http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/blogs-1-1-1-34.html I found this creepy, well-written story a week ago and put off sharing it because of certain MFA-related obligations. But now that I've got time, I thought I'd better get this out to you guys. From "Dredge," by Matt Bell: ­ In the garage, he lifts the lid of the chest freezer that sits against the far wall. He stares at the open space above the paper-wrapped bundles of venison, tries to guess if there’s enough room, then st]]> A shorty-short from Salt Hill Journal's archives, courtesy of their Web site. I don't remember how I came across this site at first, but It's an impressive layout and you can browse the archives for a few free stories and poems if you're interested in submitting a story or just reading a few things. A lot of the fiction seems to be pretty short, so they're easy to digest. From "Some Zombies," by Bryan Hurt: ]]> I'm a sucker for stories that skirt the edges of traditional narration, and I think this particular short story does just that: it's relaxed, it has a very conversational tone, and it drew me in early on because I felt a closeness with the narrator. From "The Silence of Harold," by Pam Parker: ­For forty-four years we lived over our corner drug store in Haydenville.  We talked.  Maybe not as much as some coup]]> I thought it would be worth mentioning this particular mag I happened upon in the most unusual of ways. As a matter of fact, I don't actually remember how I came upon this. It's bookmarked, and I remember having read it some time ago and completely forgotten about it, and then at some point this week I remembered its name and did a little search. Once I reached their main site, it all came flooding back. I like this Jersey Devil Press. I pla]]> Sheila Julson, a classmate of mine at Redbird Writing Studio's roundtable group, wanted me to share some of her stories she's written on the blog, and so here it is. See how simple that is, aspiring writers? It's not scary. What's the point of writing stories if you don't want to share them with everyone? All you have to do is email me. Sheila Julson has two stories currently on her Fictionaut Web site: "Songbird" is an excerpt fr]]> Thought I'd share a short story by Dawn Allen, whom I just so happen to know and can vouch for. Not sure why I'd ever have to vouch for her, since all you need to do is read her stuff to know she's got talent. This is a short story from A Fly in Amber, an online fiction zine that has a really nice, easy-to-navigate blog-looking layout. From her story Branded in Gray:     Prison life is full of oxymorons, lose-lose situ]]> Maybe I should have used the subtitle "Do you care?" instead, but I prefer to look on the optimistic side of things whenever possible. Mainly because if I didn't, I would probably have shot myself in the head roughly around the same time I read Samuel Alito was appointed to the Supreme Court. So I just read "The Death of Fiction?" by Ted Genoways, and I got to thinking. A lot. The article is mostly depressing, and yet I won]]> I was browsing through my few accomplishments over the past year and was looking up one of the literary mags that published one of my short stories, wondering if they were going to print up a copy or not. To my surprise, I found that all of their fiction is online and available to read for free! I went through and read my story again, and you know what? I'm still content with it. I've found that rarely happens when you write a piece--normally,]]> A fellow classmate from UN's MFA program has set up a "novel-in-progress" blog. What does that mean, exactly? Well, these types of blogs are traditionally put together by courageous souls willing to share their works in progress. In this case, Dead Bears is just getting started, so you've got the chance to start at the beginning and watch how the novel slowly unfolds. A blip from the first entry: ­ Utopia saw himself as an ant ]]> I just got my first issue of The Missouri Review (TMR for you hipsters) and I have to say so far I'm pretty impressed. Sure, I've only delved into one of the stories so far, but the presentation of the journal is pretty impressive. It's well-designed, taking liberal advantage of the artistic eyes on staff, making it easy for the mag to stand out among its competitors. It should, of course. The Missouri Review is one of the "it" mags,]]>  Well, I'm back from my "vacation" at the University of Nebraska, just one short semester away from receiving my Master's Degree. I'm beat, but I managed to look up a few short-short stories that you might enjoy checking out while you're pooping around online.   Here's an excerpt from "Mooring Stones," by Paula Carter:   ­He listens to the woman on the weather radio repeat the direction of ]]> Upon leaving the theater last night, I found myself oddly perturbed. James Cameron spent ten years on AVATAR, and yet the script wasn't very well-written. My intellectual sparring partner asked me what, exactly, I expected from a science-fiction movie. Well, to be entirely honest, I expected a story. I expected, in addition to fantastic, amazing special effects (which it delivered!), good dialogue and a plot that I couldn't guess at consistently ]]> Since the current Subtropics issue is only featuring poetry (but still worth checking out!), I had to dig to find something in the fiction department that I can share. This was another literary journal that I happened upon when I attended the AWP conference in Chicago last year, and the issue I bought was a great read. An excerpt from "Give Me That," by Molly Giles: It was not until she parked at the top of the hill and got out ]]> Sometimes, I happen upon new fiction purely out of luck. In this case, I was double-checking my SPAM folder and noticed that for some reason, my mail system was dropping emails from Black Lawrence Press there instead of my Inbox. May that be lesson to you: keep an eye on that SPAM folder. Or don't. I don't care, really.  Here's a snippet of "The Average Human Heart" by Martin Law: ­­I don’t do this so much anymore. ]]> How about some short-short fiction to peruse while you're waiting for your favorite porn and/or news site to fully load? Here's the first half of Chris Smith's 50-word fiction piece from Blink Ink: I dreamed I was Don Quixote, imagining and then fighting monstrosities to become the most gallant knight in the land. Click here to read the rest of it, courtesy of Blink Ink. There's no reason not to read at least ten of these little guy]]> In honor of Alice Munro's new short story collection, I though it might be nice to take a look at a recent short story from the New Yorker. I figure if you haven't tried reading her yet, this might be a good way to ease yourself in. Because she's a great writer, and her new collection is full of scandals, death adultery and other literary items that never go out of style. From "Dimension," by Alice Munro:   Doree didn’t fi]]> It's nice to occasionally read something that doesn't follow the traditional pattern for "story." That isn't to say seeing new and different approaches to fiction is always exciting, though, but sometimes a writer comes along with a special knack for tossing style on its head and really comes out a winner. From "Arizona," by Rachel Khong: ­1. Where I live in Arizona, the lawns ]]> I'm in the process of editing a bunch of new stuff I've been writing, and sometimes one of the best inspirations for trudging forward is to read some enjoyable fiction. Because you know something written well took a lot of work. From "Nothing Extra," by Marly Swick: ­ The next morning, while it was still dark out, she took a cab to the airport. It was a bleak hour, too much to ask of a friend, even if her mother was dyin]]> Tonight at Boswell Books, Lorrie Moore will be making an appearance. Not only is she a fantastic author, she just so happens to be part of Wisconsin. Here new book, A Gate at the Stairs, has gotten great reviews and I bet she'll stick around to sign copies tonight, too! Here's the info: Where: Boswell Books 2559 N. Downer Avenue at Webster Place When: Thursday, 7 p.m.  Be sure to get there a little early, because]]> I've taken a break from damaging my brain with copious amounts of Dragon Age to check out the progress of Cream City Review's new Web site, and it's looking fantastic. Easy to browse, lots of features and teasers for the issues, and a built-in blog with updates and other features that take advantage of the internet (like video, for instance!). Cream City Review is published by the creative writing department at UW-Milwaukee, started in 1975 by]]>