Post-pandemic family dinners have become dangerous and shaky ground. Allison feels the anxiety coat her bowels before she even gets out of bed. Thanksgiving used to be her favorite, but now with multiple families and multiple worldviews and every bit of life a hot-button issue, she just wants to pull the covers over her head. … Continue reading When Moms Explode
Author: Katie Baker
The Big Question
"Have you two set a date yet?" the man asks. Mary glances at Jack. Jack's face flushes around the edges; his smile grows sheepish. They both look at their interrogator and blush. "Oh, you know," Mary says. "Maybe one of these days..." © 2021 Katie Baker
Book Review: The Searcher by Tana French
🌟🌟🌟🌟 Recommend to mystery lovers who enjoy some flesh on their characters I always enjoy reading Tana French novels. She has a way of making her characters and settings really come alive. This story is no different. The story follows a retired (early) Chicago police officer who moves to Ireland to escape a bad working … Continue reading Book Review: The Searcher by Tana French
Maybe It’s Strange
Maybe it’s strange, but I really don’t mind the darker mornings in the fall. There’s something cozy about the dark pressed up against my window panes, and the way it makes the light inside my house seem more golden. I enjoy the extended mornings because in the summer, I’m usually awake as soon as the … Continue reading Maybe It’s Strange
Camp Unity’s Fence
Gordy-- the cranky old caretaker-- squints at the moss-covered, rickety fence that circles Camp Unity. “Eyesore,” he says, snuffing through one nostril. Three dirt-smudged and wild-haired kids stand beside him in various attitudes of attention. The tallest boy with the tamest hair studies the fence with great attention. Its boards are gray and tall-- much … Continue reading Camp Unity’s Fence
No Greater Sin Than This
"Isn't that the wrong slur to use?" Amy asks nonchalantly from behind the kitchen sink, water gushing from the faucet. "What?" Shocked--bewildered!-- Ben looks up to see if he heard right... as if one could SEE what they were supposed to HEAR. "That's not even the right way to use that slur," she says. And … Continue reading No Greater Sin Than This
Book Review: Caught Dead Handed by Carol Perry
Recommend to Cozy Mystery Lovers Everywhere 🌟🌟🌟 I give the story three stars for general readability, the quickness of the story movement, and for how aptly the writing embodies its genre. The story follows an out of work TV personality who, while on a job interview, finds the local TV station psychic dead and subsequently … Continue reading Book Review: Caught Dead Handed by Carol Perry
The Clouds that Muck Up Our Hearts
When the rain finally breaks and the autumn sun returns, my heart feels a little lighter. It's comforting to watch the leaves sparkle in the wind and to remember there is more to life than just gray and dreary and dreadful things. Sometimes we need the spears of sunshine to pierce through the clouds that … Continue reading The Clouds that Muck Up Our Hearts
The Long Ride Home
The car wizzes to a stop alongside the road right next to an old building that looks like a railroad station. There is no railroad track in sight, though. The woods stand full-chested and thick against the building’s rear, and the road dips down into a woody hollow and then up again over the crest … Continue reading The Long Ride Home
Apocalypse Over
They hobble toward me through the early morning fog. Dawn has not yet broken, and the sky above the fog is slate gray and steely. Porch lights and street lights are pinpricks of blue, star-shaped sparkles high above the street. But the figures coming toward me are huddled and shapeless. Their toes seem to find … Continue reading Apocalypse Over
Seeking Prose 