Issue of April 25, 2011
20 articles in this issue.
From April of 2002 to the present, each week a new set of wonders appears ... in the pages of the Piker Press.
Was it that he took life too seriously? Or was he afraid that life wouldn't take him seriously at all? No matter -- sometimes you need another perspective, maybe even a sense of humor ... (Originally appeared 2009-10-26)
When Jonas Knutsson left junior high in 8th grade to pursue a career as a gentleman of leisure, said institution made a note of a great general improvement in morale and academic performance and has yet to request his return. He failed to win "The Prize for Gentlemanly Conduct" upon graduation from Junior College, was booted out of film school in Germany before commencing his studies, threatened with expulsion from both New York University and the University of Iceland and is currently barred from The Palooka Bar. (Originally appeared 2009-10-05)
Only vanity could induce the world's most infamous paranoid to trust the world's most notorious liar... (Originally appeared 2008-12-15)
Suspicious of magic, the mercenary soldier Raka keeps his distance from its practitioners as much as possible. Until the feeble old shaman named Ol' Bob gives him a trinket in thanks for a good deed and his opinion begins to change... (Originally appeared 2008-12-29)
Mark Lyons has published stories in several literary magazines, including Whetstone (JP McGrath Memorial Award), Bucks County Writer, Sensations, and the Schuylkill Valley Journal of the Arts. He is a recipient of Pennsylvania Council of the Arts fellowships for 2003 and 2009, and was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. (Originally appeared 2009-06-29)
Just because you're little doesn't mean everyone is going to protect you, and maybe if you've been entrusted with an important task, you shouldn't let yourself get sidetracked into another ... (Originally appeared 2008-05-26)
A view of Mt. Washington from the Talus Loop of Mt. Si, in the Cascade Range of Washington, USA.
I stand outside the graveyard gate, And wonder if I'm tempting fate ... (Originally appeared 2006-11-13)
Sometimes I feel stuck -- frozen in my feelings ... (Originally appeared 2005-09-12)
I was looking for sensible, subdued, and reliable, but there you were ... (Originally appeared 2006-06-05)
Just one trip and he'll be able to retire planetside forever, never to set foot in a ship or be forced to endure his crewmates again. But, as one young traveler learns, spacer is a state of mind. (Originally appeared 2005-01-23)
Peter is a speculative fiction writer, most notably the author of the award winning supernatural thriller, "The Grandmaster." He is also the Founder and Managing Editor of Ex Machina Press, a publishing company based in Los Angeles, which was named 2007 PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR by the DIY Book Festival in Los Angeles. (Originally appeared 2009-12-21)
There's an emptiness in Jack Runner that nothing can fill. What was taken away from him can never return, but that doesn't stop it from haunting him every day of his life. The only one who understands that is about to die ... (Originally appeared 2007-04-23)
The prose clutches, mashes, grabs Nigel by the lips and turns him inside out -- what more can the infamous Lucy Biatch do to him? (Originally appeared 2009-07-27)
Jim Wisneski is an author and poet living in the Lehigh Valley, PA with his wife, his almost one year old son, two cats, a fish, and a hermit crab. Updates and some of his short stories can be found at his site www.JimWisneski.com. (Originally appeared 2009-08-10)
Mary Andes grew up with the smells of Eucalyptus trees, watching surfers ride the Pacific waves at Hermosa and Redondo Beach, the roller bladers in costume at Venice Beach, the In-and-Out Burger joints, the stucco homes with red-tile roofs, and the old Mission churches with the euphoric music. She later moved to Seattle and therefore resided in constant dribble rain for 20 years. She now lives in Maryland and return to California every few years to recharge my soul and to soak in the healing rays. She is currently writing a children's book with the theme of finding the small joys in life to overcome adversity. (Originally appeared 2009-06-01)
Teddy is a special boy and no one knows it better than Laiken St. James. When her parents try to keep them apart, Laiken leaves home to be with Teddy, but she never expected the consequences of Teddy's wrath. (Originally appeared 2009-10-19)
Why did 'Lord' Patu wear a .44 magnum revolver around the house? Why because he loves moles, of course. And why is the front of his chair cut up? Well, it has to do with how he dresses. Does any of that matter if the beer is good? (Originally appeared 2006-03-27)
Jonathan D. Scott is the owner of a small advertising and graphic design firm in the Southeast. He is married with two daughters and is a very ordinary person, or at least appears so to the casual observer. (Originally appeared 2009-05-18)