Crazy Love by Leslie What

reviewed by R. A. Rycraft

Originally published on October 22, 2008

“There is a lot of fear embedded in some of these stories. Men and women fear spending their lives alone, but also fear the possibility of spending their lives with one another. Often there is potential for companionship within reach, but the character, burdened with the baggage of insecurity, isn’t capable of overcoming her fear of closeness.”

Riding the Dog: A Look Back at America by Thomas E. Kennedy

by Walter Cummins

Originally published on October 22, 2008

“Tom Kennedy enjoys a unique perspective for writing about America. He has spent half his life in Europe, primarily Denmark, and has traveled throughout the world. But he retains his American citizenship and makes frequent trips back to the U.S., staying in close contact with family and his many friends in this country. This international context enriches his observations.”

The Big Night

by Bronwen Hruska

Originally published on October 22, 2008

Lilly did appreciate facts. She appreciated that the sun was 93 million miles from the earth, that the Empire State Building was 1,250 feet tall, that the human brain weighed three pounds, that E=mc2. She did not appreciate the fact that her mother had decided to kill herself because Lilly was unable to conceive a child.

The Black Pool

by Steve Armour

Originally published on October 21, 2008

She lies as she lies in bed sometimes. “It’s good, my flat chest,” she says sometimes, “I can sleep on my stomach.” Sometimes she will sleep on her stomach and her hair will pool around her head just that way. Sometimes it will do just that. And I have seen that.

Jamie Malanowski

interviewed by Derek Alger

Originally published on October 21, 2008

“No editor or publisher ever wakes up in the morning, looks out his window, and scans the landscape for a brilliant writer who’s just too shy to put himself or herself forward. It’s a put yourself forward business, at every level.”

Molly Peacock

interviewed by Derek Alger

Originally published on October 21, 2008

“I went to the State University of New York at Binghamton and studied with the poet Milton Kessler. He gave me the best advice about my poems. He’d point to something in a poem that he thought was successful and he’d say, ‘See that?’ ‘Yes,’ I’d say. ‘Well,’ he’d say, ‘”do that again.’”

Walter Cummins

interviewed by Derek Alger

Originally published on October 15, 2008

“All through college, I wrote for the school paper and even edited a humor magazine, for a while emulating a then-popular humor writer named Max Shulman. Junior year, with trepidation, I signed up for a creative writing course, which started my life of fiction despite the disasters of those early stories.”

Adult Orthodontics

by Pam Uschuk

Originally published on October 14, 2008

For beauty, I had four healthy teeth pulled, and each morning since I spit blood pooling like regret’s venom at the back of my throat, wondering why I wanted all my life a straight smile. Sure the drift of years tugged all the front biters to the left and the molars bent like supplicants in [...]

Grant’s Pass

by Sid Miller

Originally published on October 14, 2008

Grant’s Pass At the downtown pharmacy, the one with the soda fountain, the line is long with kids. Elvis plays on the radio and the hands of the sixteen year old girl behind the counter are stained red from maraschino cherries. The air is sweet from sugar and even though the scene is old-fashioned, all [...]