Frank Sinatra’s voice coats the snowy night as I contemplate turning off the radio. “Not going to dance?” you ask, not smiling, because I can’t remember anymore how your lips eased into your lopsided smile. I’ll blink and you’ll disappear, I know. But before that, you are here, aren’t you? Chelsea Allen is in love with people and things past, mostly. Her work can be found at msha.ke/lakehouseporch/#links. Follow Chelsea on Twitter at @ChelseaAllen03 ..read more

He guided her fragile, bone-thin hands to the strings. Helped her pluck a tune over the beeping monitors. Hummed her their lullaby. “You’ll have to teach me properly, love. Later.” She whispered the impossibility, leaning into him, comforting. The tune faltered, his voice broke, hands stilled. She smelled of forget-me-nots. Celine Grace is a young writer obsessed with the mystery of ideas and is learning how to use marks on a page to tell them ..read more

EDITOR: I just discovered that I hadn’t selected/announced a Story of the Month for a few months in a row, somehow! Apologies for the mistake and the very late selections! The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month. The finalists for March were: The Keen Gardener by Deborah Tapper We Have Always Played With the Faceless Doll by Joel O’Flaherty Widowhood @ 72 by Shoshauna Shy The Monument by Ron Scully Sólarkaffi by Râna Campbell Happily Ever After by Susan Gale Wickes The winner of the March 2024 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is ..read more

The boy fashioned a tiny bird with arched wings. Twists and swirls in the glass resembled feathers. He placed the bird in his father’s calloused hands. The old man, who was blind, held the bird without looking. He pressed two fingers to the glass, as though feeling for a pulse. Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at  ..read more

To remember new words every week is a small task for any word geek, but as I get older my bloodstream gets colder, my brain starts to leak and words start to sound Greek. With no paddle to shoulder, my thinking will molder as I drift downstream in this creek. Ken Gosse usually writes whimsical, rhymed verse. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, later in Pure Slush, Home Planet News, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Spillwords, and many others. Raised in Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife live in Mesa, AZ, with rescue dogs and cats ..read more

EDITOR: I just discovered that I hadn’t selected/announced a Story of the Month for a few months in a row, somehow! Apologies for the mistake and the very late selections! The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month. The finalists for February were: Time is No Thief by Chelsea Utecht Early Spring by Kai Wang Out with the Old, In with the New by Carol Tymann A Puddle on the Bathroom Floor by Nico Calvanico The winner of the February 2024 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is… Out with the Old, In with the New ..read more

When I returned with my tools, I noticed the posting: “Caution. Any attempt by the user to modify or tamper with this world is a breach of the Terms and Conditions. Improper alterations can cause catastrophic destruction. Violators will pay deeply and forever; repeat offenders will be shown no mercy.” Stephen Tilden tinkers responsibly in Brooklyn. Editor: Stephen wrote this story as a follow-up to New Stars ..read more

It wasn’t how you bossed and owned the wizard pinball machine, smashing my high score in the process. It wasn’t your jubilant peck afterward, before Becky and Steph enveloped you. It was your sassy walk-off through the clang of the arcade, was the moment I knew I’d marry you. Raymond Sloan lives and writes in County Down, Ireland. He has previously been published in Blink-Ink, 101 Words, Nanoism, Potato Soup Journal, and 50-Word Stories ..read more

EDITOR: I just discovered that I hadn’t selected/announced a Story of the Month for a few months in a row, somehow! Apologies for the mistake and the very late selections! The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month. The finalists for January were: Toys by Tim Boiteau Reverie by Yash Seyedbagheri The Trip of a Lifetime by Giulietta Nardone Emergency Contact by Addison Hammond A Ring and a Letter by Deborah Tapper The winner of the January 2024 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is… Emergency Contact ..read more

The Demolition Pending sign went up only days after the old lady died. The bulldozer was already waiting nearby. That night I snipped the sunset and dusk-hued hyacinths blooming in her yard. She would have wanted that. I thought they would smell like Spring but they were tainted by death. Sherri Bale loves using the fewest words possible to tell a good story. So why the heck has she just drafted a novel that stands at 387 pages ..read more