March 7, 2017

“Thinking About Macaws” by Courtney Justus

“Thinking About Macaws” by Courtney Justus

Thinking About Macaws The first time I rode in John’s brown minivan was on an afternoon in late August during our freshman year of college. There was a coffee-flavored e-cigarette in the cup holder between the driver’s seat and shotgun. I hardly noticed it at first, since I was too intent on listening to The Smiths, our favorite band. As soon as I got in the car, I took John’s CD case out of his glove compartment and started flipping through it. “Put in Louder Than Bombs,” John said. “It’s their best album.” I did. After “Is It Really So Strange?” started playing, I noticed the e-cigarette for the first time and asked John what it was. He explained, then offered me some. When I refused, John picked it up and began inhaling deeply. My…

Continue reading →

March 6, 2017

“The Spot” by Dan Coleman

“The Spot” by Dan Coleman

THE SPOT This is my spot. It’s been mine since I was a boy. The water’s choppy and the current’s swift, but I love it. This is where I come when I want to be alone or to think—or to fish, just for the fun of it, or sometimes just to drink my whiskey in peace. Of course, if I come out here and I find some joker’s got it, then I get upset, so I have to keep an eye on it. If someone gets too close when I’m out here, that’s just as bad. This is a mile offshore at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where the James River flows into the Chesapeake Bay and meets the Atlantic Ocean at Hampton Roads. It’s right on the edge of the channel, at the drop off, where…

Continue reading →

March 2, 2017

Guest Blogger Kathy Parker – Creativity Matters: Jumping Without A Parachute

Guest Blogger Kathy Parker – Creativity Matters: Jumping Without A Parachute

Editor’s Note: Kathy Parker is a Fictional Café member, poet and Instagram All-Star. She wrote this piece about her work in the writing field on her blog. We loved her honesty, courage and hope she inspires to fellow creative folks so much, we asked if she would share it with our community. We hope you enjoy her piece. * * * Creativity Matters: Jumping Without A Parachute With the year still fresh and shiny I’ve been thinking lately about my goals and direction for the coming 12 months. After much thought, I have decided I will no longer continue to write for Elephant Journal. While having that kind of exposure can be of benefit, I can simply no longer advocate an organisation who do not pay their writers, yet still demand exclusive ownership and rights…

Continue reading →

March 1, 2017

“White Noise” by Sunil Sharma

“White Noise” by Sunil Sharma

White Noise Like the undulating highways in a Texan landscape, —The cacti, lizards, dead soil, dry vegetation and brown hills in a dusty rolling flat plain on a harsh mid-day, providing no immediate relief to weary eyes— Heaving deserts of Sahara and relentless Thar, harbouring skeletons under its shifting dunes. Unending galleries of Palace of Versailles with pieces from past, The long passages that easily tire the tourists with handy cams. The unfathomable dark depths off the Atlantic ocean thrashing about its spiked tail Churning its bed and upsetting weeds And the innards of a labyrinthine Dharavi slums, Sweating and weaving bags and leather goods for the folks Searching for cheap goods that cost five times in nearby malls. Middle-class families remain silent and apart; While eating on the same glass table filled with fruits,…

Continue reading →

February 28, 2017

National Reading Month – March Submissions

National Reading Month – March Submissions

March is National Reading month, here in the States. So what better way to celebrate than with our March Submissions? Whether you dig into our offerings or pick up something else, let us know what you’re reading this month in the comments section below or on social media. We’ll be sharing what we’re reading ourselves.   On another note, it’s also National Caffeine Awareness month. So, yeah, caffeine exists. There you go. Here are our March Submissions.   March Submissions Poetry Our Featured Poet and first contributor from India is Sunil Sharma. He is a decorated veteran of the writing and editing world and a wonderful poet. Please help us welcome Sunil to the ‘Café.   Fiction Dan Coleman’s “The Spot,” is our first Featured Fiction for March. It’s story about two boys and their…

Continue reading →

February 26, 2017

Free Coffee, Anyone?

Free Coffee, Anyone?

Dear fellow Fictional Café members: You may recall the recent posts about my trip to Taiwan and the story of Dante Coffee, our sister coffee shop in Taipei. In one of the posts I asked, “Could a cup of home-brewed coffee from Dante in Taipei, Taiwan, be in your future?” Here is the answer! While having my morning coffee at Wei Ni’s charming coffee shop I bought a box of six single-serve coffee pods, just so I could give them to you, our Fictional Cafe members, free! These coffee pods are, in our American experience, rather unique. The pod hooks over the edge of your coffee cup [see below] and you pour steaming hot water through it, kind of  like steeping tea. It’s fun, even if you only get to do it once. I have six Dante coffee…

Continue reading →

February 25, 2017

Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death

Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death

That’s what Patrick Henry said, right? Pretty sure. I may be wrong. But anyway, it’s Sunday, February 26, so tomorrow is February 27. That’s Monday. I know I’m right about that. Monday always follows Sunday. So tomorrow, Monday, you get to find out what these coffee messages are all about. Look for it. It’s called “Free Coffee, Anyone?” Don’t want to miss out on that, do you?

Continue reading →

February 24, 2017

Podcast: “A Memorable Night” by Anna Katherine Green

Here’s a fine short story to entertain you for half an hour. It concerns a young man desperate to see his beloved girlfriend before she sails for Europe, and the really strange circumstances that appear to be preventing him from doing so. Anna Katherine Green was a 19/20th-century author who wrote poetry and fiction – in particular detective and mystery fiction. Her novel, The Leavenworth Case [1878] [read] [listen] is often cited as the second mystery novel written by a woman. She was praised by Wilkie Collins, who wrote the first detective novel, The Woman in White [1860] [read] [listen]. This story is from LibriVox, a great archive of free audio books. All the works are read by volunteers who love literature and LibriVox. Who knows, you might want to be one of those people! Please click the…

Continue reading →