January 31, 2016

A. J. Sidransky’s “A Glint of Metal” Part 1

A. J. Sidransky’s “A Glint of Metal” Part 1

Editor’s Note: This story is a lead-in for A. J.’s latest novel, Forgiving Mariela Camacho,  which is the follow-up to his first novel, Forgiving Maximo Rothman. If you enjoy “A Glint of Metal,” you can follow the characters in his newest thriller. This is part 1 of 2.   * * *   Washington Heights, New York May 8, 2015   Pete slept with his cell phone on the night table, the sound off, the flasher on. He was no stranger to middle-of-the-night calls from the precinct. No cop was, that’s the cop life. “Gonzalvez,” he said, grabbing the phone and catapulting out of the bed so as not to wake Glynnis. The time read 2:12. “Pete,” Tolya said. “Yeah, who were you expecting?” He passed Jeremy’s room on the way to the living room,…

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January 30, 2016

February Submissions: Hell’s Kitchen Freezes Over

February Submissions: Hell’s Kitchen Freezes Over

Editor’s Note: Storm season is upon us folks. If you happen to live in one of the states hit by Winter Storm Jonas, godspeed to you. Religion puns aside, it has been an eventful start to the new year. Mine started with a tribute to my alma mater’s mascot. We hope that yours has been joyous, or at least involved a good cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Here’s our lineup for our February Submissions. Our first submission this month is from one of our Twitter friends, A. J. Sidransky. He writes crime fiction and in this two-parter short story we get a peek behind the curtain at police life. Find out what happens when it gets personal. Next, we have a poetry collection from the talented Holly Guran. Holly’s poems are a blast…

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January 27, 2016

Book Review: Safe Inside the Violence

Book Review: Safe Inside the Violence

Safe Inside the Violence is 13 short stories about the everyday conflicts that push the common man to act in ways he never thought he would. I must admit, this is the kind of writing that I personally enjoy the most. First off, it is character-driven. Irvin knows the importance of building well-defined, realistic characters, as his stories all share this trait. Second, the situations are right out of everyday life: a man walking to the grocery store in a snow storm, a confrontation with noisy neighbors, a garbage man finding something valuable in the trash. Irvin digs through modern-day life to uncover an engaging story each time. Now, I enjoy a spell-casting adventure as much as the next person, but for me it doesn’t get any better than when a writer really captures the…

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January 21, 2016

“Who Done Me In?” by John Martinson – The Complete Novella

“Who Done Me In?” by John Martinson – The Complete Novella

John, the narrator of this funny, fascinating, futuristic story, is dead. As he spins his tale of what it’s like on the other side, he’s also trying to figure out why he’s dead and who got him that way – hence the title. We’re swept up in a Machiavellian mystery tale that takes us into the world of wisps and preeps, to the Burj Khalifa, to Fameland as John tries to figure out who done him in. We published “Who Done Me In” in five parts earlier, but now offer it to you in one complete post.   Who Done Me In? How Dick Cheney, Grace Hopper, Ada Lovelace, Gilgamesh, and A Few Others Solved My Afterlife Mystery by John Martinson Part I It was a while before I figured out I was dead. Days, weeks, or whatever passes…

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January 10, 2016

Jasmine Stirling’s Continent-Hopping Photography

Jasmine Stirling’s Continent-Hopping Photography

Editor’s Note: Recently, we were contacted by Jasmine Stirling with an invitation to view her new photography website. We loved what we saw – in particular her use of space, light, color and social commentary. There’s shadow-play from above, a shoeless shoe-peddler, some Hitchcockian birds, striking facades, bold tones and a tongue-in-cheek wind sock. Please enjoy these photographs, taken from coast to coast and across the globe. * * * The first six photos are from the “Order” series, the next four are from the “Color” series and the final photo is from the “Take a Bite” series. Our featured image is from the “Africa” series.   * * * Jasmine Stirling has been an obsessive photographer since she was a kid shooting blurry shots of the woods, her feet, and a stranger’s dog with…

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January 5, 2016

January Submissions

January Submissions

Welcome to 2016 at the Fictional Café! Thanks for sipping along with us into our third year of operation. We’d also like to thank our friend Lloyd Prentice for his Christmas fiction last month. It’s great to hear from our Featured Writers, Poets, Artists and Photographers, whether it’s for an interview, a fun little snippet of what they do, an invitation to a reading or an exhibition they’re in or for a guest blog. We are ringing in the new year with some great creative work, so let’s get right to it. First up, is our January Featured Writer John Martinson. His novella Who Done Me In? is part sci-fi, part detective story. He creates a whole new world and invites you and your imagination to come along for the ride on this five-parter story. Next,…

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December 29, 2015

To All Our Loyal Fans

To All Our Loyal Fans

From all of us baristas at the Fictional Café, we would like to thank all of you – our readers, writers, artists, photographers and fans – for your continued support of our site. We simply would not exist without you! Thank you for your submissions, for your subscriptions, for your comments and emails, for your “likes” and friendships, retweets and follows, for your invitations to readings, exhibitions or cups of real coffee. But most importantly, thank you for being a part of our community. We hope that you have found some inspiration for your own life on these pages this past year, as we bid a fond farewell to 2015. We are so excited for next year and the offerings we have in store for you all – some familiar, others novel (no pun intended)….

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December 24, 2015

For Our Coffee Club, A Christmas Story by Lloyd R. Prentice

For Our Coffee Club, A Christmas Story by Lloyd R. Prentice

Your baristas, Caitlin, Jack, Jason and Mike, would like to wish you, the members of our Fictional Café Coffee Club, a Happy Holidays season. Hey, even if you’re reading this but not yet a member, we still wish you the best of the season. [Maybe it’s time for you to join us?] In any event, here’s a very short but very charming story from our friend and contributor, Lloyd R. Prentice, author of The Gospel of Ashes, a thriller we excerpted here at the FC last month [“titled “Carmichael“], Freein’ Pancho, and the three-volume manga Aya Takeo. Catch up with Lloyd and his books at his Amazon site.  Santa Has Second Thoughts: A PG13 Christmas story When Santa on his yearly round narrowly dodged a shoulder-fired missile, he proclaimed, “Enough is enough!” This went far beyond marking up…

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December 12, 2015

Hank Keneally’s “Diffusion Portraits” Series

Hank Keneally’s “Diffusion Portraits” Series

Editor’s Note: Hank Keneally’s “Diffusion Portraits” series captures real life images and presents them in a blur of color that toes the line between dream and apparition. Read on to hear what he has to say about his “a-ha moment” with this series and how he achieved his effects in his photographs. Click on any image to see a larger version. Click your browser’s Back button to return to this page. * * * A Moment Of Discovery: The “Cosmic Download” During a class I was teaching for Brio Fine Arts Center one of my students got a call on her cell phone. She headed for the door to answer the call so as not to disturb the class. As she opened the door I got my “Cosmic Download”: Hank! You Should Photograph The Entire…

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December 9, 2015

The Poetry of Multi-Talented Maria Termini

The Poetry of Multi-Talented Maria Termini

Editor’s Note: There are two kinds of creative people: the kind that create art and the kind that live it and could know no other way. I met Maria Termini at a quiet little poetry reading in my neighborhood. Within five minutes of knowing her, I could tell she was that latter type of creative person. Before the end of the night, I’d heard about her poetry and her collection of memoirs, and I left the reading with one of her CDs (on which she sings songs in both Italian and Spanish). And as it turns out, she’s also trained artist. Here’s a sampling of her poetry that hints at the stories she’s got to tell from her worldly adventures.   * * *   Star Struck When I was seven, I would shake out…

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