Short Fiction

Long life, good health ... right up to the day when the phone rings, the cake is done, the darkness begins to fall...

There was only one thing he could think of that might be worse than death ...

Gail Taylor is a new Canadian writer who earned the Certificate in Creative Writing from the University of Toronto in 2009 with Honors and completed the writers' program at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Her fiction was a winner in the Random House Canada student contest in 2007, short listed for the Random House prize in 2008, and short listed for the Marina Nemat award in 2009.

The kitchen is in shambles -- exactly what is that wicked Simpson up to?

Rose McCann's essays and fiction have appeared in a number of literary journals, including Slow Trains, Green Hills Literary Lantern, Subtle Tea, Cerebration, Fiction Warehouse, The Plum Ruby Review, Ascent Aspirations, Double Dare Press, Tattoo Highway and many others. She currently teaches American Literature at Cleveland State University.

If only Marji can make it up the hill, this battle might even be worth it -- but a certain dragon-beast has a taste for revenge ...

When you're told something often enough, you can come to believe that what you've been told is true. Unless, of course, you keep the truth steady in your heart ...

Marji is fighting to reach her brother who has fallen into the jungle; can a weary girl keep up the pace she needs to save them both?

The kitchen is closed! What does one do when cooking is forbidden? Why, visit Macy's Housewares, of course!

Love breathes slowly, watching quietly, and nothing at all is better than this, except ...

Another day, another battle to cross the gorge. The same as every day, except that today, a precious burden falls ...

Just a hike, one might think, until the air stops nourishing your lungs, and the cold gnaws at your arms and legs, and gravity whispers that just one wrong step will be your last...

He needs to be able to move quickly, fire his weapon accurately, and know what to do when the battle is engaged. But sometimes the soldier is called to do none of those things -- and those days of warfare may seem the longest ...

Who but Andre would have the courage to ask Clarissa about her son's condition?

Start your day by flying over the river. Don?t drop your little brother in the gorge. Kill a few dragons and gryphons along the way and for heaven?s sake, watch out for the giant snakes! If you make it to school alive, the pop quiz on math should be a cinch.

Ah, the sweetness of the one and only voice murmuring the words that the heart so longs to hear...!

Andre and Shakespeare consider the kitchen an ideal place for Henry and Diego's wedding, but Henry would really like to have the wedding in the loft. The trouble is, Henry's mother will be the one to decide ...

He never said the right thing, but he did dance to the right music ...

Sometimes there's only one effective way to deal with a hater ...

While Diego struggles with her aversion to floors, Shakespeare and Andre must clean up someone else's mess ...

Walt has escaped from jail, and is well on his way to getting Hulk back to his owner, but someone still plans to track him down ...

Hell is on the road, hunting for souls to steal, trying to take over territory so only evil can abide there. Death awaits all who try to stand in its way -- except for those who don't fear Death at all ...

Walt's weekend of liberty should be coming to an end, but he can't bear to go back, not yet ...

A certain look brings a flood of memories ... that Angel still has a way of making things happen ...

While preparation for the wedding continues, She is shaking up the staff once again ...

Certainly it is best to perceive truth and goodness as we go along, but some times we have to learn it the hard way ...

Surely Mickey was relying on them to save the day ... and they will do their best, though by Mickey's standards, it might not be enough ...

For some, Love is a blessing, for others a curse -- it just has to be the right kind of curse.

The bees spent the summer in the old birdhouse, but it was really time for them to move to a new home.(Originally appeared 10-15-2007)

Mickey's raid on the Stempels' boathouse is not going unavenged ... but isn't this outcome what everyone but Dad and Mickey wanted?