoy

A young man, the bland loafer, has been traduced because of his special talent and his excessive sense of initiative.

The Good Barrister

by Diane Coia-Ramsay

Sparks fly in Glasgow, Scotland in 1910, when upper middle class and highly educated barrister, Benedict Cochran, falls for a shopkeeper’s daughter, whose family he considers to be well beneath his station in life. He does everything in his power to kill the strong attraction he feels for the beautiful Sophie Sullivan, who has learned all of her manners from self-improvement books and her manner of speaking from elocution lessons, However Sophie has her own plans that will take her to New York,... more

Red Rain

by Lara Bernhardt

Olivia Montag is a professor who doesn’t have all the answers. The devastating loss of a child ended her marriage, and she’s been overlooked for a job promotion one time too many. Not sure what comes next, she leaves it all behind and volunteers to teach English to schoolchildren in India. Ten thousand miles away, she connects with fellow volunteers and finds purpose in teaching. Until one by one the girls in her classes stop showing up. Then she meets Mukesh, an Indian man with a heart for i... more

The Which of Shakespeare's Why

by Leigh Light

The controversy over who really wrote Shakespeare’s plays has been around almost since they were written. Was the genius behind the plays really that obscure glover’s son from Stratford? Or was it someone else entirely—a man whose class, background, education, and peculiarities make him a more than plausible candidate? In The Which of Shakespeare’s Why, a 21st-century playwright named Harry Haines makes the case for a major contender via a play he himself is writing for a struggling New Jerse... more

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