They both have bright red painted toenails. They wiggle their toes and swing their legs and laugh. I bike home feeling the world is a beautiful place.
Category: Fiction
Excerpt from ‘The Couples’ by Nicole Callihan
Let someone bang her champagne glass with the pretty cutlery your in-laws gifted you. Or bang your own.
“Single” by Jaime Fountaine
She’s the kind of person who adapts to a broken thing instead of figuring out how to fix it.
“Neighborhood Watch, circa 2009” by Susan Rukeyser
I gave you a chance. How many notes did I leave, before you pushed me to this?
“A Puppet Show On Top of a Puppet Show and Under a Puppet Show” by Rhoads Stevens
The child watched the burn pile. She had a hose, which had a rusty nozzle gun on its end, and every time the fire made a move toward the house or toward the fields, she worked the rusty gun and sprayed that fire. Earlier, the child caught her palm in the clamp that worked the… Continue reading “A Puppet Show On Top of a Puppet Show and Under a Puppet Show” by Rhoads Stevens
“The Gazers” by Neil Serven
Rollie was convinced that what Michael Stipe was really singing was come into the Winnebago and that "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" was about child abuse (the evidence in the lyrics: candy bar, falling star, The Cat in the Hat), but nobody on the boards was having any of it. The other newsgroup members pointed him… Continue reading “The Gazers” by Neil Serven
“Titanic Built for Two” by Sarah Sorenson
I am building an imaginary Titanic and yes, I am using zero research. I am imagining everything. This is how I self-help myself. You already know me. And this project is my recovery from you. Oh, my love. This is for you. I’m serious, zero research. You are the methodical one. I am the spontaneous… Continue reading “Titanic Built for Two” by Sarah Sorenson
“How to Survive Your Inner Demons: Special Version for Writers” by Penny Perkins
1. Demons are spawn of hellfire and brimstone. They sweat blood and live in the cauldrons of excruciating Mercury-like temperatures and Jupiter-like atmospheric pressures. Consequently, they need relief, too. Offer them a refreshing beverage. It will help take the heat off. Pink Lemonade is a favorite among demons. But never on any circumstance offer Red… Continue reading “How to Survive Your Inner Demons: Special Version for Writers” by Penny Perkins
“It’s Just a Dream” by Justin Hamm
Neil Young wakes in the semidarkness, rises like the very sun itself, and places upon his head a dusty black fedora. He wraps his physical manifestation within a flannel shirt, as if wrapping it within a shroud of the Holy Spirit. He eats something organic and picks up the news and quickly puts down the… Continue reading “It’s Just a Dream” by Justin Hamm
“Big Cat” by Tom Bennitt
The fool who persists in his folly will become wise. —William Blake August 15, 2013 Dear Fiction Editor of Defiled Corpse, Submitted for your glowing approval and orgasmic pleasure is my story “The Cat Is You.” As you know, I’ve submitted countless stories to your literary magazine for thirty years, spending several hundred dollars on… Continue reading “Big Cat” by Tom Bennitt
