-
The Awlings: A Fractured Fairytale (The Elves and the Shoemaker)
Jobst Schuster did not believe in magic. He wished he did. If he believed in magic, he might not think he was losing his mind.
-
Flash: A Short Story
I will meet my husband tonight. I’m not yet sure what he looks like. But, like the perfect pair of shoes, I’ll know him when I see him. I’ve met him in my mind, in these daydreams I call ‘flash forwards’: a hazy, pale face with brownish hair. Well, that narrows it down. Tonight is […]
-
Lemon Girl
Is it possible to become an ethical psychopath? Charlie wrestles with her urges to create havoc by puppeteering her peers.
-
Drafts and Rewriting: How many “drafts” do authors really write?
How many drafts do fiction authors really write. Also: what counts as a draft?
-
White Literary Taste
Did the 2020 efforts towards diversity and inclusion in the wake of George Floyd impact the systemic racial bias in publishing and reviewing?
-
How To Leave A Stranger: Short Story
A man stops to pick up a teenage girl hitch-hiker on a foggy New Zealand highway one night. Why does he do these things when he’s shown no gratitude?
-
Welcome to the Creature Cafe
A fantasy cafe website showcasing AI generated images of cute fantasy food and some unusual staffing choices.
-
Choc-egg Surprise: A Short Story
Professor Cornelius Stoppelbeim is a long-time collector of Choc-Egg Surprises and hopes to accumulate all pieces of the Robo-Bird. However, he would like to lodge some complaints.
-
Summary: “The Princess” by Tennyson
“Princess Ida” (1847) is a long narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Like many misogynist stories, Tennyson presents it as comedy. Well, technically this is ‘serio-comic’, or ‘comedy drama’.
-
My Year Of Reading Queer
This is an ongoing post about my 2023 reading goal of reading queer books by and about queer people. After half a lifetime of absorbing and analysing story, there remains only one sure way to find interesting and surprising perspectives and narratives: Actively seek the perspectives of marginalised voices.
-
Hatred of Teen Girls In Pop Culture
The culture, as as whole, despises teenage girls. Let’s take a look at the evidence in pop culture and storytelling.
-
Symbols of Freedom in Literature
Do not allow yourselves to be deluded by the abstract word ‘freedom’. Whose freedom? It is not the freedom of one individual in relation to another, but the freedom of capital to crush the worker. Marx, On the Question of Free Trade 1848 The American West is more than a place. It’s a super powerful […]
-
Urban Legend Analysis: The Babysitter
The urban legend about the babysitter goes like this: Teenage girl is babysitting one night when she gets a menacing call. When she calls authorities, she is told that the call is coming from inside the house.
-
The Cistern by Ray Bradbury Short Story Analysis
Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Cistern” can be read as a celebration of plumbing and groundwater solutions, normally invisible to those of us who live in towns
-
Whistler’s Grandmother by Shirley Jackson Short Story Analysis
“Whistler’s Grandmother” by Shirley Jackson was published in the May 5, 1945 edition of The New Yorker. Find it also in the collection Just An Ordinary Day (1996).