Literally Reruns, Short Fiction

Literally Reruns – Delete Browsing History by Diane M Dickson

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Who doesn’t want to delete unpleasant items from history and replace them with something palatable? It is a common theme in stories, especially in our speedily evolving technology, when it is easy to highlight and trash information we do not particularly care to see. The muse wonders “what if?” in regards to changing reality on a magic machine. It’s already a common theme, but then again, love is a common theme; pain is a common theme; addiction is a common theme; ghosts, vampires, murder, family, war, depression are all common themes. The key is writing a common theme type of piece well, which is a challenge because you have to grab and hold a reader who might feel that s/he has seen it all before.

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Latest News, Short Fiction

Week 359 – Listening, Questioning And I Was Sad To Have Missed Seeing Jane Leeves But I Was Always Happy To Have Brought The Coal In For My Old Gran Instead!!

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It seems ages since I typed one of these.

Leila has done a sterling job!!

I would like to mention Christmas and New Year, not for any particular reason except to say that I heard one of the best come-backs ever. One of the most cutting observations from a comedienne. And a one liner from another comedienne about being a vegan.

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All Stories, General Fiction

Coral, Not Pink by Rachel Sievers

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The cupcake frosting compacts and puddles in my mouth, slow and sticky going down my esophagus. I cough almost choking, shoving the rest of it in my mouth, and look down at the plastic container. It is hard to see in the dark of the closet but I can see neon pink sprinkles of three that remain.

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All Stories, General Fiction

Friend by Donnie Cox

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Arthur Nagel is an ugly, little man. He stands barely four feet tall, and his head is much too big for his body. The muscles on the left side of his face are totally paralyzed causing his face to droop. Because of his looks, most people think Arthur is mentally deficient. He is not.

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All Stories, General Fiction

Wrecking Ball by Stevie doCarmo

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“I’ve done it more than once. Which makes it possibly a bad habit.”  

 “What’s that?” Rama had asked.  

She’d been complexly twisted in her bus seat, patchouli-scented Jessica, pea-coated back to window, New Jersey gliding by behind her in what Rama remembered as a raw and drizzly November afternoon. “I just tell some people straight-out I’ll sleep with them if they want.”  

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All Stories, General Fiction

Blue by Selina Sheth

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Blue is the color of anxiety, the smell of despair, the sound of confusion, the taste of fear, the touch of doubt. For Jamshed, it brings back jumbled flashes of long-buried images and emotions. A neon cobalt-stained hospital wall at age five, the time he’d smashed his knee and waited endlessly for a doctor to arrive, any doctor. An inky high school test paper that he’d known he’d fail before even looking at the questions. A joyride in a stolen navy-hued Honda that had landed him and his slow-witted friend Pesi in jail for a night.

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Literally Reruns, Short Fiction

Literally Reruns – The Last Light of the Library by Jennie Boyes

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Versatile Jennie Boyes’ The Last Light of the Library accomplishes the tough task of giving something you can look up a sense of immediacy. It is also intimate within the vastness of war. Many rightfully claim that the allied position in World War II was just–I’d never argue that, but it doesn’t mean that actions such as what happened in this story or the firebombing of Dresden were just. It’s trite to state: War is evil, no matter what side you’re on. But it is also the truth.

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All Stories, General Fiction, Short Fiction

Week 358: The Pursuit of Meaningful Longevity, Tales For the New Year and an Elevating Saturday Special

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Welcome to a new year. Today is 8 January, an interesting date due to the odd mix of persons born on it. For example, Elvis, Stephen Hawking, David Bowie and Larry Storch were all born on this date. Elvis would be eighty-seven (thus still possible to “sight” at southern Piggly Wiggly buying peanut butter and bananas, if you are crazy); Mr. Hawking would mark his eightieth. and Bowie would be seventy-five. Alas all are gone, but we still have Larry Storch (dear God please let him live at least til this post airs, please, please). Yes, we still have “Corporal Agarn” from F-Troop. Mr. Storch turns ninety-nine today, and has outlived the others mentioned by a considerable margin of years even though he was (and by a long way) born first. 

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All Stories, Science Fiction

Has Your Universe Been Hacked by Matt Zandstra

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Has something gone horribly wrong? Are you beset by the inexplicable certainty that unknown agents have broken history and plunged you into a new and malign reality? Does every day lead you ever further from the path you expected to follow? If you answered yes to any of these questions, there’s a good chance that your universe has been hacked.

First of all, remain calm. The aftermath of a hack event is disorienting. There are, however, various practical steps available to you. This document will walk you through your options.

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