Short Fiction

Here's a story about a dark and stormy night, about a lesson to be learned, about what you have in your hands even now ...

<p>Pete Armetta is a writer of Flash Fiction, Poetry, Short Stories and Essays. With a style that's been called accessible and broad, unpredictable and matter-of-fact, Pete is a genuine, self-taught outsider. His stories and poetry fend off conventionality and he's never easy to pigeonhole. <p>He doesn't wanna be.

Conclusion. "...she finds it puzzling when people think she is demanding; she never asks anyone for anything" -- except ...

Now he knows how the Native Americans felt when the ships began to land on their quiet, perfect beaches ...

Everyone has secret places in their souls, and everyone understands that that they do. What many don't perceive, however, is how deep those secrets can run ...

A professor of English and pedagogy, Salma Ruth is a second generation American with an interest in the literature and linguistics of immigrants. She loves her sweet and thoughtful children, traveling abroad, passionate readers and writers, the theater of complex and interesting playwrights, the music of good listeners.

Contrition, Confession, Penance ... just old-fashioned words from an old-fashioned religion -- not real words for real people. Or are they?

Robert A. Vella is a former computer programmer/analyst who is now pursuing his lifelong passion for writing and storytelling. Science fiction is his primary focus, but he also writes non-fiction essays on political, cultural, historical, and environmental issues. As a product of the idealistic and tumultuous Sixties, his work generally expresses themes of progressivism and secular morality.

From the bottom, a dozen miles seems like a thousand, and the time it takes to traverse them an eternity ... does that mean you shouldn't even bother with the first step?

There was a time of brightness, of music, of romance, the sounds of life and happiness ... and now?

Come visit the idyllic island of Boca Loca, where the natives are friendly, the weather is sublime ... and the seafood is to die for ...

Life as June Cleaver or a "challenging career with top employers"? Susan Abernathy is a typical modern woman: 4 year degree, three kids, and too many options -- none of which are exactly what she's looking for. A strange epiphany in the waiting room of a temp agency helps her find her way to happiness.

Tomatoes for the summer, potatoes for the winter ... the neighbors may laugh now, but the financial crisis is peeking over the horizon, and Mary Lou sees a lot less of it behind the hedge of her plants.

When the creatures get to this stage, they definitely no longer pose a threat to humans ... and safety is what we want, right?

What happens at Wild Pony Ranch is almost magical at times ... and yet that kind of magic is accessible in many places, as long as people are willing to reach deeply within ...

An alien invader shows up on the doorstep in time for a cup of tea. The battle to comprehend one another is arduous, the prize as fleeting as any other moment.

Water and air are separate environments -- unless some creature is willing to brave the surface tension between them ...

As time wears on, some of the painful broken edges wear down, until something interesting can slide into a heart ...

"Waiter, waiter, there's a fly in my soup! ... May I have a second serving, please?"

To tantalize our reading appetite, John Paulits shares with us an exerpt from his newest novel, "The Mystery of Charles Dickens."

Now there's a kid who knows how to take care of his toys!

It wasn't a dark and stormy night, but it went from odd to totally weird at record speed ...

Conclusion. Only the mummies stand in the way of Vlad's power-mad scheme -- can they hold him off long enough for the magical gate to close?

Kevin Keating currently teaches English at Baldwin-Wallace College near Cleveland, Ohio. His novel, "The Natural Order of Things," is scheduled for publication in November 2012 by Aqueous Books.

Time has passed for both Sonja and Edvard, in their vastly different states. But wait, something is not so different -- neither knows what their future will bring ...

Wanting everything you can get will get you into trouble as surely as will getting everything everything you want ... and maybe everything you deserve ...

Alas for the thoughtless stunts of youth, that leave us with unpayable debts in our hearts ...

Edvard's last memory was of his own death in battle, but Valhalla couldn't be farther away from what he wakes up to ...

Lovers walk together in the moonlight, but they have no idea what watches them from above ...

What price can you put on Wisdom?