November 10, 2022

FC Sponsors IPNE Conference and Offers a Deal

The Fictional Café is sponsoring the annual Independent Publishers of New England Publishers & Authors Conference. In its 11th year, the conference will boast many familiar names from the publishing industry. As a sponsor, we are exited to offer our members free access to this virtual conference (via Zoom). If you are already a member of IPNE, that’s a savings of $75 and for everyone else, a savings of $100. We hope you take advantage of this opportunity to learn from experts in the field over the course of two days, November 18th and 19th. To register, click this link. Choose the “VIP Conference Access” option and enter the code VIP2022. We just ask that you not share this code beyond FC members. Details about the conference can be found on the IPNE website, including…

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October 28, 2022

Wilhelm Presents: Frightening Tales

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts, Podcasts

Welcome back to the second installment of our spooky October Audio Adventures! Here for your enjoyment are Frightening Tales! Welcome brave listeners to my collection of frightening tales, scary stories and ghostly yarns. Each season runs from May till the finale on All Hallows Eve. I‘ll post a new story for my listeners each Friday till then. So, make yourself comfortable and settle in for a spooky time, if you’re brave enough. Humanity has often defiantly mimicked things that were dangerous, who would have thought that unofficially something as innocent as hide and seek started more malevolently? Learning the in’s and outs of the family business can often dig up the ghosts of our family history revealing the true sacrifices a family does for one another. In this tale a man is faced with the…

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October 14, 2022

“Hello From Hallowoods”

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Happy Halloween and Hello from Hallowoods! In honor of the spookiest month of the year I am thrilled to present the scariest stories that I could find! *** Anyone who is easily startled should not listen, or at least don’t listen after dark *** Everyone else, please enjoy “Hello from Hallwoods” by William A. Wellman. A fisherman finds a mysterious cabinet, Diggory Graves makes a friend, and Riot outruns the Instrumentalist. The theme of tonight’s episode is Keys. Hello From The Hallowoods is written and produced by William A. Wellman, a queer horror author and writing coach. Content warnings for this episode include: Birds, Static, Drowning, Kidnapping + Abduction, Death + Injury, Body Horror, Abuse. Clara runs from the danger that hounds her, Hector goes looking for trouble, and Yaretzi meets her nemesis beneath an eclipse….

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October 11, 2022

“The Anchored World”- An Excerpt

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

Fictional Cafe is pleased to share with our readers an excerpt from a just-published, highly original new work by Jasmine Sawers. Please see our interview with the founders of Rose Metal Press, which follows the excerpt. ** The Weight of the Moon The moon fell from the sky last Tuesday. I rolled her into the shed and gave her some water. “Thank you,” she said. “Don’t you worry about it,” I said. I patted her sorest-looking crater. I got some lotion and rubbed it on. “Thank you,” she said. Everyone was so worried. “The tides,” they said. “The rotation of the earth on its axis,” they said. “The migration of the birds, the turning of the seasons, the visibility at nighttime. Where is the moon? The end is nigh. Judgment is coming. Repent.” They don’t…

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October 6, 2022

Bill Wolak — Digital Collage of Bygone Eras

Posted by Mike Rochester in Fine Art

Artist’s Statement: I make collages out of all kinds of materials. Most are made out of paper engravings. Many collages are digitally generated or enhanced. To begin a piece, I select some sources—either color or black and white. If I’m using magazines or prints or old books, I cut out some images or parts of images that interest me. Then I start working on a background or some other sort of chance construction. Much is left to fleeting insights. These are tiny miracles of inspiration. Depending on whether I’m using scissors and glue or digital images, each collage could take several hours. *** Bill Wolak has just published his eighteenth book of poetry entitled All the Wind’s Unfinished Kisses with Ekstasis Editions. His collages have appeared as cover art for such magazines as Phoebe, Harbinger Asylum, Baldhip…

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September 30, 2022

“Neon Shadows: A Noir Tale”

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Presenting “Neon Shadows: A Noir Tale,” by Ian Knowles / Blunderbust Studios. Murder! Mystery! Tragedy! Private investigator Frank Dixon solves the dark secrets of a city in turmoil! An easy going war vet and gumshoe has his life turned upside down when a simple case sets fantastic events into motion. Meet Frank and Dusty as they stumble on to a case that may be more than they bargained for.*** WE SUGGEST LISTENING WITH HEADPHONES FOR MAXIMUM IMMERSION! *** A darkness rises. Frank runs out of clues and hits the street. After saving Sam, Frank finally catches a break. Neon Shadows: A Noir Tale Series Cast:Frank Dixon, extras- Ian KnowlesDusty Willis, Jonah Carver, extras- Dan FaulknerLady James, Cordelia Amsel, extras- Amber WrenUlysses, extras- Sean GoodrichDetective Joe Sutton, extras- Tyler BrownRadio / TV news anchor, extras- Logan LenkowskiSam, extras-…

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September 29, 2022

“The Last Supper” by Rachel Cann

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

“Now there’s a view,” said Phil, so smugly I felt like putting my hands around his neck and throttling. Easter Sunday and we were on the concrete deck at the Swampscott home of his best friend under house arrest with bail in excess of a million dollars. It would be the last time they would break bread, the two most feared men in the New England Cosa Nostra. The tide was low; the air charged with the rich, dank smell of home. As complaining seagulls swooped and soared above the deserted beach and the dark, gray Atlantic, I breathed deeply, tried to relax the muscles around my narcissistic heart. The family inside was in crisis. I was always in crisis. Would it never end? Adrenaline coursed through my veins like an out-of-control locomotive, clickety-clack, drowning…

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September 22, 2022

“The Day I Thought I Would Die, ” by Mini Babu

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

The Day I Thought I Would Die The day I thought I would die the woman who accompanied me to the hospital said, she needs cooking oil for, “tomorrow,” I used up a little of my valued time, to contemplate on, “tomorrow.” Coffee houses, supermarkets and theatres drove past me, coffee, bread and rice were found unseasoned . . . And they went on talking of “coffees” while I rode in a vehicle called, “now.” All things, other than me were yesterdays and tomorrows. ** Talcum Powder The first time I powdered my face, I imitated the manner my father did, tender strokes on the brow, cheeks and chin, and a mellow even rub, from that time on, I thought of him, twice a day, at no unusual hours, later on, I gave up using…

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September 20, 2022

The Strong Stuff Volume 2 Coming Soon!

Posted by Mike Rochester in News

Good day café patrons! We’re hard at work putting together the second volume of The Fictional Café anthology, The Strong Stuff: The Best of The Fictional Café. The response from our first book was so positive, we had to brew another. While the first covered the first five years of our best work, this one will cover three years, from 2018-2020. Our second volume of The Strong Stuff will feature about 80 contributors of short stories, novel excerpts, poetry and art. It’s going to be a beautiful coffee table book and we hope you will check it out. Stay tuned for updates on how you can get your hands on a copy, piping hot off the presses! To check out our first volume, visit our Anthology page. — Your Baristas

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September 16, 2022

Harry Strange Radio Drama

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Harry Strange is an award-winning radio drama that tells the tale of a private investigator whose beat takes him into the supernatural. Harry’s adventures bring him face-to-face with demons, succubi, vampires and all manner of ‘unnatural’ and the occasional ‘natural’ evil. Harry is asked to recover some stones by a new client. —————————————————————– Tonight’s episode, Harry Strange 101, Comes a hero, is the first episode of Harry Strange. We are introduced to Lilith and Finny and get a brief glimpse into Harry’s past. Special announcement: Own a piece of Harry Strange history and help out the show by picking up a copy of the season one script book “Harry Strange in The Stones of Solomon” Tonights episode, Harry Strange 102, Teenaged Girls Do the Darnedest Things, was written and directed by Tony Sarrecchia and produced by Breanne…

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