A STORY TO REMEMBER Deborah Elliott-Upton For several years I have been trying to track down a short story I read in either 9th or 10th grade of high school. I couldn’t forget the story of two burglars with the delightful twist ending. I thought I remembered the title of “Clothes Make the Man,” but […]

WRITER’S GUIDELINES by Rob Lopresti Thank you for considering submitting to our fine publication. Please follow all of the following guidelines. Any stories that do not follow them strictly will be sent to malware designers in Belarus. Your story must be submitted electronically. Be sure to include a stamped self-addressed envelope. Please submit the story […]

JUNE GLOOM by Melodie Johnson Howe We have been experiencing what is called June Gloom in California. And if you live along the coast it is June Gloomier. At this time of year the sun does not come out until somewhere between 4:30 pm and 7:00pm if at all. Our days are spent in a […]

LITERARY ARCHEOLOGY by Janice Law Inspired by the big white square on the computer screen, I’ve been off on some literary archeology this week, 697 pages worth, to be exact, of the early gothic novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho. Published in 1794 by Ann Radcliffe, always known to her admirers as Mrs. Radcliffe, The Mysteries […]

WHEN GOOD SPOUSES GO BAD by Leigh Lundin While wannabee spectators arrive between 2:30 and 4am for tickets to the Casey Anthony cirque du soleil, Florida crimes and crime-busters haven’t paused, but not all misdeeds take place in Florida. I promise you the last two stories will be worth reading, but first, the headlines: Black-hearted […]

FORT LAUDERDALE VICE by John M. Floyd A little over a year ago I did a column at this blog on the fiction of John D. MacDonald, and that would normally be enough to make me steer clear of writing about him and Travis McGee for a while. After all, how much can you say […]

lol by Steven Steinbock Earlier this week, Melodie got WORDY on the subject of unpleasant sounding words. She dissed does, gunt, green, and gas among other words. I understand Melodie’s lingual discontent, but frankly I can think of a lot more irritating words. In the comment section on Tuesday, I kvetched about cummerbund. Something about […]