Gran never left the house. Which is why Jacqueline climbed the rickety front porch and batted cobwebs as she made her way towards the front door. While most of the neighborhood was attempting to make cotton look like a realistic web, her grandmother had the real thing. Wind gusted momentarily, and a low branch whined as it swayed. A spider scuttled across a grimy window, and shuddering, Jacqueline used her shoulder to heave the door open. It sprang to life,…
It was too late. Liz hesitated in the doorway for a beat too long before returning the way she’d come. Of course, Joe spotted her, excusing himself from whatever woman he was fawning over. Liz slipped into the bathroom while he begged her to wait a minute. She ignored him and hurried towards a mirror to touch up her perfectly applied lipstick. “Come on, Liz, let me explain.” It was Joe, voice pleading as he pounded on the door. Well,…
Jaquie spent the night praying to the porcelain god, Dave patiently holding her hair. No one warned you about night sickness because some genius named it morning sickness. After surviving the day unscathed, she didn’t expect to be sideswiped by spaghetti and garlic bread. At least, that’s what she told Dave. Stupid lies. Even she believed them. She ran her hand along the tile marks engraved across her cheeks, desperate to ignore the putrid stench of vomit, and the sourness…
Dear Reader, Today I’m diverging from the path of flash fiction to talk about National Novel Writing Month. Many writers used to join NaNoWriMo for this occasion, but they’ve closed up shop for a variety of reasons. I know that as a long-time participant and former ML with NaNo, I felt an odd sense of emptiness last year without the typical chaos of cheering others on while simultaneously attempting to hash out my story. I missed hearing about what others…