Richard Barager: This story was inspired by the most unusual patient I ever had, a man who, when public cross-dressing was rare, came to my office wearing a dress and a bra.

A doctor’s religious doubt is shaken by a transplant patient’s eerie knowledge of his organ donor’s most intimate secret.

Continue ReadingRichard Barager: This story was inspired by the most unusual patient I ever had, a man who, when public cross-dressing was rare, came to my office wearing a dress and a bra.

Matt Ingwalson on the way genre fiction (in this case, horror) lets us examine relationships in a very immediate + personal way

Anyone who’s had a baby knows that the first year is terrifying. A child represents love and grace and hope. But never again will you have privacy, financial security, or a moment of rest.

Continue ReadingMatt Ingwalson on the way genre fiction (in this case, horror) lets us examine relationships in a very immediate + personal way

Steve Wiley on “The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan”

When we first encounter Richard K. Lyons, he is a man who has long forgotten the one night, when he was still a boy called Rich, when an exceptional girl by the name of Francesca invited him aboard a secret L train for an adventure though the mythical East Side of the city.

Continue ReadingSteve Wiley on “The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan”

Randal Eldon Greene: What motivates me is my love of books. I just love well-written stories. And I want to add to that.

A linguist, a lake monster, and the looming shadow of death—in a house full of hidden passageways, a wife and mother is diagnosed with cancer.

Continue ReadingRandal Eldon Greene: What motivates me is my love of books. I just love well-written stories. And I want to add to that.

Walter Harp: I wrote the first pages when I was recovering from my bone marrow transplant; at the time I was looking for distractions

INTO THE FUNHOUSE takes you on a hair-raising, unpredictable front seat ride through a scary and sobering yet heartfelt and funny account of a father and his family fighting a menacing, recurrent leukemia while trying to live a ‘normal life’.

Continue ReadingWalter Harp: I wrote the first pages when I was recovering from my bone marrow transplant; at the time I was looking for distractions