A Summer at Amazon Books by Rachael Allen You walk into a bookstore. Something is different, you think. You pay for a cold brew from Peet’s Coffee & Tea, located in the rear of the store, then walk around, assessing. Perhaps it’s the orientation of the books: they all face out, squared shoulders, as if presenting their best selves to a potential new owner. Perhaps it’s the black review cards tacked below each book, giving you booklover22’s opinion on why All the Light We Cannot See was so moving. Perhaps it’s the devices zone in the middle of the store. A couple pokes at a tablet, while a little boy dances to Ed Sheeran, whose music is now spouting from the voice-activated speaker, per his request. Perhaps, too, it’s your awareness of the store name…
Breaking News: The Fictional Cafe Anthology Contest Begins!
Great news from Jason Brick, our Anthology Barista, who’s been working hand over fist to get this incredible Fictional Cafe Anthology Contest going for your favorite authors and artists. It begins tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 26! Here’s a brief intro, with more details tomorrow. Greetings! At long last, the Fictional Café writing contest is launching! Here’s how it works. For the next month and a half, each weekday will feature a contest between two submissions: fiction, poetry, and art. When it a contestant’s day to compete, they will receive a link in an email. Contestants click that link and are taken to a website with their story and another contestant’s story. FC Coffee Club members, FC visitors and just about anybody else you can think of gets to vote for which work they like the best….
Guest Blogger Mike Squatrito – “From Writing to Teaching”
From Writing to Teaching: How Did THAT Happen? By J. Michael Squatrito, Jr. As a young writer I had a great idea for a storyline and, after years of turmoil and struggle, I eventually wrote the first book in my Overlords fantasy series. As of today, I have three self-published novels and I’m working on the fourth and final(?) installment. My literary journey has taken me to places I never dreamed that I would go – from individual book signings and mass author events, to local library and school visits, regional conferences and Comic Cons, and more than enough radio and TV appearances. I’m even the Vice-President of the Association of Rhode Island Authors! However, all of this started with an idea for a book and blossomed into a business. Why am I telling you…
A Hope in the Unseen – September Submissions
This month’s issue is about hope for the future. Wherever you are, whatever is going on, two things are certain: there will be strife and amidst that strife there will be hope. We can’t always see it right away, but it comes in many forms. We think this month’s member work will fuel some hope for a better tomorrow, whatever that may look like for you. Whether it is the wide-eyed optimism of a child’s writing, the reflective joy of a long-time love affair, the realism of a budding artist, the coming-of-age perceptiveness of a young writer or the commitment to servitude that one’s work can inspire within one’s own community, we believe these works of creative expression can give our members a little hope in the unseen. Fiction A big welcome to our youngest…
Paula Bonnell’s New Book of Poetry, Reviewed by Simran P. Gupta
Editor’s Note: Paula Bonnell enthralled us with her poetry two years ago here at the Café. Now Paula has written and published a new chapbook of her poetry entitled “Tales Retold,” which Simran, our poetry barista, reviews here. “Tales Retold” is Copyright (c) 2017 Paula Bonnell. Used by permission of the author. Paula Bonnell’s chapbook, “Tales Retold,” (Copyright (c) 2017 Paula Bonnell. Used by permission of the author) can be summed up as a masterpiece of words. Bonnell’s poetry demanded (and received) my full attention, with varying tone, emotion, and clever word choice. With each re-read, a new level of understanding was achieved and a new connection was made. This is not to make the poems in “Tales Retold” (Copyright (c) 2017 Paula Bonnell. Used by permission of the author) sets out to be puzzles…