01

What Snakes Do - from Pangyrus Literary Magazine

In which I explore growing up in rural America, women's empowerment in a patriarchal society, and snake semen. Please read the story published by Pangyrus Literary Magazine.  

 

02

The Butterfly Clasp - from Crab Fat Magazine

Dorothy’s free-standing closet, equipped with drawers on one side and thus technically a chifforobe, had begun to fall apart soon after Joki dove off a bridge not far from the old farmhouse where they had lived together for five decades. This story was originally published by Crab Fat Magazine, which now seems to be defunct. Here is the story file.

 

03

Amato: Beloved - from Black Heart Magazine

I hiked fourteen miles alone, wearing faux Chinese luggage on my back so that I looked like a sci-fi monster, which caused otherwise friendly dogs to bark ... Read more on Black Heart Magazine ...

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04

PBJ_42 - from The Northern Virginia Review

“Attractive lady,” his first message said. “Your profile caught my eye. Where do you go hiking?” Claudia’s reply said, “Thank you, I like your face.” I like your face? Why had she written such a thing? Why didn’t she just answer his question? She hadn’t been hiking since Hank was small enough for Claudia to strap him onto her back. She could have lied to PBJ_42, though. “Are those the Rocky Mountains behind you?" she typed. "I’ve always dreamed of seeing the west. I am in the east.” Hark, space neighbor! I come from The East. I come in peace. She felt like such an idiot, rereading her messages to him. In his profile picture, PBJ_42 was smiling by a boulder with a field of yellow wildflowers behind him and a mountain peak in the distance. His teeth were much brighter than the rest of his tanned face, which was smooth—mercifully hairless ... Read the entire article.

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This short story, the first chapter of my novel HOME TO BLUEBIRD (working title), was published in print by The Northern Virginia Review. It was also a finalist for a Prime Number Magazine Award. 

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05

Extensions - from Dying Dahlia Review

On the day of her release from the looney bin, Dawn waited on the hospital’s circular driveway, blinking in the sunlight until Tonya’s minivan appeared, and off they went to get eyelash extensions ... Read more on the Dying Dahlia Review website ...

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06

Magic Circus Science - from Boomtown: Explosive Writing from Ten Years of the Queens University of Charlotte MFA Program

The neighborhood kids made fun of her house, but Catherine loved their brick cave smothered with kudzu. She didn't want to leave the trees, and she had seen grief like a ghost, lurching behind her father's eyes ... Read more ...

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07

Someone to Love

Simone's smooth face reminded Margaret of a particular statue of the Virgin Mary. She had kept the icon on her nightstand, as a girl, next to a red candle and a wilting magazine photo of the Beatles. She had loved that statue, a gift from her mother. Its gold base hid a secret, green-velvet compartment where Margaret had horded lipsticks and cigarettes and other contraband forbidden by her father and the nuns at school. Still, she couldn't say why Simone, more than any other patient, had stolen her heart. Simone, Simone, she thought, chanting the name to herself. Someone to love ... Read the complete story.

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08

The Oyster Cove

The key dangled from the ignition of his father's boat, which he wasn't allowed to drive, at twelve, but it would take him an hour to reach Mackenzie's cabin on foot, and his parents had gone out dancing. Margarite Cove looked orange and silky -- alive with clicking insects and illuminated by sunset. Yellow buoys dotted the water, marking the location of submerged oyster pallets. The boat was a 21-foot whaler -- white with blue stripes and red bumpers. When he cranked the engine, the boat lurched, tapped the deck, and stalled. His heart clawed at his ribs, cornered, like a feral cat ... Read more of The Oyster Cove.