September 26, 2024

“Satan’s Shadow” by Thomas J. Misuraca

“Satan’s Shadow” by Thomas J. Misuraca

*Featured image courtesy of Peter Forster on Unsplash* Today we have an excellent horror piece by Tom Misuraca. We don’t get a lot of horror, so this is a welcome treat on FC. Tom is also a prolific writer, so we hope to see more from him in the future! The decrepit station wagon sped out of town. Russell clutched the wheel, squeezing until his biceps bulged. Next to him sat his wife, Trudy, her flesh and clothes caked in mud. Her long, curly hair frizzed by the swamp humidity. Russell felt immaculate compared to her; only his boots were dirty.  “It is done,” Trudy repeated over and over, rocking in her seat.  They drove away from the sun and away from the evil presence that had haunted them. Russell feared they would never escape….

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September 20, 2024

“A Fairy Tale for Adults” by Crystal Storm

“A Fairy Tale for Adults” by Crystal Storm

Hello, Fictional Cafe Listeners, it’s me your friendly Barista Ruby and I’m back! (The vacation was lovely, I got a marvelous tan and now I am back with plenty of vim and vigor as well as plenty of audio adventures for you to enjoy! First up, “A Fairy Tale for Adults” by Crystal Storm. Colin and Nia are two ordinary parents going through a separation. They take their kids on a family outing… and are accidentally teleported to another world. Will Colin and Nia be able to find their way back home? Colin and Nia are arrested and have to plead their case before an Angelic Judge in a courtroom full of magical creatures. Will they be able to convince Raziel to set them free? Colin and Nia begin their quest to try and find…

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September 18, 2024

Radio . . . What? RadioGAGA!

Radio . . . What? RadioGAGA!

Philip Gabbard returns to Fictional Cafe with a new creative fiction project: a film treatment based upon a very popular song from the 1990s. Phil is a create-preneur of many talents and interests and we’re always interested in his work. He’s written creative nonfiction, THISday: Words for the Venerable and the Vulnerable, and Thrivation: The Everlasting Philosophy of Providence + Privilege. He penned (on his MacBook Pro) Every Saint, Every Sinner, a novel about his spiritual experiences. He produced and directed an extraordinary video based on the life and death of an archetypal Hispanic woman called La Llorona. Phil is beholden to Freddy Mercury and Queen for the inspiration to write about radio. More specifically, the rise and nowadays the fall of radio broadcasting. With the rise of television, its demise was probably inevitable. TV…

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September 16, 2024

Rachel Gonzalez’s New Story

Rachel Gonzalez’s New Story

Rachel is our Fiction Writer in Residence, and she has written an outstanding new story for us, “Scrappy Metal.” It takes a very contemporary – and ironic – perspective concerning technology and its ever-encroaching desire (read between the lines: AI) to take over our human lives. It’s not only current but it’s also very funny. One of the most enjoyable stories we’ve published. Please let us know what you think of it in the Comments section at the end. Scrappy Metal Photo credit: IRobot.com I crushed another Cheez-It in my hand and sprinkled it on the floor. “God. Would you stop that?” My roommate’s shrill girlfriend, Molly, screeched at me. Although she was always here she didn’t actually pay any bills, so I didn’t have to listen to her. “Hey, I’m just feeding the little…

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September 13, 2024

Two Poems by Joe Bisicchia

Two Poems by Joe Bisicchia

*Featured Image courtesy of Eric Ward on Unsplash* This week, we have some lovely poems by Joe Bisicchia. They may be short, but they pack an emotional punch. Enjoy! Venus de Milo  Hold me.   Don’t be a stone heart.  Be real.  That simple.   That plain.  Hold me.  Even if just with your eyes. Canvas  My father’s hands were calloused from his plastering tool, his hold on his trowel, his carrying of mortar board before he would be lost in a cloud, lost in a Renoir brush, as weather patterns are wont to do. He always said see art in all the blank space. My father, an immigrant, had labored so many facades, long halls and tall vestibules with plaster of Paris, smoothing over surface of every wall to get me through school. Illiterate, yet, the…

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September 7, 2024

Your Saturday Podcast: The Zany “The Coach”

Your Saturday Podcast: The Zany “The Coach”

Hello there, you faithful, loyal, intrepid, adventure-seeking audiophiles. It’s Jack, Fictional Cafe’s hosta witha mosta, pinch-hitting for Ruby who is on vacation (sure hope she comes back!). Here are the first episodes of “The Coach,” about the journey (sic) of Evan Nixon, a former performer turned Life-Coach. Aided by his husband, Kevin, his best friend, Minxy, and his mentor, Miss Erica (of Miss Erica’s Life-Coaching Institute and Cross-Dressing Academy), Evan navigates a host of zany clients, all while “life-coaching” his own journey. It’s hysterically funny and you’d better agree or we won’t play any more episodes for you.

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August 26, 2024

3 Poems by Sarah Daly

3 Poems by Sarah Daly

*Featured image courtesy of Andreas Rasmussen on Unsplash* This week we have some wonderful poems by Sarah Daly. Don’t let their size fool you. They may be short, but these poems are full of emotion. Enjoy! At Day’s End  Leaf after leaf drops   on the autumn path.  They piece a rich quilt  of crimsons and golds and   corals which cover the dirt;  my feet crush them,   obliterate them,  grind them into the soft earth.    But the landscape  does nothing to penetrate   November’s loneliness.    Stars  Incandescent circles  weave through  the night sky,  their shadows  traversing our tangled limbs  and signifying joy, joy,  joy.  In the Now Don’t say it, whatever you think, don’t say the words, we are trapped in this reality TV lifestyle (go along go along) don’t open your mouth, there is no more…

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August 23, 2024

“Journeys in the Dark” created by Robert Best

“Journeys in the Dark” created by Robert Best

Journeys In The Dark a post-apocalyptic dark comedy. Created by Robert Best, directed by David Barr, and produced by David Barr and Alan O’Brien. Journeys in the Dark is a mix between Of Mice and Men’s Odd Couple and the post-apocalyptic dark humour of Red Dwarf. This audio drama follows the adventures of our two mismatched heroes Hod and Baulder. Throw in supernatural monsters, bandits, and the daily fight for survival and you’ve got an absurd dark comedy audio drama podcast that’s sure to tickle your funny bone while making you question reality. It wasn’t always smooth sailing. Recorded in 2016 but left on the cutting room floor. Years of delays, international moves, and more than one child almost left this gem buried in the dust. But in late 2023, the winds shifted, and production…

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August 19, 2024

Winner’s Curse: A New Novel by L.A. Starks

Winner’s Curse: A New Novel by L.A. Starks

Editor’s Note: A Weekend Arts article in The New York Times caught my attention with its title, “Blending Poetry, Ritual and Data on Oil Drilling.” It’s about an installation created by Imami Jacqueline Brown she calls “research art” and in which says she wants to “demystify oil and gas production.” It was the last thing I ever thought I’d see pursued in art, but then again reading Winner’s Curse was a revelation of its own: a novel set in that same business, which its practitioners used to refer to in the Texas drawl, as “th’ awl an’ gaas bidness.” The notion of a “winner’s curse” is explained on the first page of L.A. Starks’ engaging new novel, the fourth Lynn Dayton thriller. It stems from the fact that drilling for oil was (and may still…

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August 16, 2024

3 Poems by Josh Young

3 Poems by Josh Young

*Featured image courtesy of Ajeet Mestry on Unsplash* We have an excellent selection of poems for you this week by the poet, Josh Young. He claims to be new to writing, but after reading these poems, he certainly has the makings of a talented writer. Take a look at them below. Violence on TV  Violence is acceptable on TV   Dead bodies mangled by war  Charred corpses of an accident  Bloody remains of a murder  Nudity is not acceptable   Naked bodies are disgusting   According to TV censors   Except on certain channels   Nipples and areolas exposed   Cannot be tolerated   It goes against our morals   Our morals for wholesome TV  Full of violence   Full of blood   Full of gore   But free from nudity   Phone Addiction   the opium high   of the screen’s soft glow  electronic endorphins   are pumped into  …

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