Nuoc Mam 2016
“Nuoc Mam” brings us to the present. A ’grey one’ gets lucky and is allowed to live graciously. Even decades later after many foul deeds, if there is a will, there is a way to come home.
Charles Hayes is an American who lives part time in the Philippines and part time in Seattle with his wife. His writing interests center on the stripped down stories of those recognized as on the fringe of their culture. Asian culture, its unique facets, and its intersection with general American culture is of particular interest. As are the mountain cultures of Appalachia.
Road Story 2016
The road has long been a metaphor for life’s journeys, those internal and external. In this collection of stories, writers tell of traveling down an unknown road, taking time off normal life to experience the unfamiliar, curious and open to a colorful or frightening route.
The conflicted characters have abandoned their everyday life. Some immerse themselves in other cultures. In stories of death and grief, a woman recalls climbing a mountain with her recently deceased lover, and a young man revisits sad memories of a drowning on the beach. In stories with an interior healing, a young female character disparages herself in an unhealthy comparison to another more seasoned female traveler; while another overcomes fear exasperated by the crime news keeping her homebound.
This isn’t to say setting holds no fascination. Readers ride an oily, chugging passenger train, meditate in the opulent vegetation on a Tibetan mountain, and run through the streets of Barcelona.
Authors include Anthony Bain, Lois Barr, Glenn A. Bruce, Laurie Doyle, Sharon Frame Gay, Chad L. Hutchison, Steve Karas, Susan Kuchinskas, Jackie Davis Martin, Neil Mathison, Calvin Mills, Ellen Birkett Morris, Ray Morrison, Carol Murphy, and Nancy Werking Poling.
Lavender Bluegrass – LGBT Writers on the South 2016
In the intersection of family, love, faith and identity, there is an unspoken question: How do we reconcile our bodies and desires with the landscape?
Lavender Bluegrass contributes to the unbridled spirit of the region’s rich literary history. This collection comes from the hearts of the heartland, people who work in fields and cities and are shaped by rivers and breezes. They choose to love the places and people who shaped them, no matter how flawed.
Those who call this land home delight in hot city summers, cool country roads, iced tea and barefoot freedom. A good story is a good story, no matter the gender, race, or beliefs of the author. Stories can bridge the boundaries between us, especially in the South, where some voices are still muted. LGBT+ voices represent the land that shapes us, and the spirit that guides us. If you listen closely, you might hear a voice calling you home. Editors include Leigh Cheak,
Clinton Craig, Will Hollis, and Erin Slaughter. Authors include David Haydon, Jarred Johnson, Richard Linker, Austin Rutland, Andrew Hahn, Moira Hayes Holmes, Dexter Gore, Yuan Changming, Catherine A. Brereton, Nick Snider, John Thompson, Phillip Wenturine, Nadine Worley, and Lena Ziegler.
Empty Nest 2016
Empty Nest’s central themes are loss and resistance while teetering over the precipice of change. This collection of short stories hug the line, taking turns accepting untidy realities. Several address loss by death. In “God’s Graffiti,” a child is floundering and confused after the death of a parent; in “Fixing the Phoenix,” a widow lets go of grief and glimpses new romantic and sexual possibilities.
Other stories describe what happens in the family when children leave home. Veronica’s children have left the nest. Her new job as a waitress provides her with a fresh identity. She rejects her old life when she finds herself “In the Hole.” In “First Marriage,” we understand what it’s like to be pushed out of the nest and into marriage too soon.
“Caught,” traces how the tragic aftermath of a car accident is followed by a surprising friendship, forgiveness and acceptance. The emptying hasn’t happened yet in “Mother-in-Law,” but we sense the protagonist’s panic and need to flee from his unhappy marriage. The prose in “Empty Nest” offers us awe at nature’s renewal of life.
Authors include Jessica Barkdale, Marian Brooks, Hamish Filmer, Charles Hayes, Catherine Leggett, Rebecca Keller, and Darlene Taylor.
Waiting for O.T. (chapbook) 2016
John Sparks is a writer, historian, former preacher, and healthcare worker living at Hagerhill, Kentucky. Waiting for God, O.T. is a collection of short stories on Appalachian life, told from the perspective of a medical worker, a fictional character named Tom Harman.
The tales, be they tall or short, are a mixed bag. John Sparks says about Tom, “In our junior year, the last spring semester before Tom and I went into our clinicals, the Drama Department put on the Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot and Tom read for and got the part of Lucky. He very nearly broke the audience up, those he didn’t insult, with his rendition of Lucky thinking out loud. Tom sang and chanted the script while holding onto his ear and shaking hands with the other characters like an old-time mountain Baptist preacher. After the poison-pen letters started appearing in the town newspaper, one of the Deans threatened to expel us for that little prank. After we started our careers, Tom would pass an occasional recollection about the play to me and say that instead of waiting for Godot he was now waiting for God, O.T., using the common hospital abbreviation for overtime hours. worked.”
Family Wreath (chapbook) 2016
John Sparks is a writer, historian, former preacher, and healthcare worker living at Hagerhill, Kentucky. Family Wreath is a collection of short stories on Appalachian life, told from the perspective of a medical worker, a fictional character named Tom Harman.
The “Family Wreath” is the eastern Kentucky equivalent of the pedigree or family tree, the bloodlines of a community settled for so long by two or three families that everybody is related to everybody else, often half a dozen different ways. Everyone in a Family Wreath is involved, justified or not, in everyone else’s business, but conversely, the folds of the wreath are great places to hide things that nobody wants to talk about.
Swan River Daisy (chapbook) 2016
In this collection of fables and fairytales, Tom Sheehan reveals himself a first-class storyteller, using other-world magic to enact justice.
Tom is a 28-time Pushcart Prize nominee, is comfortable writing in several different genres and makes it a point to create each and every day. Sheehan served in the 31st Infantry, Korea 1951-52, and graduated Boston College in 1956.
Terrible Little Stars (chapbook) 2016
Jessica Wiseman Lawrence’s verse encompasses an unflinching glimpse into bleak realities while wrapped in tantalizing imagery and glimmering with nuanced hope. Her poems are “trees edged with time” – they stand proud in their stark display of the decaying aspects of life. Reverberating through her verse is a sense of utter humaneness, where she mines a difficult past in order to create an empathetic alignment with the present. These poems are gently quaking with an elegant rage. -Alison Ross, Editor Clockwise Cat
921b Elysian Fields (chapbook) 2015
Catherine Moore’s latest chapbook is epistolary, using a series of letters to tell a love story. The epistolary novel as a genre became popular in the 18th century, but in 921b Elysian Fields Avenue (RETURN TO SENDER), the genre is fresh and reimagined. Through the use of personas, a battle between chastity (Daphne) and sexual desires (Apollo) is recreated in a modern context. After attending a lecture , the author was fascinated by Fernando Pessoa’s use of heteronyms (variety of personas) in his private love letters. That fascination served as inspiration for this collection. This love story, set in the city of New Orleans, is told by way of an obsessed young man, Paul, who writes from different heteronyms (Apollo and Vern) to his desired Daphne. Catherine Moore’s writing appears in Tahoma Literary Review, Southeast Review, Cider Press Review, Southampton Review, and in various anthologies. Her work garnered the 2014 Gearhart Poetry Prize and is included in The Best Small Fictions of 2015. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Tampa. She lives in the Nashville area where she enjoys a thriving arts community and was recently awarded a MetroArts grant. Catherine currently teaches at a community college. She is tweetable @CatPoetic and is found online at http://about.me/catherinemoore.
Neo-Legends to Last a Deathtime 2015
Neo-Legends to Last a Deathtime is an eclectic collection of strange and spooky stories and poems for young adults. Beginning with an essay on paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th), editor Pepper Jones introduces readers to the weird denizens and eerie events set in the great state of Kentucky. As you travel through our state, heed the warnings in these tales. From big cities to railroad trestles, dangers lurk. Not everyone you meet is what he seems. Not every place you pass is empty of its former inhabitants. Not every resident in the two hundred year old cemeteries sojourns in final repose. Southern hospitality is very charming, but can be very deadly. Editor Pepper Jones. Authors include Michele Dutcher, Ashlea Hernandez, Jenean McBrearty, Frank Solomon, J. V. Speyer, Paul Stansbury, Jenny Sturgill, D. T. Vincent, and Molly Stone Zucknick.
Getting Old 2015
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Getting Old is a worthy goal and one that evolves over years of searching, sacrifice, and maybe even satisfaction. In this fresh and revealing collection, a range of authentic voices ponder the ravages of the body, familial duty, love, grief, and mortality. This anthology includes nuanced short stories, lyrical poetry, and humorous essays.
Contributing authors are Bruce Alford, Barry Antokoletz, Judith Arcana, Anthony Bain, Susanne Braham, Kevin Carey, Adrian Ernesto Cepeda, J. L. Cooper, Douglas K. Currier, Bill Cushing, Diana Decker, Liz Dolan, Falconhead, Adam Fisher, Alan D. Harris, Sarah Henry, Art Heifetz, Lynn Hoffman, Ann Howells, Dustin Hyman, Jennifer Lagier, Nancy Smiler Levinson, Amanda Lewan, Carol D. Marsh, Sandy McPheron, Ed Meek, Siena Milia, Carol Murphy, Wolfgang Niesielski, Lu Pierro, Niles Reddick, John G. Rodwan Jr., Ruth Sabath Rosenthal, Mark Antony Rossi, Carol Smallwood, Carol Graf Snyder, Lisa Solod, Patty Somlo, Margaret Stawowy, Keith Stewart, Meneese Wall, Clifford Wieck, Sarah Brown Weitzman, Anne Harding Woodworth, and Changming Yuan.
Bully April 2015
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Everyone has been the victim of a bully at some point. Many say it’s an unavoidable part of growing up. The way we respond to bullying — whether by fighting or fleeing, making peace or silently suffering disgrace— tends to color our self-concept long after the danger has passed. Some emerge from the threat of violence with a renewed sense of self; others painfully endure the memory whenever it forces its way back into consciousness.
This collection observes the experience of victimization. Collected here are the bullies from elementary school that still haunt our dreams at night, the tyrants who inhabit our everyday work environments, and the aggressive neighbors who inhabit our streets. Others offer characters who tackle cultural oppression by drawing a firm line between ‘us’ and ‘them.’ And a few narratives sadden us with a reminder of how easy it is to slip between tormented and tormentor.
Authors include Douglas Cole, Charles Hayes, Steve Karas, Margaret Karmazin, Jason Half-Pillow, Stephen McQuiggan, Carl Palmer, Victoria Rego, Amy Ballard Rich, Ruben Rodriguez, Steven Shakklan, Alexander Weinstein, and Matthew Wilson.
Motherlode 2014
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Every mother and father shares the same secret—parenthood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Forget the movies and television shows that encourage unrealistic expectations of the super mom, the benevolent father, and their perfect kids. In reality, all parents struggle, and all kids challenge their parents. Parents need to know they are not alone.
Motherlode is a collection of essays examining eye-opening, poignant, brutally honest accounts of parenting. Essays on bittersweet empty nests, children lost to mental illness, and broken child-parent relationships all share one strong element in common. Despite the challenges of parenthood, the writers have a deep abiding love and appreciation for their children.
Motherlode includes essays by Rebecca T. Dickinson, Amanda Etcheto, Oren Hammerquist, Treg Isaacson, Ann V. Klotz, Andrea Lani, Julia Poole, Michael Schofield, Tamara Kaye Sellman, Rita Reynolds Setness, Stephanie Vanderslice, and others.
Appalachian Voice 2014
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Appalachian Voice is a thrilling and disarmingly honest collection of ten stories, featuring a linguistic mix of southern voices. Authors draw from personal experiences, rendering an amalgamation of universal themes—desire, split families, addiction, illness, war, and death—which offers an astute, thorough, and engaging view into the lives of those singing with Appalachian inflection. Notable Appalachian authors include Laurie Jean Cannady, G. C. Compton, Dennis McHale, Deana Nantz, Shannon Ralph, Tom Sheehan, John Sparks, John Vanderslice, and Brian Wamsley.
Redacted Story 2014
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In Redacted, text flows unapologetically and tumbles unrelenting. Cats impregnate humans and aliens invade the neighborhood. Most of the stories are daring experiments by experienced authors, brazen in their lack of adoption of traditional storytelling. A priest suppressing a sea scroll, corporations stealing personal data, Y2K, 911, 3D printed kidneys, dogs on Pluto, sasquatch—all are fair game in this collection of short stories. Authors include Tantra Bensko, Pat Holland, Laura Jean, Russell Linton, Elizabeth May, Jenean McBrearty, Jim Meirose, Adam Moorad, David Perlmutter, Ryan Priest, Monique Roussel, John Vanderslice, and Brian Wamsley.
Offbeat Christmas Story 2013
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Weary of the holiday crowds? Try Offbeat Christmas Story, a collection of seasonal tales sure to make you grin! Some funny stories include ‘Xmas Traditions,’ where the narrator celebrates Christmas by turning off all the dripping faucets in skyscrapers. In ‘A Wall Street Fairy Tale,’ a genie helps the narrator torture his old girlfriend and new lover with telemarketing. ‘A Christmas Tale’ tells the story of a war veteran as he readjusts to the American milieu. Then, the search for the perfect Christmas tree finally pays off in ‘Can’t See the Tree for the Forest.’ ‘It Came Upon a Midnight Clear’ is a contemporary story structured around a folktale of a mad miner and the Christ child. In ‘The Third Day of Winter,’ a woman spends her Christmas Eve opening her arms to those who need love the most. For those that cherish the holiday spirit, we have ‘Double Blessing,’ a contemporary Nativity story told from a barn owl’s point of view, and ‘When Tomorrow Comes,’ a story about starting over after life takes a hefty downturn. Esteemed authors include Scathe meic Beorh, Rebecca T. Dickinson, Lori Gilbert, Jane Hertenstein, Reynold Junker, Allen Kopp, Lance Manion, and Michail Mulvey.
Scary Story 2013
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Summer’s fading, and there’s more than the bite of autumn in the air. Zombies are biting in ‘Last Dawn,’ and that’s just a taste of Scary Story, a collection of twisted fiction and dark fantasy that’s guaranteed to keep you turning pages and checking your back.
The undeads in ‘The Path of Dead Roses’ are more ethereal, but whether or not the posy-plucking polters have the key to helping the heroine’s troubled father is as uncertain as their very existence, and can only be discovered by readers brave enough to wander down that path.
An extra-sensual treat is detailed in ‘The Wrinkled Duplex Halfway up the Hill,’ unveiling suburban secrets and mysteries particular to those wild enough to explore. ‘Silent Night’ turns frightful when a young girl left alone on Christmas Eve improvises her own holiday cheer.
From the haunted coal mines in ‘Paradise Lost,’ to iffy experiments on a med student’s trusting wife in ‘Fire of Faith,’ there’s something for every horror fan in this anthology. Authors include Samantha Frazier Gordon, Roger Leatherwood, Katherine McMullen, Cynthia Morrison, Kate Raynes, and Anonymous.
Dysfunctional Family Story 2013
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Fiction has a unique ability to heal both readers and authors. Dysfunctional Family Story features short stories on a range of topics, including sibling rivalry, substance abuse, sexual abuse, and co-dependency. “Recall” is a scifi story of a woman with dementia sent off to die so her son can steal her money. “Chunky Monkey” is a story about an overweight man who doesn’t understand the real victim is his mother. “Carter’s Grove” tells a compassionate tale of a young man who spends an awkward summer falling in love, only to discover that his girlfriend has a secret that will tear them apart. Authors include Alex Bernstein, Claire Ibarra, Steve Rodgers, Allen Kopp, Kevin G. Summers, Rebecca Daff, Elizabeth Glass, and Angie Ballard.
Funny Story 2013
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Writing fiction can be slippery—what is funny to one person may not be amusing to another.
As Erma Bombeck said, “there is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.” Funny Story offers insightful tales that might make you laugh out loud, or just leave a smile on your face. “Helen Wheels” has a wild romp of a life and is a wild woman in the truest sense of the word. “Fort Knocks” is a Runyonesque story about two criminals and their plan to knock over Fort Knox. “The Gold Thong” helps an aspiring author with writer’s block. Grandma Skinner’s family and community help her move her bowels in “If Faith can move Mountains.” This collection of powerful creative writing includes some of the best writers in the South. Authors include Casey Clabough, G. C. Compton, Shirley Eaves, James Fischer, Elizabeth Glass, Nick Johnson, Allen Kopp, Lisa McCormack, Martin Hill Ortiz, Chelsea Peloquin, Mary Popham, and John Sparks.
Urban Fantasy 2013
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Urban Fantasy is a collection of stories with supernatural beings and events exploring contemporary themes. In “The Daughters,” a southern gothic tale jumps through time so a girl can uncover a dark secret that implicates her in a long-forgotten family murder. “In an Instant” creates a post apocalyptic world where crazed cowboys rule Oklahoma City after the devastation of the New Flu. An officer in “Deadland Patrol” investigates a racing accident in the engineered future of Earth where autos are illegal. In “The Bull Riding Witch” a female soul from another realm is placed inside the body of a rodeo rider. Authors include Brian Wamsley, Rebecca Daff, Ed Hamilton, Jamie Marchant, John Biggs, Marcelle Thiébaux, and Tera Fulbright.
Soldier Story 2013
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Leaders, snipers, and foot soldiers appear in wars as diverse as Gettysburg, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. Some of them fight for faith, others for revenge. Others just hope to survive and grow old while suppressing bitter memories. This collection of short stories is stronger for its ugly authenticity, and blessed by the extraordinary talents of its authors. Writers include Rejena Carmichael, Nick Johnson, Dustin Jones, Fred Skolnik, Oren Hammerquist, Jenean McBrearty, Michail Mulvey, David Perlmutter, Roger Pincus, Terry Sanville, Tom Sheehan, John Sparks, Wayne Via, and Don Vogel.
Poetic Story 2013
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A collection of poetic stories from Mary Popham, Cecile Dixon, Brian Tucker, Ed Hamilton, G. C. Compton, Lois Barr, John Sparks, Danny P. Barbare, J. W. Banner, Eliot Parker, K. Bruce Florence, Heather Bell Adams, Casey Clabough, Gay Partington Terry, Sean L. Corbin, Elizabeth Glass, Kristi Carter, Sandy Hiortdahl, Carroll Grossman, and Kristy Robinson Horine.
Peripheral Sex Story 2013
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These stories beat around the bush. With an Appalachian flavor they capture tangential urges and the outer boundaries of sex, sometimes without actually having any. Impulse, dark humor, sensuality, uncertain choices and deluded behavior take their rightful place as full partners in human sexual pursuits. Esteemed authors include Isaac Boone Davis, Nancy Gall-Clayton, Rachael Hamm, James Houp, James Lockwood, Tom Miller, Tom Sheehan, John Sparks, Brian Wamsley, and Anonymous.
Appalachian Story 2013
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Nineteen remarkable stories written by select Appalachian authors: Timothy B. Dodd, Kristin Matly Dennis, Elizabeth Glass, Tom Sheehan, Meghan Kennedy, G. C. Compton, John Lavelle, Heather Adams, Cecile Dixon, Annie-Rose Fondaw, Casey Clabough, Jenean McBrearty, Keith Stewart, Bill Vernon, Kent Tankersley, Nancy Gall-Clayton, Daphene Kirk Goble, and Thaddeus Rutkowski.
Kentucky Flash Story 2012
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What follows is a promise and a warning – flash fiction proves that less is sometimes more. It’s no coincidence that the very short stories called flash fiction are popular with those who grab a little reading time on their e-readers or cell phones. Think of it as a specialized form of the short story, a complete story with such a low word count that a reader can finish it in one sitting. Enjoy over thirty compelling flash fiction stories. For example, “Bleed to Love Her” focuses on life in a hippie commune. “Bull-headed” features a nineteenth century father-son drama on a farm near Shelbyville. In “Yellow Light,” a close escape gives readers chills. “Whitehaven” is the story of a haunted mansion in Paducah. The “Magician of the Mountains” tells the story of a woman who meets a mysterious stranger. Savor this contemporary anthology from individuals touched by the rolling hills and quirky characters of Kentucky. Includes the following authors: Erik Svehaug, Kristen Thompson, Jesse Lee Wooton, Laura Wooffitt, Sandi Keaton-Wilson, Kristen Thompson, Laura Wooffitt, Brian Tucker, Joseph Mau, Karen Beatty, Leesa Cross-Smith, Phil Richardson, Libby Falk Jones, Pat Holland, Rebecca DeSensi Sivori, Lois Barr, Eliot Parker, Dixie D Rumsey, Jane Hertenstein, Cecile Dixon, Ron Day, D James, and Tom Miller. Prologue by Jason Gurley. Edited by Ashley Parker Owens.
Kentucky Her Story 2012
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Kentucky Her Story is a diverse collection of short stories. Beans and beatings don’t seem to have much in common, but sometimes both can fool you as we discover in this story Summer Songs. In Breathe Deep, Anna learns how to conquer her fears and be an independent spirit while Spelunking. Cream of Something Else captures the reflections of a small-town, good-intentioned hair stylist who is floundering silently as she struggles to be a responsible mother and keep her twin teenage daughters from becoming bitter about men. In Rice Pudding, Emily disobeys her mother and walks fourteen blocks to visit a school friend, and she has no idea what she will see or how it will frighten her. Recovering from death of a loved one is the theme in Early Summer Rain and Piecing Together. Sing An Old Song is about an imaginary conversation with a deceased grandmother. Marlboros, the King, and 8 O’clock Bean was inspired by two women the author passed on the way to work each morning. Untitled concerns the juxtaposition of the idiotic with the banal or the painful. During World War II, the women of Middleton, Kentucky, adopted “We Can Do It” as their slogan and their philosophy as they worked hard canning to support the U.S. troops. Includes the following authors: K. Bruce Florence, Joseph Mau, Patricia Holland, Lindsey Frantz, Tom Miller, Cecile Dixon, Gracie Lynne, Elaine Polencia, Marietta Ball, and Jesse Wooton.
KY Story 