"Zurich, 1989" at Fictionaut-- My story, "Zurich, 1989" (originally published in a shorter version at Litsnack) is now live at Fictionaut. "He nods. Fear is rising in me, but excitement, too.I do not yet understand the power I seem to have at this moment, or even that it is a kind of power. And I am certainly too young to recognize that it will end up being weakness, too." Read the whole story here.
Read Part I of "1,000 Incarnations and 1,000 Deaths" at Fictionaut An excerpt: "The man turned. The rain was pelting him, and his steel-colored hair formed a geography through which rivulets of water coursed. She could not see his eyes now, they were hidden in the shadowy recesses under his brow, which was starkly lit from above. She could not even see a sheen of lid. The man's hands were in his coat pockets, and as she moved down the sidewalk towards him, half running, he opened his coat wide, exposing a scarlet satin vest she hadn't noticed before. He kept his dark trench coat open, his arms wide apart in a way that made it look like he had developed jet-colored wings. She did not think now. She hurried forward and stopped only when her cheek was against the cool scarlet fabric. The black coat closed around her, covering everything but the very top of her head." * * * *
Savannah's story "The Fascinator" now appears at Necessary Fiction . Check it out here. in the meantime, an excerpt: "Neither Buella nor Lorraine was conscious of exactly what happened after that. When they became aware of their surroundings, they realized the man was gone. Still, they felt no sense of distress. And without any sense of urgency, Lorraine got up to look for Edison. She saw he was back in his bassinette, quiet for once, as if he’d never been woken. When she pulled the cotton blanket from his face, he opened his milky blue eyes and stretched his mouth wide enough to show off his wet little gums. Lorraine expected him to begin wailing. She braced herself for it, picking him up and putting his face against her chest to stifle the noise. No noise came."
"Zurich, 1989" appears at Litsnack. In the meantime, an excerpt: "He nods. Fear is rising in me, but excitement, too. I do not yet really understand this power, or even that what I have at that moment is power. And I am certainly too young to recognize that it is weakness, too."
"The World's Most Famous Debutante" appears in the July issue of JMWW! And so, the surgery was performed on Beverly just after her sixteenth birthday, and she emerged from it in a constant state of pain, which made her nauseous and unable to eat. She dropped nearly fifteen pounds while the screws were turned twice daily, even though she had to lay still for nearly six months. Once, when her mother came into her room and noticed Beverly's thin wrist on the comforter, the bones protruding so elegantly, Louisa smiled in her prim way. She then touched it with the same hand that held her cigarette—her nails a lustrous poppy red—and said, 'good girl.'" Read the whole story here!
"When Clark woke up after midnight in a mood mean enough to do what he felt needed to be done, he went out with his 12-gauge and shot up the metal cage once, then put another shell in the chamber and hit it a second time, blowing out the trap door. The sound of the gun dissipated some of his rage, but the noise made his head clatter. He sat down a few feet from his handiwork, not really looking at it. On this moist plot of crab-grassed soil, he put the shotgun down beside him and, under the waxing gibbous moon, waited for his headache to pass. The boys, who woke up after hearing the gun go off the first time, came outside. They stood behind their father. Jimmy was holding the skunk like a baby."
"The Only Thing You Will Ever Give Birth To" appears at Foundling Review In the meantime, an excerpt: "This was not what you had expected to come from him. Something inappropriate yes, but not this. You look at him for a moment, frozen, but with the sensation that your face has gone red with heat. Your ears tingle with an influx of blood. The man continues to smile, percolating now with an unsettling chuckle. The strange, bright eye bulges further and travels left. The other one continues to focus on you."
(CN) "Charlotte, The Apparition" now appears at Dogzplot. "Afterwards, when Charlotte reconstituted herself as pure ionized energy outside the woman’s body, Irene was always ill. It gave the doctor the impression that his wife was pregnant again, and for a week, the couple rejoiced."
(CN) Read a tiny portion of Charlotte's Nexus by clicking on the segment title below. "In Letters to Rudel" "She sent painless electrical impulses through his neurons, and consequently, he lost the pathways that lead to memories of his experiments, memories he had reveled in during his most profound moments of desolation."