Will Trent: A Crime Drama Review
ABC’s Will Trent redefines the crime drama genre with suspense, humor, and emotional resonance. Ramón Rodríguez and Erika Christensen deliver captivating performances, while Betty the chihuahua steals the spotlight.
My Father’s Black Magic
My father carried a black bag
bulging with the magic of his trade —
powders, ointments, penicillin pills —
to coax an ailing patient back to life.
But at home, where doctors cleanse their minds…
Emylle on Wheels, Web Comic – Talking About Cakes
“No, you should talk about your disability, ableism, that stuff.”
Angry at him, Emylle replies, “Do not restrict me, you @#$%!%.”
The Night Library at Sternendach — A Vampire Opera Novel Review
The Night Library of Sternendach reads as a mixture of Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera — revolving around the library at Castle Sternendach, the Graf’s home. The dance of words played in my mind’s eye with each new verse. All I needed was Andrew Lloyd Webber to write the music. I’ve already cast the show for him, if he’ll but ask.
When You Need a Wakeup: Taylors of Harrogate Scottish Breakfast Tea Review
Taylors of Harrogate Scottish Breakfast tea is a solid, plain roast black tea with loads of caffeine to get the engines firing. No need for fruity tones or other flavor hints. This tea is meant to wake you up and give you a solid base for your day — and the tea does exactly that.
Quarterly & Special Issues
Submissions next open from June 1 to August 31 2024
January 22, 2026
In our official wedding photo, my Prince Charming grins at the camera. He wears a white tux with satin accents and bell bottom trousers.
January 20, 2026
Deep Cuts — by Holly Brickley, published February 2025 — tells of Percy Marks, a music nerd who meets songwriter Joe Morrow in a campus bar. The journey follows her through her twenties as she jumps across the country and is defined by the songs — new and old — that inform her life. As Percy grows, Joe evolves, too, from a quiet student to a confident frontman.
January 20, 2026
It’s not a remake of the 1994 film — that dubious honor goes to Jon Favreau’s 2019 offering. Nevertheless, this prequel still lands in the same tricky territory as the first one, much to the consternation of this Disney Animation fan.
January 19, 2026
Emma has to wash off all that dirt in the shower. Standing under the scalding jets of water, the girl scrolls through memories. She’s tired of trying to get on TV, let alone singing in the small basement club.
January 17, 2026
I’m going to see my sis today.
She loves when I tell
her stories. [Laugh.] So I’m
wearing my fossil bracelet with
a chambered nautilus [66 million
years old]; Amber [I’ll make up
a date]; A shark tooth — not a fossil.
January 16, 2026
Robbie knew there were wild animals in the forest; there were hairy boars with sharp white tusks and hungry wolves that would eat you for dinner. However, the little boy was so desperate for some courage that he’d do anything, even if it meant killing a snake or running faster than any other animal.
January 15, 2026
From the start it was evident that my guide, Tony, would have been much happier working on his own. He only spoke to me to bark instructions. He barely made eye contact and didn’t respond to any pleasantries at all.
January 11, 2026
Always the same large cups, mine from Fretboard and his from Trailhead.
Always the same dance of the mugs, clinking the ceramic, the scalding first sip.
The coffee is a ritual of purpose, of togetherness.
Of starting a day, and taking on a responsibility for myself and another person.
Something I chose and continue to choose.
January 10, 2026
Well before dawn on Sunday, there was a call coming up the stairs, growing closer and louder, “Who’s a skier?” Then a not too gentle knock on the door — BAM BAM BAM. And another call, retreating down the stairs, “The car is leaving in 15 minutes…”
January 4, 2026
The Book is as much a history lesson as it is a mystery, revealing more than it conceals, but always leaving a few things a little unraveled for our imagination to wonder at — for so history itself, with its often patchy evidence, demands.
January 3, 2026
We were simpatico, mostly, except when you slipped into your father’s skin. Your dad and mom were hand in glove, you bragged. His hand, her pliant glove, I thought, but never said.
January 1, 2026
what lies behind the speaking oceans? what resides between the words trees have spoken? what have the hums of my ancestors awoken?
December 31, 2025
I am New Year’s Day
for a short twenty-four hours;
ready to give everyone a fresh start in life
as my life begins seconds before…
December 31, 2025
The fax machine sprang alive. She waited for it to finish and read the paper. “Good Evening, Ms. Li-Tybalt. My name is Victor Rolfe. I operate a business known as the ‘Order of the Dragon Theatre Troupe.’ You have been selected to participate in one of our most exciting games to be held tonight.”...She crumpled the paper and tossed it towards the shredder. The fax rang again. She just caught the words on the paper. “Ms. Tybalt, I have your son.”
December 31, 2025
A strange darkness crept into my consciousness as I sat there with the broken ornament in my hand. Even the lights on the Christmas tree seemed to dim a bit, as if portending that something ominous approached.
December 30, 2025
I decided as my New Year’s resolution that I would both no longer be taken advantage of and I would collect money for our local food bank. I’ve been doing both.
December 30, 2025
I stared at my cards, feeling the weight settle in on top of me. If even my friends couldn’t take a stalker seriously, how could I expect the police to?
December 29, 2025
Thus assured that I could write a book despite my inexperience, a book that would give me glowing reviews — not to mention comparisons to Mary Higgins Clark — I continued to write page after page, totally immersed in the mystery I was creating.
December 29, 2025
A night in summer
With spiking heat from the walls —
Sunlight grazing us.
Twilight in the dark
As looming as summer waves.
Simple but profound…
December 25, 2025
As I clung to my trees and ornaments, the family began to fall apart. Many loved ones began to distance themselves from my particular form of Christmas joy. Maybe my trees and the joy they brought me in the deep dark winters scared them away?