All posts in Writing

May 2, 2024

Michael Larrain’s “The Life of a Private Eye”

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Member Writing & Art, Writing

“You’ve made it,” says the narrator of the Firesign Theater’s “Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him.” “You’ve made it. Welcome to Side Six.” This is Part 6, the last noirvelette about Michael’s nameless private eye. Thanks to all of you who have commented, so enthusiastically, about this series. It makes Michael and your Baristas so happy to know you’ve enjoyed it. And this last one you are sure to enjoy as well, as it takes place in the Hollywood film business. Its resonant irony will have you grinning and you will appreciate the identity mashups. So without a commercial break or a single coming attraction, we pull the curtain back and roll ’em with “The Pontiff & the Wiener-Monger.” The Life of A Private Eye A Noirvelette in Verse By Michael Larrain Part…

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May 1, 2024

The New FC Anthology is Now Published!

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Member Writing & Art, The Fictional Café Anthology, Writing

The Strong Stuff, Volume 2, presents the best creative work we published from 2018-2020 500 full-color pages of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and art from our members This is one handsome book, and it’s big – 8″ wide by 10″ tall, just a few pages shy of 500 pages of stimulating writing and art. The cover art is an original design by one of our former baristas, Amanda Grafe. Using Amanda’s original painting, Barista Melanie Marston prepared the book’s front and back covers. The interior design and page layout was designed by Sophie Hanks, who has worked with us on several books now. FC Partner Antony Woooten guided it through publishing and printing with Ingram/Spark. The back cover. Each contributor’s color photo and bio appear in the book. This contributor’s poetry, accompanied by their art….

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April 24, 2024

Michael Larrain’s “The Life of a Private Eye”

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Member Writing & Art, Writing

No, you’re not seeing double. This is Part 5 of the poet’s extraordinary narrative poem about his fictional private eye. Each is told by our one and only gumshoe, each a separate adventure in the streets of Los Angeles, and in each a dame. Of course. If he can figure her out, he can solve the crime. Let’s see how he does in this episode. One more to go next week. The Life of A Private Eye A Noirvelette in Verse By Michael Larrain Part 5: Quadruple Indemnity Original illustrations by Katherine Willmore My doctors had been advising me to get more exercise, so I learned how to put myself into a trance and slipped a couple of useful ideas into my post-hypnotic suggestion-box. The first was to take nightly sleepwalking perambulations. The second tricked…

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April 16, 2024

Introducing PS Conway, Poetry Writer-in-Residence

Posted by Malik White in Member Writing & Art, Writing

We are excited to announce our third Poet-in-Residence, PS Conway! He is a prolific writer who posts his poems on his website, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter). Last year, we invited him to submit his poems to The Fictional Café. We enjoyed them so much; we nominated him for a Pushcart Prize. His poetry collection, Echoes Lost in Stars: Poems by PS Conway, was published in March. It is his first solo publication and hit Amazon No.1 Top New Release three times in its first three weeks of release. He was also kind enough to give us a few poems from his book, which you can read down below. Please join us in wishing PS a successful residency! A Note from PS: I am so humbled to become a member of the talented Fictional Café…

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April 15, 2024

National Poetry Month 2024: 5 Poems by Charles Rammelkamp

Posted by Malik White in Member Writing & Art, Writing

We continue this week in NPM with another frequent contributor, Charles Rammelkamp. This collection of Charles’ poems will take you on a narrative journey through the eyes of an interesting and very notable character. Cab Driver Of all the people to almost run over! Anybody else, I’d have shrugged an apology, been on my way back home to Baltimore. I’d come to the intersection of H Street and Jackson Place, maybe took the corner too sharp, veering in toward the curb, but I didn’t hit him, didn’t even come close to running Coolidge over! But then the secret service guy, a different one from the one who grabbed Cal’s arm, jumped onto my running board, startled the hell out of me. “Who are you?” I demanded. “A secret service agent.” He called over to a street cop, had me arrested, charged me with cutting corners, failing to give the right…

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April 10, 2024

Michael Larrain’s “The Life of A Private Eye”

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Member Writing & Art, Writing

As we continue to celebrate National Poetry Month, Here is Part 3 of Michal Larrain’s epic poem. Thanks to those who have shared Comments – the author and your editors would love to hear what you think! This new episode, in our opinion, is a real doozy – and so is Katherine Willmore’s exclusive, exemplary artistic rendering. Watch for it! The Life of A Private Eye A Noirvelette in Verse By Michael Larrain Part 3: The Spider Pool She had trained enormous Amazonian butterflies, each the size of a man’s hand, to land upon her person in a pattern either random or preordained, and stay there for a space of hours, forming a living evening gown, their wings slowly fanning, black and green bands of breathing velvet. Speculation was running rampant as to her technique….

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April 9, 2024

National Poetry Month 2024: 3 Poems by Salvatore Difalco

Posted by Malik White in Member Writing & Art, Writing

National Poetry Month continues on strong with long time FC contributor Salvatore Difalco. Difalco has proven himself in the past to be a master of imagery, and he delivers once again with these touching poems. Take a look, you won’t be disappointed! Bleeding From The Ears I feel like the moon is attacking me tonight under the crosshatched shade of palm trees, my amnesia an impenetrable white wall. If I see stars they do not shine above, they shine inside my head, among its clouds. I wear a rumpled sheet, my clothes and shoes nowhere to be found. The palm trees sigh like sleepy aunts, but do not speak of the laguna and the black surrounding hills. Shapes advance and withdraw in the charcoal darkness, accompanied by flashes of eyes. Nothing comes to me, nothing,…

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April 8, 2024

2024 Cow Creek Chapbook Prize

Posted by Malik White in Writing

*Featured image courtesy of Alvaro Serrano on Unsplash Attention all poets! In honor of National Poetry Month, we want to bring your attention to a contest by Cow Creek Chapbook. Check out the information below if you are interested. From Cow Creek Chapbook: Judge – Traci Brimhall Submission Deadline – May 15th, 2024Style and Subject – As long as the poems challenge and capture the imagination, we want to see them.Prize – $1,000 and 25 author copies.Submit – For more guidelines and our submission portal, visit our website: https://www.cowcreekchapbook.org/ Best of luck to anyone that submits. Don’t be afraid to let us know if you win, we love to show off our writers!

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April 3, 2024

Michael Larrain’s “The Life of A Private Eye”

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Member Writing & Art, Writing

Part 2 of the Epic Poem about a Los Angeles Private Eye If you’ve already read Part 1, you’re probably eager to read Part 2. If you haven’t read Part 1, then you oughta. Then you’ll want to read Part 2, because before you can finish it, next week we’ll publish Part 3. The Life of A Private Eye a Noirvelette by Michael Larrain Original Artwork by Katherine Willmore for James Crumley, in memoriam Part 2 How could I be dizzy if I didn’t exist? was my first question. I was asleep one moment and the next being carried on a sedan chair through tall rustling cornstalks by even taller women’s beach volleyball players whose legs went straight to the penthouse. When their shoulders touched the corn, it turned into salt water and they were…

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April 1, 2024

Fictional Cafe’s National Poetry Month, 2024

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Member Writing & Art, Writing

For the 4th year, Fictional Cafe spends the month of April celebrating poets and their poetry. April Fool’s Day notwithstanding, welcome to America’s National Poetry Month! We have a full month of great poetry, written by our own Coffee Club members, to share with you. Two highlights: please welcome our new Poet-in-Residence PS Conway! Just last month PS published his first collection of poetry in a book entitled Echoes Lost in Stars. It was an immediate hit bestseller. Grab your copy from your favorite bookseller. This guy loves to write, and we’re saving a special spot for an excerpt in two weeks. But first up for the month is a frequent contributor, Michael Larrain, who has written a six-part epic poem entitled “The Life of A Private Eye.” It’s engrossing, and we just published Part…

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