Short Fiction, Poetry and Classic Book Reviews
New Year's Eve 1989 in the Venison household was one to remember. So it is unfortunate that I'm the only one who does. (My parents, and my aunties and uncles who attended the party at our house, all woke the next afternoon with "nasty colds" that seemed to have wiped all memory of the night's... Continue Reading →
Inspired after watching a documentary about Jane Goodall's research with chimpanzees, Abby Pilchard determined to make her own contribution to science by studying animals in their natural environment. She chose as her subject a small colony of mice inhabiting a field near Norwich. Abby pitched a tent in the field and spent days at a... Continue Reading →
The fat man in the brown suit stormed down the stairs. Everyone could hear the footsteps and the swearing. The studio door swung open, but was prevented from slamming against the wall by the man's crushing grip on the door knob. His furious eyes reflected the glow of the unfortunate cigar he was gnawing, slurping,... Continue Reading →
As a child, Fernando Chang showed an extraordinary aptitude for science. While other boys would be riding their bikes outside, Fernando would be dismantling his in the garage. When he showed the boys his reconstructed bicycle—now a model of the Milky Way's planetary orbits—they just scratched their heads. A week later (after developing a shampoo... Continue Reading →
"And this final one is a favourite of mine. I call it Swans at Sunset. You'll notice the warm hues on the water—I wanted to emphasise those, create a dynamic. The brush strokes here, the trees—at first I intended to come back and smooth these out, but as the painting took shape I decided to... Continue Reading →
Gavin stood inside the entry and faced his store. He sighed. Charred boxes, half-melted merchandise, walls stained black—it was an eyesore, but what could he do? And then there was the smell. Even near-toxic levels of air freshener could not hide it. He could have curled up into a ball and cried, but there were... Continue Reading →
"Well, what can you say about Uncle Bert that wouldn't further tarnish his reputation? He was a good man, I suppose. Not in the traditional sense of the word, but perhaps in comparison with some of his 'business associates', none of whom have turned up today to pay their respects, I see. Although, to be... Continue Reading →
Old John Burrow died last week. I remember when he arrived in our small town back in 1979, completely hairless and wearing a strange, one-piece outfit. The outfit looked like it was made of silk. Everybody said it was silk. It wasn't. I knew it wasn't. He spoke with an unusual accent, and kind of... Continue Reading →
Tinseltown was abuzz yesterday as crowds of hopefuls lined the streets for a shot at stardom. In an unprecedented gamble, a major movie studio announced open calls for the lead role in its new, six hundred million dollar project, Immaculate Termination. Head of Narcissus Studios, Martin Ahab, believes the approach will generate a wider interest... Continue Reading →
