Short Fiction

Jerry Guarino is an author and screenwriter. His short stories have been published by magazines in the United States, Canada, Australia and Great Britain. He is currently working on several projects and teaches creative writing.

Was he ever really gone?

As Seen on TV!!!

"...I am not fooled by this seeming calm..."

Open. Honest. Of a good heart. Is that all we need in a friend?

Kera Morris is a freelance journalist who writes regularly for Westword. She's the editor-in-chief for the "Arapahoe Pinnacle" and is edging into storytelling.

"As a teenager in the 80's, I listened to a lot of rock music and was inspired to write song lyrics in case I was ever invited to join a band; I wasn't, but that didn't stop me from continuing to write." --Rando Mithlo

They creep in, their intention to cut you off from everything and everyone you have ever loved...

Steve Carr lives in Richmond, Va., and began his writing career as a military journalist. He has had over 220 short stories published internationally in print and online magazines, literary journals and anthologies since June, 2016. His website is https://www.stevecarr960.com/. He is on Twitter @carrsteven960.

The town of Milden has a cancer rate that is outrageous, but although cancer kills, it doesn't make people disappear...

Before deciding to take writing seriously, Paul has done many things: printer, caving, the SCA, Brew-master, punk singer, music critic etc. Since then he has appeared in numerous science fiction and horror magazines and anthologies. Part One of Two.

Rose wants to forget her past -- even though it lives inside her and has affected her sense of who she is.

Without hope to cling to, all seems lost...

Sometimes we have a lot of explaining to do for the young. And sometimes the things you have to say in the explanation are hard to say, painful to remember...

The dream: to get to some place you want to be, and do what you love to do best. The plan: make as much money as you can to reach your dream. The reality?...

Alyssa Murphy is currently based in Cincinnati. Her work has most recently appeared in Red Fez, Dual Coast Magazine, Downstate Story, and Spadina Literary Review. Sometimes she tries to blog at thelittlestlioness.wordpress.com.

The darkness of the woods, the darkness of the night -- but nothing swallows the light like the darkness of evil souls...

Each wave is different, and when each one retreats into the sea, you can't get any of them back...

When the quality of the product goes isn't what you think it should be, do you just throw it out?

They draw you in with their innocent antics -- and just when you thought you were safe...

Bonnie E. Carlson is a retired professor of social work who lives in Scottsdale, AZ with her husband, dog and too many cats. She has published several short stories in magazines such as Down in the Dirt, Foliate Oak, Praxis and Fewer Than 500. She is completing a novel.

More predators than one are without remorse...

Well, he said she'd never have to work...maybe he was really honest?

Ever have a dream that you didn't want to leave...but then you awaken fully, and can't remember what the dream was?

Call it prescience, call it foreknowledge -- sometimes you just know it's a sure thing...

You only wish it was far-fetched...

"Change is good," they say, and "Time marches on." And there we are, listening to them...

Would a suit of armor help?

"It was humid like it was going out of style, the way it had always been when I was growing up..."