• Man looking through magnifying glass - TEXT: Cozy mystery writing prompts, Rita Mock-Pike

    Writing Prompts: Cozy Mysteries

    One of my favorite genres is cozy mysteries. They’re great for a low-key read on an airplane or road trip or before turning out the light at night. But writing them can be a little tedious and challenging, because, well, let’s be honest — there are only so many kinds of mysteries to solve.

  • tea cup sitting on table with flowers and a sign reading: Come let us have some tea and talk about happy things - IMAGE TEXT: U.S. Wellness Naturals Rooibos Tea Review - Rita Mock-Pike

    U.S. Wellness Naturals — Loose Leaf Rooibos Tea Review

    When it comes to Rooibos tea, I am exceptionally picky. I have drunk many cups and determined that they were “okay” but not “worthy” of purchasing again. This includes both bagged teas and loose leaf offerings. A couple of years back, I found a rival for my previous favorite Bos Rooibos in the form of my new favorite loose leaf option: U.S. Wellness Naturals Rooibos.

  • I Will Answer yes, prayer essay title card with happily married couple

    I Will Answer Yes

    One evening, readers were challenged to sit back, shut up, and listen. We were led to ask the Lord to speak clearly and listen to Him and trust that what He spoke would encourage and uplift us. As most of us know, keeping back a flood of thoughts in a quiet room can be rather challenging. But I somehow managed to still myself and my own thoughts, and soon found my mind resting in the space quietly.

  • Woman sitting in dentist's chair, mouth wide open, dental tooths in her mouth - TEXT: Dark Humor Flash Fiction, EJ Moran, My Happy Place

    My Happy Place

    As a teenager, my happy place was always Jones Beach, NY. I would arrive early before the toll, just as dawn was breaking. The causeway was empty of other cars, all was quiet on the beach, parking spots were plentiful and you could choose any field you’d like.

  • Hell Town book review

    Hell Town -The Untold Story Of A Serial Killer On Cape Cod: A Book Review

    The most startling portions of Hell Town are true. Let that sink in. I am not easily made nauseous by true crime, but this was brutal. Casey Sherman’s writing style, and description of the events are both brilliant, and nightmare-ish.

Quarterly & Special Issues

  • Poetry Special 2022 cover
  • Introspection issue cover
  • Sleeper of R'Lyeh cover
  • cover image of the MockingOwl Roost, Volume 1, Issue 4: Community
  • giant elephant in forest with a man standing in front of the elephant
🦉 Submissions next open from June 1 to August 31 2024
February 3, 2024
There Isn't Language for This - title card - woman looking into darkening mist
Published by Charlotte Amelia Poe at February 3, 2024
Categories

There Isn’t Language for This

I had these weird few days where I thought if I could make my room beautiful it might fix me, you know? Like, sure, I still wouldn’t be able to leave the house but maybe if I opened my curtains and let some light in, that would be practically the same thing, right? And now I am bathed in green from the window clings and the sun shining through, and I don’t feel better.
Do you like it?
4 Read more
February 1, 2024
Twelve suspects of Christmas book review
Published by Katie Daniels at February 1, 2024
Categories

The Twelve Suspects of Christmas: A Book Review

Why, it’s The Twelve Suspects of Christmas by Ana T. Drew. It’s the Die Hard of cozy Christmas mysteries - an engaging mystery full of intrigue and spies that happens to take place at Christmas rather than a Christmas book that happens to have a mystery. Well, minus all the shooting. There’s really only a couple of knives and a jar of cinnamon.
Do you like it?
0 Read more
January 26, 2024
Emma's place - Amelia Stone - student hall at university
Published by Gary McCallum at January 26, 2024
Categories

Emma’s Place, Part 2

At the front desk I asked the concierge if she had seen Amelia. The concierge furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes. “Amelia? Amelia? I don’t recall anyone named Amelia.” The concierge must have been new, to not know Amelia, although I could have sworn she was an old hand. “What’s the full name?”
Do you like it?
9 Read more
January 23, 2024
outside view of a university with green lawn and blue sky - Emma's place, part 1
Published by Gary McCallum at January 23, 2024
Categories

Emma’s Place, Part 1

On my way, I thought I heard them talking about me. As I neared the table they stopped talking. Zoey looked guilty. Zoey always looked guilty. When I sat down they stared at me with – oh, I don’t know – sorrow, pity: something like that. In response I opened my hands palms up, and said, “What?” as I looked from one to the other.
Do you like it?
10 Read more
January 19, 2024
Mondays - I hate Mondays... image with woman stretching, mug upside down
Published by Kylie Petrovich at January 19, 2024
Categories

Mondays

Here they call them palmetto bugs but they’re just cockroaches, really. Normally, I would have murdered the tiny intruder but on this morning, on this particular day, I awoke with a newfound appreciation for life: for any and all life.
Do you like it?
3 Read more
January 17, 2024
Short story cover image - cave in the forest, text reads: anatomy of memory part 2 - fiction - Urmi Chakravorty
Published by Urmi Chakravorty at January 17, 2024
Categories

Anatomy of a Memory, Part 2

But the highlight of the event was the momentous meeting between Luna Lyngdoh and Meban Tsangpa, a Samanera or novice monk. A woke, computer-trained graduate, he had been inducted into the monastery as a trainee. He followed many of the cardinal religious precepts but had not yet attained higher ordination which would make him a Bhikkhu or a full-fledged monk. 
Do you like it?
5 Read more
January 16, 2024
wooded trail surrounded by trees - text on cover reads Anatomy of a Memory Part 1 - fiction - Urmi Chakravorty
Published by Urmi Chakravorty at January 16, 2024
Categories

The Anatomy of a Memory, Part 1

Meghalaya in monsoon — the perfect time to explore and embrace the beauty of the Sacred Woods. Luna smiled to herself as she recalled this much-loved refrain from her days of childhood and youth. She walked past the moss-slickened stones, boulders flecked with the chartreuse lichen, stopping to admire the white coral mushrooms that were so famous here.
Do you like it?
6 Read more
January 14, 2024
Traveling Back in Time with Outlander
Published by Lynn Aprill at January 14, 2024
Categories

Traveling Back in Time with Outlander

The email from British Airways popped up just as my sister and I arrived at Glasgow International Friday night before our flights home: “We're really sorry that your upcoming flights have been canceled.” A bonus day in Edinburgh? I knew just what I’d do.
Do you like it?
6 Read more
January 13, 2024
Late at night - you wanted money - lit match on fiction story cover
Published by Ammanda Selethia Moore at January 13, 2024
Categories

The Night You Wanted Money

I couldn’t understand why you kept calling our parents, the phone ringing repeatedly before Dad silenced it. “He wants money,” Dad whispered knowingly to Mom. I was too young to understand that you’d done this all before: drunk texts and calls, expectations of payment, always late at night.
Do you like it?
1 Read more
January 9, 2024
Things I wish I had said - image cover for "closing chapter on friendship"
Published by Farrah Lucia at January 9, 2024
Categories

Things I Wish I Had Said: Closing Chapter on Friendship

We had been friends for over twenty-five years. More than a quarter of a century. I don’t know why I feel the need to emphasise the length of time we’d known each other, as if the more time invested the deeper the friendship. There is perhaps a strong correlation but no causation between length of knowing and love.
Do you like it?
0 Read more
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637