When I was a child my days were wild and unpredictable, and I sometimes miss the peaks of emotion present in that old life. Most of the time I abhor the drama of my past when my life centered on the loudness of my hard-drinking parents. But that day in the still young wilderness of [...]
2007
“Thornton” by Literary Awards Finalist, Mark Havlik
It was late January when he called. Said his mother had died. I was shocked and told him how sorry I was and if there was anything I could do for him. I had just seen her in October, during the Series, and she looked fine. He said no, I didn’t understand. It was his [...]
“Doctor Terror” by Literary Awards Finalist, Robert Begiebing
“You’ve been in touch with your wife again?” one of the suits asked. “Ex-wife,” I said. The bastards must have been tapping my phone. We were sitting around the bruised kitchen-work table in my three-room apartment in a former farmhouse in Petaluma, that old hard-working community flirting with the seductive fringes of California wine country.
Excerpt from MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS REMAIN by Literary Awards Finalist, Janice Wickeri
The nation lies in ruins, but the mountains and rivers remain. –Tu Fu CHAPTER ONE New York City, June 4, 2001 Ming Chen, devout believer in very little, had gone to church every June fourth for the last seven years. At first Allison went with him, in fact the whole thing had been her idea. [...]
“Shut-Eye” by Literary Awards Finalist, Quinn Calhoun
Queen Eva-Marie always did say every good-bye ain’t gone and every shut-eye ain’t sleep. Nightfall brings a hush over even the nosiest places and that includes the Quarters. A late spring breeze circulates air already too warm and kicks up limerock dust on the edges of Palmer Road. A slice of silver moon illuminates the [...]
“Blocked” by Literary Awards Finalist, Susan Cushman
They’ve been waiting for months now, like patients on an organ donor list. Two large icons—one of Christ, the Life Giver, and another, The Mother of God, Directress—sit unfinished in my studio. A few well-meaning students have offered encouragements like, “Oh, they’re almost finished,” and “I love the blue highlights on Christ’s inner garment.” But [...]
“Playing Bridge in Heaven” by Literary Awards Finalist, Elizabeth Edelglass
Susan was writing a story about a teacher who almost lost everything when she had an affair with a married man, the father of one of her students, and Susan’s best friend Frannie, a sixth-grade teacher, was sure the story was about her. “Oh my god, Susie,” Frannie moaned. “How could you do this to [...]
“No Thank You, Otto Titzling” by Literary Awards Finalist, Ana Thorne
(This piece also appeared in the Mount Voices Journal published in April 2008 by Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles.) Somehow I’d connected wearing a bra with a story on television about a young girl with polio in an iron lung. Her hair, head and neck were all that could be seen of the [...]
“Imagined Jubilation” by Literary Awards Finalist, Caryn Coyle
The bed is as difficult to sleep in as the house is to come home to. The silence isn’t the problem. She’s used to that. It’s the thought that no one will join her. The thought slams, hard, when she tries to find a comfortable position in the bed. Alone. As she stands by the [...]
“Chuy’s Truck” by Literary Awards Finalist, Al Sim
1 It was nine o’clock when Chuy Sandoval called home. After a long day, Chuy had a few drinks at Rico’s and thought better of driving. He was far too tired to walk. His wife teased him a little, then rattled down there in her old station wagon and picked him up. “I’m glad you [...]