September 7, 2021

“The Sword of David,” An Excerpt by Charles Lichtman

Editor’s Note: This month we are featuring four novel excerpts—debuting one each Tuesday. Our first is Charles Lichtman’s The Sword of David—a brand new novel, which came out today. In this action-packed thriller, an Israeli commando must search the globe for a long-lost biblical treasure. Hope you enjoy! PART ONE CHAPTER 1 Jerusalem, Present Day “Excuse me, Ms. Klein, I hate to impose, but may I please have your autograph?” asked a middle-aged woman who was holding out a piece of paper and a pen. “Ma’am, I’m sorry. People come up to me all the time thinking I’m the woman who saved the president. I know I look like her, but it’s not me,” replied the younger woman. “Oh, I’m sorry,” the tourist said. “Please forgive me.” “Not a problem,” Debra Klein replied. “It happens…

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September 3, 2021

“Coming Home” and “Run Sally” by Podplays

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Welcome back Fictional Cafe Listeners, this week we will be covering “Coming Home” and “Run Sally” two episodes that can be found on Podplays. Unlike most of our Audio Arts posts which follow a serialized format, these two episodes are completely independent of each other’s stories. What they both have in common however, is their MUSIC. PodPlays® are Family Friendly audio dramas delivered in podcasting format. It’s like listening to a movie with the added bonus of discovering new and original songs written and recorded by Nashville’s top HIT songwriters and artists. So turn it on; turn it up, and don’t worry if the kids want to listen in, in fact, ask them to sing along! “Coming Home” Charlotte left her small town sweetheart, Dash, for the life of a high society designer in London….

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August 31, 2021

Peter Jarvis: Realism, Art and Process

Posted by Mike Rochester in Fine Art

Artist’s Statement: My inspiration lies in the topographical drawings and watercolours of the 18th and 19th centuries. My work is objective and realistic and true to the Italian term, veduta esatta meaning “exact view.” My passion for and belief in the sketchbook as a means of understanding subject matter is central to the success of my watercolours. The very nature of the sketchbook in its portability and mobility on location means it is innately suitable in this pursuit and as a precursor to more finished work: it is immediate and intimate and requires the minimum of materials. The activity of drawing on location plays an integral part in my understanding and appreciation of the notion of place: placing oneself as the central reference point during location drawing. This knowledge and experience also enables me to work from photographs alone when it is…

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August 30, 2021

“T.S. Eliot Homage,” Poetry by Timothy Resau

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

T.S. Eliot Homage (a love poem) Looking, now, at myself, do you think of me, later? When the tropical sun and high waves wash across my thin ankles? White-haired and crazy with spider-like legs, stumbling over small sand dunes— dunes I shall call memories. Should I be calling: — More champagne? Hashish? Incense? Should I be laughing: — Why have you forsaken me O Lord? Looking, then, at myself, and you, seeing you over my Paper-Mache shoulders— brittle, like old bird bones, these once worldly shoulders. Do you think of me? — And the angel of the Lord declared unto Mary that she was to be the Mother of God . . . White-haired and crazed, red bandana and erotic music. Original, native paintings upon my clay walls, so modest— The Mother of…

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August 26, 2021

“Tiny Shredded Pieces,” A Story by Unimke Ushie

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

When my husband told me his mother was visiting London after our wedding in Nigeria when we last saw her, I remembered her not so soft hands tapping my buttocks, touching my breast and every crease around its plumpness, and saying –with a smile that did not wrinkle the skin around her eyes– “nwunye anyi, our wife, I’m just checking if your breasts have enough to support my unborn grandchildren.” I had a bland look on my face when she touched me, that is somehow the same now listening to my husband tell me of her coming to London. And soon I felt something I cannot see or name entering my body, and a damp wetness between my legs. “I’ll finally eat good food” he added. Avoiding my face. “Oh, Chikelu you know cooking is…

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August 23, 2021

“Drawing Mannequin,” Poetry by Julia Franklin

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

Drawing Mannequin Mischief in monochrome. Subtle sidekick, sleek home of souls. Cold conjuror, no-face freedom. No life out of reach. The Pasta Hour Late walk, home again. Dark sky above, weak legs beneath. Fifteen-minute era of Waiting, Watching, and Stirring . . . To be rewarded with chewy-salty Victory, butter-cheese-fork Relief, calorie-laden Defiance, primal-unconditional Devotion. The Fire I come not from one house, but three. House Number One was festive, dependable, full of sweet dreams and hypotheticals that I shrugged off. House Number Two was empty, frigid and aloof, stripped to its skeleton, and infected with smoke. House Number Three was recuperating in the balm of springtime and accepting, sheepishly, the cardboard boxes that held its Number One face. …

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August 20, 2021

“A Bit of Time Travel” by Ben Kempf

Posted by Ruby Fink in Audio Arts

Welcome back to Fictional Cafe and “A Bit of Time Travel” by Ben Kempf. What would you do if you had a time machine? Would you use it for something important? Or would you use it to do something a bit trivial or even a bit silly? Join us as we hear the stories of those who’ve traveled through time . . . and the lessons they learned along the way. It’s time for A Bit of Time Travel! “The Ostrich and Anchor” In today’s episode, we’ll hear about how two friends, Tom and Gary, experienced the best night ever in the small town of Greycourt, Alberta . . . and what happened when their co-worker, Melvin Marcus, who didn’t. “The Snowball Effect” In today’s episode, we’ll hear the story of how Timothy Llewellyn performed…

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August 17, 2021

“(UN?) HOLY ALLIANCE” — Blog by Steve Sangapore

Posted by Mike Rochester in Guest Posts

(UN?) HOLY ALLIANCE: Why the Titans of Science and Religion Continue to Clash As humankind advances into its increasingly globalized future, one of the most pressing existential issues of the modern age is the growing tension (and sometimes hostile sparring) between religious systems and the scientific enterprise. Tenants of religion would claim they have suffered blow after blow at the hands of faithless scientists with little regard for the killing of God. And that science, in its attempt to corner the market on truth and understanding, has belittled religion to a state of being little more than destructive dogma grounded in the parochial and patriarchal superstitions of iron-age peasants. Additionally, the scientific community often charges religion with being fantastical, anti-progress, radical, tribalistic, and even governmentally favored. Some would say that we need only to turn…

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August 15, 2021

“Sandy Ajax, We Hardly Knew You,” by James Hanna

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

The World Baseball League was born in the sixties in our suburban home in Virginia. My kid brother and I invented it on a sweltering Fourth of July. It was a heroic invention—a vehicle by which two nerdy kids might share the aura of champions. Armed with dice, meticulously drawn charts, and a cardboard baseball diamond, Robbie and I commanded the destinies of twenty baseball teams. We played daily throughout the long hot summers—up to six games a day—and we tweaked team standings and player averages after every game. So absorbed were we in horsehide heroics that we rendered the summers neither long nor hot. Our rosters consisted of four hundred individual players each represented by a 2” by 2” square of cardboard. Batting averages, fielding percentages, slugging potential, and base- running speed were recorded on each of these squares along…

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August 12, 2021

Interview with Author Abigail George

Posted by Mike Rochester in Interviews

Editor’s Note: I had a chance to chat with one of our Featured Writers from 2020, Abigail George, about why she began writing and her writing life right now. She’s recently published a book about Emily Dickinson, available on Amazon. —Mike The Fictional Café: What made you choose to be an author? Abigail George: I didn’t grow up wanting to be an author. Life happened, took me down the road less travelled and kind of anchored me in a dysfunctional family life. Now I write all the time. I am inspired by many, many things. Mostly poets. Other writers. Nature, competition, psychology, science, the facts of life fascinate me endlessly so how I can ever run out of things to say, become bored or suffer from writer’s block? These days I have turned back the…

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