I spent fifteen years celebrating Christmas in share-houses around Brisbane, Australia. As a poor student, I rented rundown Queenslanders with two, three or four friends, so I could still afford food after rent and bills. I rode my bicycle to uni, work or the grocery shop
Stories and Poems
The Last Road Trip by Megan Denese Mealor
Megan Denese Mealor echoes and erases in her native land of Jacksonville, Florida. A survivor of bipolar disorder, she incorporates her kaleidoscopic emotions and manic fire into her writing. Her poetry and short stories have been published worldwide, most recently in Spillwords, Ginosko Literary Journal, and The Stray Branch.
Driving the Loop by J.M. McNeely-Kirwan
Manny drove through the night on a narrow highway that curved constantly to the right, threading its way through a forest. The trees hung low over the tarmac like they wanted to take back every square inch.
Secrets Beneath His Chest by Miss Verse
Miss Verse is a professional dancer, artists and poet. You can read more of her work on Twitter at @MissVerse_
Fly Away by Esha Jaiswal
A soul made of words nestling in a mortal body – Esha and her incandescent love for poems is ancient and sacrosanct. She has crocheted her irenic words into fine fabric of love, cosmos, power of SHE and mirabilia. Come and celebrate poetry through her words and behold them bloom in sequestered splendour
Panic Attack 2 by Romana Capek
Gray morning. The clouds did not lift as the forecast had predicted. I spent a sleepless night because I drank a cup of a strong black tea earlier in the evening. I look at my watch on the nightstand; it shows nine o’clock. I am cold and trying to get warm under a lightweight summer blanket.
The Hurt that Binds by Sarahmour
Sarahmour is the pen name of a whimsical soul who has a love affair with words. In her writing you can expect to find everything from love, loss, romance, and the darker shades of passion and desire.
Suspenseful Eyes by adivayeatts
You can read more by adivayeatts at her Twitter: @adivayeatts
Shame by Anne Lost
Anne is the pen name of a lost poet. She loves working out with weights and words. She writes about sexy corsets, darkness, and everything in between
Inanimate Objects by Louis Gallo
Four volumes of Louis Gallo’s poetry, Archaeology, Scherzo Furiant, Crash and Clearing the Attic, are now available. Why is there Something Rather than Nothing? and Leeway & Advent will be published soon. His work appears in Best Short Fiction 2020. A novella, “The Art Deco Lung,” will soon be published in Storylandia.
January by Sylvia Ashby
Sylvia Ashby published a lot of poetry (CONSTELLATIONS, MEZZO CAMMIN, EARTH’S DAUGHTERS, etc.). Then she returned to her first love–theatre, acting and writing.
Journey Towards the Star by Herb Shippey
Herb Shippey is retired from full-time teaching at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, GA, but still teaches American Literature and freshman writing part-time. His book Flying with the Spooks: Memoir of a Navy Linguist
Fruit-Flavored Marshmallows by David Lohrey
David Lohrey is from Memphis. He graduated from UC, Berkeley. His poems can be found in EWR, Terror House, Spillwords, and Dreich Magazine. His fiction appears in Eclectica, Storgy, and Literally Stories. David’s first collection of poetry,
Life With You by Kristina Pudlewski
It was December 23rd, only two days before Christmas. Children play outside in the snow and families rush into stores to get last minute items for their holiday gatherings. But I am in the hospital with you, Max, my love.
Hobo Christmas Remembered
Old toothless queen with rheumy eyes,
I’m seeing you again across a smoky fire,