I wish sometimes I could just live in a book and never come up for air. I think of all the stolen moments of my childhood, holed up in my bedroom diving into worlds of espionage, 18th century Britain-- even worlds made up from myth, legend, and hearty imagination. I remember sunny afternoons on a … Continue reading Never Come Up For Air
Author: Katie Baker
Nighttime Terrors
Darla noticed him watching her while she was at the gas pump. Beneath the flaring blue lights of the overhang, she caught his reflection in the back window of her car as he walked behind her. Black eyes. Hat low across his forehead. He darted a look at her as he passed between the pumps. … Continue reading Nighttime Terrors
The Last Warm Night
We walk up through the neighborhood houses on the last warm October night. The breeze tugs at the fallen leaves lying in the gutters, and they skitter along behind us. They sound like the pitter-patter of a thousand invisible feet stalking us from the shadows. I swing my boyfriend's hand back and forth. We peer … Continue reading The Last Warm Night
Author’s Note: Spooky Season
Hello Prose Lovers! 🥰 As I write, it is a rainy and gray, though unseasonably warm, morning here at my house. I've already been for my run and have watched the dark clouds roll in over the hilltops, soft rumbles of thunder giving ominous hints as to their intent. It is the kind of morning … Continue reading Author’s Note: Spooky Season
New Religion
Are we just the sum of everything we’ve ever said? Does this include the angry things? The drunken confessions. Distracted outbursts. And misery fueled rants, colored by depression, pain, or anxiety. If everything we’ve ever said is sitting in the docket, which of us would receive acquittal from our judges? If the real you or … Continue reading New Religion
Solitary Water
I started this story two years ago, just before the pandemic hit. It wasn't something I was in love with so I let it sit unfinished for a while. I've added an ending and got around a rough draft to share with all of you Prose Lovers. Enjoy! It is cold here. In the winter, … Continue reading Solitary Water
Writing is Hard Work
The words feel slippery today, as if they're a pat of butter sliding across a sizzling skillet. Take a fork and stab them, but they'll slide on past. The words seem to dissolve, leaving nothing more than an iridescent residue on my page--nothing I can build with. Nothing than even resembles a good idea. I … Continue reading Writing is Hard Work
October Memory
The October colors have come to full display. Russet, ochre, lime, and amber. Misty morning fog hangs above the hills and sprinkles the windshield opaque, like a stained glass window, painted by nature, colored by time. Speeding through the fog and rain. Empty road. Full horizon, hilltops multipling to the edge of sight. A half … Continue reading October Memory
Saddlebags and Zip Ties
I reach down to open the saddlebag on my boyfriend's Harley, and realize, once the top springs free, that the back half of the bag is no longer attached to the bike. "Oh. Uh-oh," I say, wiggling the hard bag up and down. "The back bolt is gone on this saddlebag." "Seriously?!" My boyfriend pops … Continue reading Saddlebags and Zip Ties
Runner’s High
Up before the sun. Outside my windows, streetlights shower diffused light down through fog and mist that stalk white beneath the trees. The street is an alternating pattern of shadow and light. I stand inside my neon-lit bathroom, half-awake now as I braid my hair, pop contacts into my eyes, and yawn. Stumbling through my … Continue reading Runner’s High
Seeking Prose 