The Fiction Blog!

New Fiction Blog Location!

2009-05-04T22:23:00Z

Greetings. The blog has been moved slightly to adjust to the MyCommunityNow locations. Click here to find the new Fiction Blog! I'll also try to post on this spot as well, just to make sure people stay in touch. Cheers....(read more)

"The Poetess Writes Unanswered Letters" by Carrie Messenger

2009-05-02T22:32:52Z

I've been reading a lot from Redivider, a literary journal housed at Emerson College (and I have every intention of submitting a short story to it sometime in the near future). It's a really impressive journal, very entertaining with some great poetry and artwork included in every issue. I spoke at length with a couple of editors from the AWP writer's conference in Chicago as well, and they all seem to share a passion for the literary profession. Click here to read "The Poetess Writes...(read more)

Fiction: "AM/PM" by Amelia Gray

2009-04-28T22:37:00Z

This is a short-short story by Amelia Gray found in the newest issue of American Short Fiction. ASF is a great magazine for those of you who enjoy a broad range of fiction, and welcome a pretty decent amount of experimentation, the type of stuff you might not see in a stuffier literary journal. Case in point: "AM/PM." It's a short piece, extremely unique, funny and fun to read. Click here to read "AM/PM" by Amelia Gray. It's a downloadable pdf file, so don't feak out...(read more)

"This is the Way We Belong" by Jesse Dunlap (Whiskey Island Magazine)

2009-04-26T16:30:00Z

This one's a short-short but it's a good one, from Whiskey Island Magazine out of Cleveland State University. Click here to read "This is the Way We Belong" by Jesse Dunlap. Whiskey Island has a few poems and short stories available online from each of their print issues. It's a good way of doing things, for literary journals that want to stay in print but also want to offer something online to curious readers. It'd be nice to see a little more of this, since most of what...(read more)

Fiction: "Intrusion" by Eric McKinley

2009-04-23T22:38:58Z

Here's a good short story by Eric McKinley available online for FREE! Isn't that fantastic? In fact, on his official Web site , he even has LINKS to his short stories so interested visitors can read them! Eric used to be a lawyer, and now he's finishing up his MFA at Rosemont College and working on completing his first novel. Click here to read "Intrusion" by Eric McKinley. Really, what a fantastic idea, offering short stories on a Web site for interested readers. Why, exactly...(read more)

Featured Author: Kevin Brockmeier

2009-04-20T17:26:00Z

I happened upon Kevin Brockmeier at a local Barnes and Noble, where I promptly digested his entire new short story collection, The View From the Seventh Layer (Vintage Contemporaries) . It was an absolutely fantastic book, well worth reading. And so I wanted to share some of his work with you. There was only one problem: I couldn't find much of ANYTHING online to share. Literally nothing. Not a single short story put up by any literary journals, not even an "official" Web site of some...(read more)

Uncomfortable Plot Summaries

2009-04-16T15:22:00Z

I know some people don't like reading, especially when there's a good (or bad) movie to watch instead. I accept this. I also know that a lot of people who DO enjoy reading like to go out and watch movies, too. But let's face it: who has time to read an entire paragraph summarizing a movie? In today's modern world, that just isn't fast enough. Try Uncomfortable Plot Summaries instead. They're quick, to the point, and downright hilarious. Example: "Die Hard - Dysfunctional...(read more)

Featured Writer: Amanda Stern

2009-04-14T15:38:00Z

Sometimes a Web site really stands out, and it helps when you're a writer to entertain people who visit the site (I haven't mastered this yet, primarily because I'm downright lazy). But Amanda Stern has PLENTY of stuff worth checking out on her Web site. In addition to links for her fiction and non-fiction, she has plenty of great Graphic Poetry up, all available to read for free. She also has "Ugly Teen Photos," and you're free to contribute to that collection. I'm...(read more)

Fiction: "At Four Thousand Feet and Rising"

2009-04-11T16:00:00Z

I've been tearing through a number of literary journals to see if I can find my favorites online to share with you, but so far I've had little to no luck. Everything, it seems, requires a subscription to the print journals, which is a shame because there are a lot of people willing to take a little time online and read some great fiction. Lucky for you, I didn't give up until I found something worthy of sharing. This story comes from Our Stories . "At Four Thousand Feet and Rising...(read more)

Your Toilet Paper is Shrinking

2009-04-07T22:26:56Z

Businesses have been hit hard during this quasi-depression. People are scared and they're not buying as much, which is one of the big reasons why things are still bad (of course, you can hardly blame them!). Market law dictates that when people buy less products (demand goes down), companies drop the prices of their products to meet that lower demand. As demand goes down, so do prices. But that's not what's happening. Take a close look at your toilet paper wrapping. Take a close look...(read more)

Does AIG upset you?

2009-03-20T20:53:23Z

Why is everyone so surprised by AIG's large bonuses being paid out? Is it just because the cable news companies found something they can focus on for a week to draw in ratings? That must be it, because none of this came as any surprise to me or anyone else I know. Well, anyone who doesn't glue their eyes to CNN every day. The fact of the matter is this has become the norm. Executives are promoted through corporations and receive compensation packages and bonuses from boards of directors who...(read more)

The foibles of CNBC

2009-03-06T00:03:10Z

I know it may be difficult to come to terms with, but that guy on CNBC who's always yelling? He doesn't really know what he's talking about half the time. No, no, I'm sorry, but he really doesn't. I know he's made a lot of money in the stock market, but guess what? Now he's lost a lot of money, too. Not only that, he's going on OTHER networks now with tears in his eyes to tell President Obama to stabilize the stock market. To do things and say things that will make...(read more)

Apologize to Rush Limbaugh!

2009-03-04T19:01:45Z

Republicans Mark Sanford and Phil Gingrey both had to apologize to Rush Limbaugh after daring to criticize him. Then, Michael Steele-- the head of the Republican National Committee !!!!!!--was forced to apologize for criticizing him! Since Rush Limbaugh--who enjoys a favorability rating less than President Bush's--is obviously the de facto leader of the conservative movement, I think we'd better make sure everyone apologizes to Rush. Click here to send Rush a letter of apology. It's important...(read more)

Clean Coal is the way to go!

2009-02-26T23:38:19Z

Boy, I am really hooked on Clean Coal after seeing this commercial! Guys, this stuff is amazing! (The commercial below was directed by the Coen Brothers, in case you're wondering)...(read more)

Follow the Financial Crisis

2009-02-18T21:19:42Z

I happened to turn on HARDBALL the other night and saw a particularly ridiculous former Republican congressman attempting to blame George Soros for the entire fiscal crisis. He was subsequently torn apart by the other guests and Chris Matthews, but not before he spouted some other ridiculous nonsense attempting to cast blame away from the real problems we're facing right now. If you're interested in learning about the fiscal crisis in its entirety, go to this site: The Baseline Scenario Not...(read more)

Who loves torture?!

2009-02-10T01:37:07Z

Hey, torture lovers: Here's a particularly fascinating story about a British man sitting in Guantanamo Bay right now: turns out, in addition to waterboarding and other gruesome acts, interrogators sliced open his genitals to get him to talk , all while British intelligence agents watched. Hey, what better way to get a terrorist to confess to his crimes, right? Right? All charges against him have been dropped. Currently, he's still sitting in Guantanamo Bay, on hunger strike. Can you really...(read more)

PTSD and Tetris

2009-01-14T20:15:00Z

I think this is pretty important, given how few options we have for immediate treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to a new study , playing Tetris following a traumatic event can actually reduce the flashbacks one has following said event. Yes, that's right: playing a video game could actually be used to help soldiers and others suffering from a traumatic event. It sounds strange, but as I was listening to Thom Hartmann's program, he attempted to explain it in lay person's...(read more)

Translations

2009-01-08T21:17:37Z

This is a good example of why authors should NEVER, NEVER have their books translated into Japanese, then translated back into English. Got it? If you ever decide to write a book, leave the translations alone and just stick with the original English version!...(read more)

Blago the King

2009-01-07T20:54:00Z

Boy, does Illinois governor Blagojevich love being a dastardly character. Let's face it: the evidence doesn't look good in his favor. While I'm all for the "innocent until proven guilty" (and am actually surprised at how much he's been demonized even in our modern day society), I think the fact that he was literally BRAGGING on tape even after he knew he was being investigated is really what makes people despise him so much. And rightfully so, if he's guilty. But holy...(read more)

A Pity

2009-01-06T22:15:09Z

How much does it suck to be Levi Johnson right now? Probably a bunch. Levi's the lucky fella who knocked up the Alaska Governor's daughter, Bristol. *Cue the shotgun wedding* So now Johnson's got Sarah Palin for a mother-in-law (which most conservative males probably envy, I suppose), he's not even old enough to drink and already he's got a baby on the way and he's going to be stuck with his current fling for DECADES. Yes, that's right: poor Levi won't be divorcing...(read more)