JEANNE ALTHOUSE
Flash fiction, creative nonfiction and longer stories by Jeanne Althouse have appeared in numerous literary journals. She was a finalist in the Glimmer Train Very Short Fiction Contest. Her story, “Goran Holds his Breath” was nominated by Shenandoah for the Pushcart Prize. A collection of her flash fiction, “Boys in the Bank,” will be published this year by Red Bird Chapbooks. Althouse lives in California and loves reading Lydia Davis.
Title: First Born
First Line(s):
I was born in a hallway.
My pregnant Mother had lovely brown hair curled in the style of Ingrid Bergman in the movie Casablanca. She defined her lips with dark red from a stick, her nose with loose white powder she stored in a gold case and her ears and throat with pearls the size of large peas. Everyone said my mother dressed up to mail a letter. Childbirth was no exception.
Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: January 14, 2019
Journal: The Penman Review
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Title: Two Poems: Big Lies
First Line(s):
My first husband abandoned me for a childhood friend. He began leaving me alone during the hot Chicago evenings, going for walks he said. When fall’s blustery winds began, there were whole nights he did not return.
Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: June 26, 2018
Journal: Gravel
SAMANTHA KOLBER
Samantha Kolber is an award-winning poet published in many journals and anthologies. Her manuscript “Jewel Tones” was a semifinalist with Crab Orchard Series in Poetry’s 2019 First Book Prize. She received her MFA from Goddard College and completed post-grad work at Pine Manor College’s Solstice MFA Program. She coordinates events for Bear Pond Books and is the Poetry Series Editor at Rootstock Publishing. Her poetry chapbook “Birth of a Daughter” will be published on September 1, 2020, with Kelsay Books.
Title: Love and Water
First Line(s):
After a full body massage my body is an ocean—I swim inside it.
Genre: Poetry
Publication Date: May 30, 2019
Journal: Tiny Seed Literary Journal
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Title: Text Message from Dad: a found poem
First Line(s):
I imagine U r either consumed with your lifestyle
which I hope is going well
or u r judging someone else’s book by its cover
(metaphorically speaking).
Genre: Poetry
Publication Date: March 1, 2019
Journal: Rise Up Review
RICK TRUSHEL
Rick Trushel is moved to write because he believes stories, narratives, and serendipity deepen our understanding of our lives and purpose. He often procrastinates because he mistakenly believes it improves his writing. His essays and short stories have appeared in The Sun magazine and on-line at Menda City Review, 101 Words, and Eunoia Review.
Title: Electric Twilight
First Line(s):
Now and again my dad coaxed me away from playing the piano and tried to engage me in a game of pitch and catch. The spastic way I threw a ball embarrassed him; eventually he stopped asking. I was a kid who didn’t have any sports heroes but I envied Nancy Drew with her abilities to figure things out. I admired the Disney TV cowboys, Spin and Marty, and the way they intuitively knew how to befriend the teens who showed up at the Triple R Ranch.
Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: Spring 2019
Journal: Birdland Journal
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Title: Believer
First Line(s):
I believed in Santa Claus. The Easter Bunny. I trusted my parents to tell me the truth. I believed my teachers, who were nuns and priests, always told the truth because they were closer to God than I was. When unbaptized infants died, I believed they went to Limbo. I believed in angels, archangels, and my guardian angel.
Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: April 2019
Journal: Gravel
Photo Credit: © Derek Brumby / Adobe Stock