Faith

‘I am invincible!’ cried the King.

The Lord slept in His Heaven. His Gatekeeper stood guard at the gates of His abode and kept a close watch. Nothing should interrupt his master’s rest. A beautiful pigeon, snow-white and pure, fluttered onto the bough of a nearby tree and cooed. The Gatekeeper soundlessly shooed it away. A spider, eight spindly legs splayed, crawled up the Gatekeeper’s leg and began to weave a web. The Gatekeeper did not brush it off. A scorpion skittered across the dry ground, sensed his toe and struck with its venomous stinger. But not a whimper of pain escaped the Gatekeeper’s...

Read the full story in the December 2015 issue of Hypnos

or

Request to read the original story via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

2100 words
Fantasy
US publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"An ambitious almost epic piece that puts me in mind of Paradise Lost with the Godly motif... The underlying story is engrossing and interesting with definite entertainment."

Elsa

Senior Poetry Editor

Page & Spine

"Tales of wonder, especially those involving religious or metaphysical questions, intrigue us, and we appreciated your story's unique blend of folklore and almost Biblical language. The story is sprinkled with marvelous details and "Easter eggs" that further engage and delight the reader---the Gatekeeper's remarkable request ("Then grant me this...") is a favorite. Congratulations on crafting such a memorable work."

Kristen Marie

Editor

Hypnos

"This is a very good piece... I enjoyed reading it"

RMC

Editor

Phobos

"The idea behind 'Faith' is a very interesting one, and there are moments when the tale comes across as unique..."

Anonymous

Manuscript Reader

Bards & Sages Quarterly

"It is a good story"

Julie Ann Dawson

Editor

Bards & Sages Quarterly

"I found the story original"

Shalene

Associate Editor

Shimmer Magazine

"Your folktale style of narration was done well"

Lillian

Editor

Ideomancer

"Your writing is strong"

Courtney Pondelick

Assistant Submissions Editor

Dark Discoveries

"I like much of this... It's kind of bold and deals with topics that interest me. I do especially like the riddle-solution ending to this tale and the allegorical feel of the prince story."

Stephen Ramey

Editor

Parsec Ink

"I enjoyed the story"

Nick L.

Editor

Bastion Science Fiction Magazine

"This was an interesting story"

Rose Lemberg

Editor

Stone Bird Press

"You've got a strong opening line"

Katrina S. Forest

Manuscript Reader

Urban Fantasy Magazine

Faith

‘I am invincible!’ cried the King.

The Lord slept in His Heaven. His Gatekeeper stood guard at the gates of His abode and kept a close watch. Nothing should interrupt his master’s rest. A beautiful pigeon, snow-white and pure, fluttered onto the bough of a nearby tree and cooed. The Gatekeeper soundlessly shooed it away. A spider, eight spindly legs splayed, crawled up the Gatekeeper’s leg and began to weave a web. The Gatekeeper did not brush it off. A scorpion skittered across the dry ground, sensed his toe and struck with its venomous stinger. But not a whimper of pain escaped the Gatekeeper’s...

Read the full story in the April 2015 issue of Page & Spine

or

Request to read the original story via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

2100 words
Fantasy
US publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"An ambitious almost epic piece that puts me in mind of Paradise Lost with the Godly motif... The underlying story is engrossing and interesting with definite entertainment."

Elsa

Senior Poetry Editor

Page & Spine

"Tales of wonder, especially those involving religious or metaphysical questions, intrigue us, and we appreciated your story's unique blend of folklore and almost Biblical language. The story is sprinkled with marvelous details and "Easter eggs" that further engage and delight the reader---the Gatekeeper's remarkable request ("Then grant me this...") is a favorite. Congratulations on crafting such a memorable work."

Kristen Marie

Editor

Hypnos

"This is a very good piece... I enjoyed reading it"

RMC

Editor

Phobos

"The idea behind 'Faith' is a very interesting one, and there are moments when the tale comes across as unique..."

Anonymous

Manuscript Reader

Bards & Sages Quarterly

"It is a good story"

Julie Ann Dawson

Editor

Bards & Sages Quarterly

"I found the story original"

Shalene

Associate Editor

Shimmer Magazine

"Your folktale style of narration was done well"

Lillian

Editor

Ideomancer

"Your writing is strong"

Courtney Pondelick

Assistant Submissions Editor

Dark Discoveries

"I like much of this... It's kind of bold and deals with topics that interest me. I do especially like the riddle-solution ending to this tale and the allegorical feel of the prince story."

Stephen Ramey

Editor

Parsec Ink

"I enjoyed the story"

Nick L.

Editor

Bastion Science Fiction Magazine

"This was an interesting story"

Rose Lemberg

Editor

Stone Bird Press

"You've got a strong opening line"

Katrina S. Forest

Manuscript Reader

Urban Fantasy Magazine

Sky's the limit

The aeroplane takes off like an arrow towards an unknown destination. The wind lifts the plane’s wings giving them the required thrust to gain altitude rapidly. Twin headlights cleave a path through the darkness as the dull roar of its engines carries clearly on the cold night air.

Five pairs of eyes are turned up towards it, watching the lights steadily climb higher. The dull eyes of a prostitute, lying motionless as a paying customer grimly goes to work on her to get his money’s worth in the dingy room of a brothel in a fashionable section of the city, see an unattainable escape to another life...

Read the full story in the February 2014 issue of Writing Tomorrow

or

Request to read the original story via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

4025 words
Drama
US publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"I enjoyed reading this piece"

Valerie Polichar

Editor

Grasslimb

"We would be delighted to use your story."

Miranda Kopp-Filek

Editor

Writing Tomorrow Magazine

"I do enjoy reading your stories"

Ron Gaskill

Editor

Jerseyworks

"I can tell that the author has a good narrative sense and writes a lively story. Might I suggest that you rewrite this piece as a screenplay?  It seems a natural, due to your iconic presentation."

Michael Latza

Editor

Willow Review

"I enjoyed your story, sad though it is."

Sandra Costich

Fiction Editor

American Scholar

"Thank you for your intriguing piece. I have read your work previously and I must tell you that I always read it from beginning to end because you write so very well, and your subject matter, your protagonists too, are consistently much more than the ordinary. I do like this piece."

Gabrielle DePlancher

Fiction Editor

Total Quality Reading

The confession

When the series of bomb blasts rocked the railways that week, Suresh remembered the three men. Their expressions, their gestures, their words suddenly took on a different meaning. Hadn’t he curiously run into them again and again at different stations? Didn’t they always seem agitated, as though something they were planning had gone wrong? Or perhaps, because something was about to begin.

Conscientiously doing his duty, old Suresh was bent almost double as he stumbled along the platform, mechanically stroking his threadbare broom in front of him. He had a long peppery beard and wild...

Read the full story in the December 2012 issue of Writing Tomorrow

or

Request to read the original story via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

3060 words
Fiction
US publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"Thanks so much for... such a wonderful, heart-wrenching story. I'd love to run The Confession for December. Fantastic ending! I think your new ending is absolutely brilliant...one of your strengths is describing the scene, and you did it fantastically. I hope you think so too. I love the "bereft of his beloved broom." Really sticks with us and brings us back to that moment we first met Suresh. ...This will be a great piece for you to add to your online/print collection. You've got a great, well-crafted story here! It's been a privilege to work on your piece."

Miranda Kopp-Filek

Editor

Writing Tomorrow

"Our editors enjoyed your piece; we feel it demonstrates considerable merit and skill."

Michelle Chitts

Editorial Intern

Griffith Review

"Some good images here"

Chris Heavener

Editor

Annalemma

"It's a distressing story told well"

Sandra Costich

Editor

American Scholar

"You have a knack for description."

Michael Latza

Editor

Willow Review

"You write with clarity, confidence, and a style that draws a reader into the unfolding tale wanting more of what you have to deliver. As soon as Suresh is introduced, the magic begins. (It) is a good story."

Gabrielle DePlancher

Editor

Total Quality Reading

To right a wrong

I am going to die before the night is out.

I know it. I can feel it. There is a strange stillness in the air that heralds the end of life for me. Leaves rustle without wind. Wings of birds flutter ominously as they nestle amongst each other in sleep. A dog howls at the moon, it seems to me like it is baying for the dead. And I have just broken the vow.

In the remotest interiors of India, there exists an unremarkable village. It is not very large, is near neither the highway nor the sea, has neither natural scenic beauty nor historical importance, no popular film star has made a home in it, nor is it the haunt...

Read the full story in the March 2012 issue of Big Pulp

or

Request to read the original story via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

3500 words
Drama
US publication

***********************

Words from the Wise

"I think your story is excellently written. I enjoyed the details of life in a remote Indian village setting, and think you have done a great job of introducing this village and its people."

David Peters

Editor

Fried Fiction

"The opening line is quite good, portending the narrator's imminent demise. And the trailing paragraph, what in the old journalism game we call 'the bridge' is fantastic, too. It is, judging from the work's opening, a good night to die."

Theodore Q. Rorschalk

Editor

Total Quality Reading

"It has an original plot line. I love the setting too, and all the great cultural details you include. You're a very talented writer with good instincts for intriguing stories."

Paula Jolin

Manuscript Reader

The Sun

"I liked a lot about this story. The setting was spot on and authentic. The plot was unique; I've never seen anything like it. The piece had entertainment value and depth, which it's often hard to find both in a story."

A. Leonard Lucas

Fiction Editor

Fender Stitch

"We think that you have a very unique voice. The beginning paragraph is pretty much perfect. We were immediately drawn in"

Anonymous

Editor

Black Fox Literary Review

"I loved the opening few paragraphs... Amusing story... and the setting/atmosphere at the Indian village is well done."

Anonymous

Manuscript Reader

Antigonish Review

"We like your writing."

Ann Rushton & Kelly Shriver

Editors

Bound Off

"We enjoyed reading it"

Paul Barrett

Managing Editor

Mary Magazine

"We enjoyed reading it"

Bill Olver

Editor

Big Pulp