October 27, 2021

“Bleb,” A Poetry Excerpt by Sanjeev Sethi

Posted by in Writing
“Bleb,” A Poetry Excerpt by Sanjeev Sethi

Medic     As casual as strolling on a graveled pathway   in a close-by parkland, words cycle towards   me on my inner track where ideas lap dance  with a tumescent dash. The first draft is born.   This baby needs a battery of nurses and   other paraphernalia. I’m the doc on duty.   Summon the accoucheur for stillborns.       Memento Mori    Campestral locales furnish   the song and dance routine   with a context. Ill-lighted   rooms caution me of you.   When their consciousness   darkles, I am snug as a bug.   Why does sadness complect   my cheeriness? Is alertness   a curse?        Nonfiction    Google and other griefs  chase my working hours.  Nights are cut out for  graphology. In temple of  needs my pelage seeks   your petting. My god   it seems is huffy.      Fair Play    The…

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October 25, 2021

Wanna NaNoWriMo With Me?

Posted by in News
Wanna NaNoWriMo With Me?

An invitation to join me in a great month of novel-writing Several years ago I was working on a novel about this same time of year. I’d begun it quite a few months earlier at my home in Boston, but at the time I was happily—if not somewhat chilled—writing from a 150-year-old farmhouse in rural France. My fingers, clad in fingerless knitted gloves, flew over the keyboard, pausing occasionally to sip from my café au lait or tea for warmth. I was having a best-of-times. An email came through cyberspace from a best friend and writing colleague who lives in Oregon. I stopped writing to see what he had to say; several years earlier, again while lodging at this same Finistere stone maison, he had done me a great service by buying and shipping me a…

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October 21, 2021

“The Star,” A Short Story by Jovan Ivančević

Posted by in Writing
“The Star,” A Short Story by Jovan Ivančević

Yes I’m alive. It is a surprise for me as well as for you. I’m about to receive yet another reward. This time it is an accomplishment for my entire work. I feel ecstatic, fantastic but a little bit sad. I am going inside, but before doing so, I will look up to at the beautiful night sky. I always do that, wondering the names of the stars so far away. There wasn’t enough time for me to learn their names. The feeling of loneliness follows me, lingers, if not in me then around, always in close vicinity of my being. You might sense why it is like that, particularly those of you who have walked the same path as me. It is here, less than a cubit away, sometimes even closer, going up the spine, lurking in…

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October 19, 2021

“Professor Walker’s Leap of Faith,” by Robert Pope

Posted by in Writing
“Professor Walker’s Leap of Faith,” by Robert Pope

This all began one lovely day in May as I walked the flowering roadways of Akron, Ohio. On the sidewalk of Portage Path, a street named after Native American lore from the local past, heading toward Market, which runs through the heart of our small-town city, I saw what looked like an enormous chicken coming toward me. My mind told me it could not be a chicken that large, at least the size of a man, so I took my glasses from my shirt pocket thinking it must be a man dressed for a costume party or some sort of promotional advertisement. With my glasses on, the chicken idea faded away. A powerful-looking man came toward me, yet the sensation of having seen feathers coming off him remained, putting my mind in a quandary as…

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October 15, 2021

” 13th Hour” by Giant Gnome Productions

Posted by in Audio Arts
” 13th Hour” by Giant Gnome Productions

Welcome back Fictional Cafe Listeners! Giant Gnome Productions is proud to announce the latest episode of our Original Horror Anthology: 13th Hour, Episode 1: GoldField. The 13th hour tolls for someone… is it you? It is the dark side of midnight and time to face your innermost fears. Here, shadows overpower and banish the light, freeing the monsters of your imagination. When the 13th Hour strikes, so does the fear inside us all. We’ve got two more weeks of this Horror month on Fictional Cafe, and we sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed listening as much as we have enjoyed posting. As a reminder, if you are triggered by scary stories, violence and horror, DO NOT LISTEN! We will be back to our regular, family-friendly, cheerful stories after Halloween. A former Pinkerton detective learns that ghosts of the…

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October 11, 2021

“Artemis 7,” A Short Story by Zachary Lattman

Posted by in Writing
“Artemis 7,” A Short Story by Zachary Lattman

The world watched as a cool, confident man took his place at the podium. “Good afternoon,” he said with a booming voice that filled the room. “I am Administrator Devin Cernan, and I want to thank you all for being here.” He looked down at his feet, and sighed. “Today is both a hard day, and an exciting day for NASA. In a few moments, Artemis 7 will touch down on the lunar surface, bringing NASA, the United States, and the world, back to the moon for the first time in nearly 50 years. That is a tremendous accomplishment, and it belongs to thousands of men and women, who have worked for decades to bring the Artemis program to fruition. However, today is bittersweet, as the highest priority for the Artemis 7 crew will be…

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October 7, 2021

“The Place Where the Chiefs Meet,” by Frank Diamond

Posted by in Writing
“The Place Where the Chiefs Meet,” by Frank Diamond

Editor’s Note: We are pleased to announce the return of Frank Diamond to the Café. His latest short story, presented here, is accompanied by the song “To Live Again” by singer/songwriter Camille Peruto, and a reading of the story by actress Maggie Peruto. The Place Where the Chiefs Meet I am 26 and it’s the night my father died. My mother insists that I had nothing to do with it. My siblings don’t play; they curse me over the phone. They’ll be in tomorrow. At one point, I slump at the kitchen table, crying and sick from withdrawal. Crystal tugs my arm: “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” I shake loose and run out.   I should head to my apartment, but I don’t want to be alone. Dizzy’s not there. He’s heard about Antonio and decides to visit friends “in Jersey.” That’s…

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October 6, 2021

Independent Publishers of New England’s Virtual Conference

Posted by in News
Independent Publishers of New England’s Virtual Conference

Dear Coffee Clubbers, The Fictional Café is excited to announce that the nonprofit publishing group Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE) will be holding their annual conference virtually this year, so anyone, anywhere can join! Several of your baristas are members of the group and our founder, Jack, will even be presenting himself! Please join us for 2 days of education and networking at the 10th Annual (virtual) Independent Publishers and Authors conference November 5-6. WHO SHOULD ATTEND? · Independent Publishers · Author Publishers (Self-Publishers) · Partners of Publishers; Industry Suppliers · Writers and Others Who Dream of Being Happily Published! The conference will feature some big names in the publishing industry, including keynote speakers Paige Allen, director of IngramSpark, Cevin Breyerman, CEO of Publisher’s Weekly, and Jane Friedman, indie publishing guru. We’ll have speakers…

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October 5, 2021

“Architeuthis Considers the Sapiens,” by Katy Scrogin

Posted by in Writing
“Architeuthis Considers the Sapiens,” by Katy Scrogin

Architeuthis Considers the Sapiens      Before, we could believe in their innocence  when they’d only seen us dead,  another limp tendril of sea-culled debris  delivered to dry land  in those in-between hours  when it was understood that nothing happened or arrived  outside the boundaries of their serene dreams    They had eons to build legends  upon our pale still limbs  to fill their need for fable  with splayed gray membranes  growing stale and sacred on the sand    But now their truth-seekers know  the cold-tingling thrill of penetration  into deep-dwelling realms        of untethered motion        volition  the stinging grasp of unstoried life.  What now, my unarmed soul,  now that they know?      * It wasn’t until 2006 that humans finally saw a living Architeuthis dux, or giant squid. Until that point, the dead specimens…

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