February 1, 2017

Love or Something Unlike It – February Submissions

Apologies to Kenny Rogers for appropriating his song title, but it’s that time of year again. The Hallmarkiest of holidays is upon us. Whether you celebrate it or not (or just meme about it), we have something for you this month in our “love or something unlike it” themed selection, drawing on the emotions that interpersonal relationships tend to create among us humans. Take a gander at what we have in store this month: February Submissions We open with Kevin White’s short story “Bowl of Peaches,” a meditation on love lost and the despair one feels in the aftermath. The one scene story revolves around a meeting between a one-time couple whose wounds have not completely healed. Our next short story comes from A.D. Wolf. “Words Unspoken” looks at the other end of a relationship…

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January 27, 2017

A Fun Survey for Creative People

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Guest Posts, News

Our friend and publishing colleague, Michael Boezi at Control Mouse Media, has offered Fictional Cafe members an interesting opportunity to help you focus your creative efforts, the results of which he is going to share with us. Michael and Jack know each other from book publishing days and reconnected at the recent Independent Publishers of New England conference, where Michael gave an outstanding, SRO presentation. Here, in his words, is his enticement for you to take the short survey. If you’re interested, please jump right on this. Hi Fictional Cafe Members, Creatives have unique challenges when trying to market and sell their art. Over the years, I’ve seen many writers, musicians, and visual artists struggle to build a business – even if they produce great work. In my experience, the issue always seems to boil…

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January 24, 2017

Taiwan: A Photo Essay

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in News

I recently returned from my fifth trip to Taiwan. I like this small island republic for its interesting and dignified people, its relaxed pace of life, its emphasis on personal physical well-being, and of course its food. I recently finished writing a novel entitled Bridge Across the Ocean, which is about bicycling and love and business intelligence espionage, which takes place among characters from both New England and Taiwan. I enjoyed writing about Taiwan and on my last trip, I took hundred and hundreds of photos and shot a lot of video for the novel. This time, I just took pictures of people, places and things that caught my interest, in no particular order, all with my new iPhone 7 Plus. I hope you enjoy them. Captions appear below photos. Click on a photo to see an enlargement….

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January 2, 2017

New Blossoms – January Submissions

Posted by Mike Rochester in News

Welcome to 2017! Here at the Fictional Café we are roasting up some tasty beans to share with you this year. Whether it is the wonderful artwork, fiction and poetry of our members, our contests or our blogging from the baristas and some of our featured writers and artists, we hope that you enjoy our Fresh Java from the comfort of your own corner of the world. As creatives, it can be hard to churn out the work, day in and day out, year after year. Setting goals and deadlines can help keep us focused and give us a light at the end of the tunnel. What are your goals for 2017? Let us know in the comments section below. If you’re more of an admirer of great work than a producer, we baristas are…

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December 27, 2016

Dante: Our “Sister” Coffee Shop in Taiwan

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in News

When visiting Taiwan, you might think it is a country noted more for tea than coffee. But you would be mistaken. There are small storefronts that roast and grind the beans to brew your espresso a cup at a time. There are Starbucks and Mr. Brown’s coffee shops. A modest but solidly superior choice to all of them is Dante. It was because it was named after the great Dante Aligheri (author of The Divine Comedy; 1265-1321) that Dante first caught my attention. I knew I was in coffee heaven the first time I ordered a cup. First because it’s served in a real mug if you choose to sit inside. The nice big mug is heated with hot, steaming water before the coffee is poured in. Even if you opt for a takeout cup, it’s sturdy and of high quality. Last but…

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