All Stories, Writing

Fall-out from a Workshop Where Words Rise by Tom Sheehan

literallystories2014

Ultimatums arise, spread wings and words selected by energies:
Listen; The mercury is resolved. Beneath my hand Earth passes
a quick shadow, recollects the distinction of breath. New feathers
find warm wing to grow from. Cup and juice, Earth and seed, are
one. The secret is the grip. By the finger nails if need be. Mostly
by one corner of the mind, an edge where roots strike, curl like a
rattler. Sometimes the heart’s enough.

Continue reading “Fall-out from a Workshop Where Words Rise by Tom Sheehan” →

All Stories, General Fiction

Sun and Sediment by Martin Toman

literallystories2014

During the summer holidays when I was twelve my neighbour shot his three sons. I was at home with my brother when it happened. We were experimenting with a magnifying glass, colouring strips of card with different pigments to see which would burn first under the focussed triangle of sunlight. I remember the sound of the gun was a huge and deep boom. I could feel the concussive force even through the walls of our house. I heard a shot, a scream, two more shots, and then silence. Three shells fired from a breech loaded shotgun, each containing nine double aught spherical pellets, their destructive force expressed onto the children next door. The boys used to play in the yard. I would see them almost every day. They were all younger than me, twins and an elder, one at school. My mother would look after them from time to time when theirs wasn’t well. I tried to teach them how to play cricket.

Continue reading “Sun and Sediment by Martin Toman” →

All Stories, Horror

Cockatrice by Ryan Priest – Some readers may find the contents disturbing. Not for the faint hearted!

literallystories2014

The first Pango babies were born six years ago. It started in Southeast Asia so, naturally, no one in the West believed it. The odd morning show’s chuckling hosts would read reports of Cambodian women giving birth to strange creatures and they’d laugh it off. Then a Pango was born in San Francisco.

Continue reading “Cockatrice by Ryan Priest – Some readers may find the contents disturbing. Not for the faint hearted!” →

All Stories, General Fiction, Writing

The Renfield/TomTom Ghost Debacle by Leila Allison

literallystories2014

All writers have that one bugaboo story that refuses to finish. It’s as though the damned thing has something against you, and would do anything to mess with you, even to the point of sacrificing its chance of appearing anywhere in the Universe. My bugaboo story is called Renfield and the TomTom Ghost. It has been in production for two years, yet not even a hundred words have been “shot.”

Continue reading “The Renfield/TomTom Ghost Debacle by Leila Allison” →

All Stories, General Fiction

The Postmaster Who Never Left  by Shane Plassenthal      

literallystories2014

I’ve been the postmaster around these parts for going on fifty years and I reckon I just might stick around until I’m dead. I ain’t got no plans to retire and that’s the truth. My Daddy was the postmaster before me, he got the job through the New Deal and when he shot himself back in ‘69, I took the reins. I ain’t ever left since. It ain’t never bothered me none to stick around, not like my Daddy who had left a note saying he just couldn’t do it no more. Besides, you get to see plenty of folks when you have their mail. You never get lonely. It’s been the same old same for all these years. That is, until that Becky Sharp mess.

Continue reading “The Postmaster Who Never Left  by Shane Plassenthal      “ →

All Stories, Fantasy

Escape Velocity by Michael Grant Smith

literallystories2014

My wife left me for good this time. She euthanized our dog, an action I believed extreme. Quit her job, salted the flowerbeds, grabbed a suitcase it turns out had been packed for months, banged the door behind her. Didn’t even say goodbye to our boys. Just stared at them for a moment, as if ciphering. Me, she’d learned to unsee. Then she scrammed.

Continue reading “Escape Velocity by Michael Grant Smith” →

All Stories, General Fiction, Short Fiction

Extraordinary by S.K. Roch

literallystories2014

When I was young I had dreams. Lots of them. I would be a famous artist—struck with genius, creative, unique. Or maybe an inventor—ground-breaking innovations that would change the world as we know it forever. A brilliant scientist—discovering cures for the most devastating illnesses known to men, or decoding the last secrets on earth. Celebrated, respected and admired throughout.

Continue reading “Extraordinary by S.K. Roch” →

All Stories, General Fiction, Humour, Short Fiction

The Potato Grabbers by Robert John Miller

literallystories2014

“I’ll grab the corn and you grab the potatoes,” Poncho yelled to Julia. Julia was wearing her wedding dress, full train and veil, to save time. She wouldn’t have to change when they returned.

Continue reading “The Potato Grabbers by Robert John Miller” →