The most profound wisdom often lives in a quiet corner of the night.
"The Draftsman" and "Anniversary Gift"
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)30 Jul 2010 at 7:44 am
Please give a warm round of applause for our debut novelist and co-host Stephen Parrish!
*clapping surges and holds steady*
Excellent! He really does deserve our congratulations. And now, Stephen has cracked his knuckles and whipped out TWO interpretations of the "Uncovered" photo. You go man! And without further ado...
The Draftsman
by Stephen Parrish
Dinner was almost ready, so she peeked into hi ... read more
On a Walk by the Ocean
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)30 Jul 2010 at 7:45 am
And now for yours truly--
On a Walk by the Ocean
by Jason Evans
She lifted the water pitcher, but the cup by the hospital bed was still full.
"Are you...in pain?" she said.
The machines blinked. He didn't answer. The question finally drifted away.
She began smoothing the sheets.
"I need to tell you something," he said.
His voice was so thin.
Dying.
"You know the story of the Fates?" he said. "Greek myt ... read more
Readers' Choice Voting ("Uncovered")
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)29 Jul 2010 at 3:12 pm
The finalists are final! 74 great stories are in the running.
Voting for the Readers' Choice Award is now open!
This portion of the contest is open to everyone who submitted an entry and received a Night Owl Number. Here are the rules:
Contest participants are invited to vote for their top 5 favorite entries by emailing their votes to jevanswriter at yahoo dot com.
Please vote by finalist number and ... read more
'Uncovered" Short Fiction Contest (featuring Stephen Parrish)
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)29 Jul 2010 at 3:23 pm
**THE ENTRY PERIOD IS CLOSED**
READERS' CHOICE VOTING IS NOW OPEN UNTIL
MONDAY, AUGUST 2ND at 8:00 P.M. (Eastern Time, U.S.)
Click HERE for Contest Rules and Announcement
Check TWITTER for Contest Updates and Information
Forties Club Finalists
Aerin Rose, Heirloom (#72)
Angela A, Waiting (#40)
Ansari, Sameera, Today (#56)
Argyle, Michelle Davidson, Silent (#52)
Bea, Kimberly, Toads And Diamonds (#33)
Blackwa ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #74
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)29 Jul 2010 at 10:26 am
Bigfoot and Wild Boy
by Stephen Hill
Already splintered by treetops, the last of the sunshine vanished behind a funnel cloud. It didn’t matter. Lenny could still see, and for a moment he forgot the sweat rolling like gravy down his back, and the sputtering whine of mosquitoes in his ears.
Cloaked in shadows and seen from behind, Bigfoot looked just as Lenny had always pictured — fighting the rive ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #73
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)29 Jul 2010 at 10:25 am
Shine
by Rebecca Hendricks
Aunt Geri wasn’t actually related to us. She had a place north of the city, and I’d get shipped off there in the summer. We made apple butter, which was mostly apple, and peanut butter, which somehow involved margarine. She made me go to church, which I hated. She made me do chores. She was practical. She had a tractor. And two of her fingers were missing, cut off at t ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #72
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)29 Jul 2010 at 10:24 am
Heirloom
by Aerin Rose
“Audrey.”
“No, it’s me, Kate.” She pulled the lavender nightgown over the old woman’s head.
“You’re leaving.”
“Yes, remember? That I’m going back to college?”
“What about my violets?”
“Don’t you worry, I wrote everything down. I marked the watering can at just the right amount.”
“The garden?”
“A walk in the gardens at 2PM, the new girl knows ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #71
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)29 Jul 2010 at 10:24 am
Seaside Promises
by Meghan Sullivan
“You promised me diamonds.”
“Be quiet.” The earl scooped up the kelp-laced sand, the coarse flecks sliding between his fingers.
“You said I’d be rich.”
“I said be quiet, you fool!”
Culver’s glower was visible even in the thickening fog. He was hunch-backed and stupid, but he understood avarice.
“Ain’t no diamonds, is there? Jus’ these worthl ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #70
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)29 Jul 2010 at 10:23 am
The Amethyst
by Mayur Sharma
‘A1 quality madam, best price in all of Zaveri Bazaar,’ he beamed at us.
‘Show me some colorful trinkets,’ my mother smiled politely.
‘Yes yes, of course madamji. This way,’ he pointed towards a section that seemed to contain all colors of the universe in harmony.
‘We have rose quartz, lapis lazuli, jasper, ruby, sapphire, emeralds.. ’
‘That one, can I see ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #69
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)29 Jul 2010 at 10:23 am
Ryanstones
by JaneyV
“Do you have any concerns or shall we just go ahead?”
“You said there’d be some discomfort. Like what? A grazed knee or breakin’ your leg?”
“Jesus Brandon you want pain? Try givin’ birth natural, like you made me do!”
“Take it easy Gems. I’m just preparin’ y’know – mentally. I saw how havin’ the kids was sore for you. I was there for all five.”
... read more
Forties Club Finalist #68
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)29 Jul 2010 at 10:22 am
Haina Baraka
by Samuel I. Jones
Kiletu Mbemba crouched on the edge of a rocky bluff. Like the gnarled acacias his black frame marked the flaxen grasslands, punctuated by huge grey rocks poking out like bones.
He stared awestruck into a large nest, at stones which threw color and light. Stones with clean, geometric shapes. Stones of incomprehensible worth.
His mind departed across alien possibilities. ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #67
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)28 Jul 2010 at 6:36 pm
The Waiting Game
by Gef Fox
I hate dogs. I never liked them before, but tonight it's official: I f---ing hate dogs.
He isn't even mine. Some kind of bulldog--ugly as s--- too--that Marty won at a card game. Marty should out here walking this thing up and down the beach. But no, I've gotta do it.
Why Marty even kept it after he won it, I'll never know. He's never owned a dog before. Hell, he can barely ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #66
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)28 Jul 2010 at 6:34 pm
The Maker
by Mithun Mukherjee
Make it shine…
Light bouncing off the million faces, sunshine is a sliver of broken glass meant to cut through your defenses. Shimmery, radiant. Let it slice through the barriers of your psyche, like melted butter. You must. You will.
Every single one screams.
I block it; it’s my job. Bawling, screaming, a pile of thrusting limbs, a growing confusion. Material. Raw. I ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #65
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)28 Jul 2010 at 9:26 am
Death Row
by Lewis J Peters
Yesterday they came and told me it would be today. Finally.
Endlessly, I had imagined what it would be like to wake the last time. Now it was here.
The scene played out in my mind once more.
“Magnificent, truly magnificent.”
“Thank you. Yes, I believe the collection is unmatched.”
“I am flattered that you should let me see the stones. You are so generous.”
“I wil ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #64
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)28 Jul 2010 at 9:25 am
The Cold Hard Truth
by Tricia S.
Oh my God. He’s dumping me.
“You don’t think deeply about things,” I hear him say. My body temperature plummets.
Wait. Did he just call me shallow?
I watch Derek’s gorgeous mouth form the horrible words. “You’re simple, Reese. Uncomplicated.” Yes, he did just call me shallow. Three times. “It’s like you have an unexamined mind.” Okay, four ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #63
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)28 Jul 2010 at 9:25 am
Wish Trip
by February Grace
Hayden’s small body conforms to my own as I fumble with the lock. The door releases, revealing a room too fancy for someone like me.
I’m a man who works with his hands, every single day. Not the kind who belongs at a hotel where they turn down the blankets and leave chocolates on top of the pillows.
Overheated, exhausted, I fight for the last few steps. It is my st ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #62
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)28 Jul 2010 at 9:24 am
Anniversary Dinner
by Joni Haws
Joyce stood in her bra and panties, assessing herself in the full-length mirror. She turned slightly, the light catching the streaks of silver in her up-do, and panned over her reflection. Then she sighed.
The belly button she’d worked for years to keep in a taut yawn grimaced back at her, crunches and carrot sticks notwithstanding. Her knees were inexplicably cus ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #61
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)28 Jul 2010 at 9:23 am
Beloved
by Vincent Kale
The haggard king slumped in his throne of skulls. A beggar, rogue and thief kneeled before him. Each presented a gem to the Lord of Fire and Death.
Coal, his servant, collected the stones and deposited them onto a bed of kindling in a marble basin. The king waved his hand lazily. The dried twigs ignited.
The three peasants watched the flames lick the surface of the jewels. T ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #60
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)27 Jul 2010 at 11:35 pm
The Caged Bird
by Michelle McMurry
Birds steal shiny things, I muse, shaking my head. Sunlight glints off the small collection of faceted stones he’s used to attract my attention. Loosely nestled among twigs and grasses, they flash like a rainbow of mirrors under the sun. A beacon. Clever.
I wait. Impatient until a shadow obscures the cliff face. The sun blinks out. My neck cranes higher a ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #59
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)27 Jul 2010 at 11:34 pm
Disappointment
by Andrea Hickman
I was disappointed. The one person that I expected to understand and respect my decision had done this. The jewels he offered sparkled between us. I stared at them. It was easier than looking at him.
“I could give you everything,” he said.
I sighed, exasperated. “I do not want everything. I have never wanted anything.”
“You don't mean that. We've always been g ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #58
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)28 Jul 2010 at 7:46 am
Treasures
by Gina Langridge
Kate reached under her bed, the duvet brushing against her hair, and dragged out a wooden chest.
"You promise you won't tell?"
Anna waved her hand over her tee shirt. "Cross my heart and hope to die."
Kate opened the box and pulled out the tissue paper from the top. "Look." She held out a shiny piece of wood. "It's silver."
Anna took the twig in both hands. "Where did you fi ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #57
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)28 Jul 2010 at 6:40 pm
Stratagems: Polonium-210
by James R. Tomlinson
That bastard Gerard made corporate. Two decades campaigning. No lab experience. No exposure. If I had hair I’d pull it out. The shareholders are grooming him for a take over. Call it “preferential downsizing.” He’s seated next to Colonel Drakeford, CEO of Geo Chemicals, Inc.
“Pass the shrimp,” Drakeford says.
The shrimp-platter-express moves ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #56
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)28 Jul 2010 at 7:47 am
Today
by Sameera Ansari
It had been a long day. Mike glanced at his watch; she was due any moment. He smiled to himself, it would be worth the wait. The dahlias in his hand were in full bloom. By the time the train pulled in, his heart had transformed into a fluttering bird.
It seemed just like yesterday…They had met in the very same place exactly an year ago. It was a pity she lived in another cit ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #55
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)27 Jul 2010 at 7:54 am
The Search
by Hilary Robertshaw
The cry for silence swept over the crowd of weary searchers like a wave.
Craig held up his dust streaked hand and craned forward to listen. He could have sworn he'd heard a cry. No, not a cry - a whisper. Now there was nothing, just the drip of water off the rock face and the shuffling of his companions.
“Hello? Can you hear me?” His voice was harsh in the silence. ... read more
Forties Club Finalist #54
by jevanswriter@yahoo.com (jason evans)27 Jul 2010 at 7:54 am
The Vacation of a Lifetime
by Dottie Taylor
Three days on the beach and so far, all I've seen is the inside of my hotel room.
“Come on, baby.” I whine pacing the room, my body bikini clad.
“Go ahead, Juls.” The muffled response comes from behind the closed door.
“Aren't you feeling any better yet? It had to be the oysters.” I glance at the white walls, white bed, white carpeting. Possi ... read more