Roger’s family vanished from St. Cecilia’s quickly. When the real story gets blurry and the details more important, adults become children, and some children become saints.
Best of Fiction
Sleeping Together
“He’d come to appreciate the sounds she made, a steady grumble of snores that lessened whenever she turned on her side. The things she said were invariably hostile: ‘Who the hell is Becky?’ ‘Don’t fucking look at me!’ ‘Why didn’t you answer the phone?'” By Mike Heppner
Three Parables from FUN CAMP
“Why did the chicken cross the road? Where do bats get their energy? Knock, knock, who’s there, the interrupting cow. How do you know when a blonde has been making chocolate chip cookies?” By Gabe Durham
The Curse of the Bastard Sons
“Nora did not tell her son many stories about his father. She preferred not to mention him at all, adhering to what she referred to as “the thumper principle” after the rabbit in Bambi: if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” By Emily Kiernan
//||””: The Growing House :””||\\
Mike Meginnis is doing something you will love. It’s called, EXITS ARE. He’s recreating those old text adventures (think Apple IIe), in real time, with authors of note. Remember: “Exits are… (N, S, W, E)”?
The Underwater Room
“He slides his finger up the shaft to catch the trickle of red sap oozing down the damp inner skin of the bark, studies his finger, then shoves his hand into the crowd for them to see.
Where You Live
“My mother—68 years old, known for her marble sponge cake and Zen-like bridge skills, a rabid fan of movie musicals—was missing. Missing.” By Andrew Roe
Mosquito Fog
“When Russell drove the fog truck, he didn’t use the siren. Lights only, an orange throb, while the smoke to kill mosquitoes gusted from a nozzle in the truck bed.”
Big Bad Love
“Then we lie in her twin bed, facing each other. We alternate closing our eyes, looking at each other in turns. Next month, she’ll go to court and testify against her father.” By Mary Miller
Mrs. Kimby Is in Mourning
“She is not a dog. She will not roll over in the middle of the street to be rubbed on her belly. Mrs. Kimby is in mourning.” By Daniel Wallace
Reply Hazy
“We did this until last year, when Haystack said we were too busy and too old to bother. He was married and had a baby girl and sold insurance policies.” By Cam Terwilliger
Best Man
“I don’t think that I’ve had too much to drink yet.” By Michael Kimball
I’ll Get Back to You
Knife Man
Guide to Rome
The Shadow of a Doubt
“She liked sports and working out, she’d always been butch and, as a child, acted as if she believed if Thomas were nice, he would have changed his sex for her.” By Lynne Tillman