February 13, 2017

A Valentine’s Day Greeting and a New Story

A Valentine’s Day Greeting and a New Story

We received this Valentine’s Day greeting from one of our good friends and contributors, Nina Brav. We asked if we could share it with all of you, and Nina graciously said yes. She asked that everyone pay particular attention to the artwork by her friend Katherine Yau and visit her website.  And I invite you to read Nina’s new story, “Ms. Tabitha,” and to read her charming Valentine’s Day message here. If you like what you see, be sure to sign up for more Nina on Instagram or Facebook [at the end of her message]. Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! Your Fictional Café Baristas

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February 1, 2017

Love or Something Unlike It – February Submissions

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

A Fun Survey for Creative People

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

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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Welcome to the Fictional Café! Your baristas are interested in all genres of short fiction, poetry, excerpts from novels-in-progress, your photographs, art, and audio or video podcasts. We encourage you to share your work for publication in the Fictional Café. Click on the Join/Submit button above to learn more.

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