Month: June 2023

Fantasy, Humour, Short Fiction

SaragunVision ’23 By Leila Allison

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A Nocturnal Visit

I entered my office one morning and discovered a playbill pasted to the window. It was on the outside facing in. A quick check of the spy-cam I recently installed revealed that a Trans Weasel named Penrose had stuck the playbill to my window precisely at the stroke of midnight.

In Penrose’s case “Trans” doesn’t refer to gender (of which she or he is mysterious about). Penrose is a minion of the Witch HeXopatha; HeXy often endows her beloved animal toadies with abilities not normally associated with their species. In that context only, it was perfectly normal that Penrose had morphed into a Flying Weasel.

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All Stories, Science Fiction

Goblins and Ghosts in the Nebula of Ants by Steven Lebow

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There are, of course, spooks and sprites, goblins and ghosts, on every habitable planet in all the galaxies. Even here, in the Ant Nebula.

Are they indigenous to those planets? Or were they brought there by the space travelers who journeyed millions of miles from the earth?

Who knows?

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All Stories, General Fiction

Meeting of the Minds by Neil Jefferies

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One. Two. Three. Four. How. Are. You. Today? One. Two. Three. Four. How. Are. You. Today? One. Two. Three… What is that? A mole? When did that get there? Oh god. Fucking fuck. It’s OK, you’re FINE you ugly hog, you. Ian is going to hate this. You think he’ll take you in? With that thing on your face? Keep dreaming. People, better yet, Canada doesn’t care what’s in that peanut brain of yours, they care about what is covering it up. Go ahead, tell yourself that’s a stupid thought. Tell yourself you’re OK.

‘You are OK’.

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All Stories

Sunday Whoever.

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We consider ourselves extremely fortunate at LS Towers to interact with so many interesting writers. One such who has been with us since 2018 when we published the first of her unusual and fascinating stories. If you haven’t had a look at her back catalogue do yourself a favour and visit L’Erin Ogle forthwith – but read the interview first!

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Latest News, Short Fiction

Week 434 – Thirty For Dave, A Wee White Card You Put A Stamp On And Tony Christie.

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We had someone this week who stated that since we had refused a submission, they reckoned that, in their experience, we would not accept any of their work.

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All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller, General Fiction

Nicholas by James W. Morris

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Charles D called me neurodivergent, which he thought was a good insult but I told him it just meant I wasn’t average, which I’m not. He was flummoxed. A good word, flummoxed. It’s in my Favorite Words book.

Then I remembered to smile knowingly at Charles D, which is something Aunt told me to do with bullies or attempted bullies. Aunt, as she always tells me, knows her shit. Charles D eventually wandered away.

Aunt took me in when Dad died (Mom’s location unknown). Cause of death was organ failure but isn’t it always? A liver fails when you drink too much. A brain fails when a bullet is shot into it. Lungs fail when you drown.

Made a note. Find out a more specific cause of death for Dad.

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All Stories, Horror

Government Assistance by Alyce Wood

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I knew the neighbours’d complain if we let it rot out front again.

It was growin’ dark when the doorbell rang—four thirty dusk in December dark and only a little before curfew. It made me jump, though I’m sure I knew it was comin’, the same way I’d known it each time before (all except the first).

I hovered between the kitchen and the hall and rolled my left foot to grind my big toe in the hardwood. I didn’t want to answer it, but I had to. Nobody else wanted to either, I suppose.

When I shouldered open the screen there was nobody there, like usual. Or nobody livin’.

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All Stories, Fantasy

Smiling Mask Vendor by Rinanda Hidayat 

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His face was blank, no eyes, no mouth, nothing, on his back was a towering backpack, twice the size of his body and on his belt hung the masks he sells, three of them : Happy, Sad, and Angry.

“What are you looking for today?” asked the mask man.

“My in-law is coming, I need to be happy,” replied a woman with furrowed brows.

“I see,” the vendor put his backpack down, and with just a quick pull, he got exactly what he wanted: a mask with a half circle smile “You know what happens next–”

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