Wayne stands in line at the service desk of his local box store. He bounces from heel to toe as he waits and fidgets with his mask, then remembers he shouldn’t touch it and rests his hand at his side. The lone woman working the service desk chomps gum (perhaps thinking her mask hides it?) … Continue reading Re-Entry
Author: Katie Baker
Book Review: Christmas Holiday
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 by W. Somerset Maugham Recommend to lovers of literary classics and more cerebral fiction. Reading this story felt rather like comfort food. Not because of the subject matter. The story had very little to do with Christmas. But because it's just so pleasing to fall into the written arms of someone who knows what … Continue reading Book Review: Christmas Holiday
The First Rule of Writers
Luther stands in the tiny entryway of his apartment and pats down his pockets to make sure he has his keys. Behind him, the last rosy glow of sunset slips off his window ledge. He’s going to be late. He snatches up the bulky portfolio that holds his life’s work— all the scribbles and scratches, … Continue reading The First Rule of Writers
My Own Emptiness
A cold November day floats flakes of flurries on its cutting breeze. A wide table in a sun-bright room is stacked with papers at its head. We file in, five of us: the closing agent, the officer from the bank, my real estate agent, and the buyer’s agent. My attorney flicks through the pages waiting … Continue reading My Own Emptiness
Two Sides of a Coin
Wishes die slowly, fighting with every kick and punch and gasp. But wishes– dreams– are fanciful things made most of midnight talks and music full of empty drums and open spaces. Dreams are born of a lonely heart, twenty-two years too long, and hope like a prune. Loneliness is the twin to dreams. It is … Continue reading Two Sides of a Coin
Your Prose Christmas Post
Merry Christmas! This has been a busy couple of weeks for me what with my regular job, the holiday, and trying to keep pace working on the blog and on all my non-blog writing as well. Whew! It's been like running a race... but an enjoyable race even so. I wanted to take my normal … Continue reading Your Prose Christmas Post
Applause
All of a sudden, the gray skies open and lose their payload. Sheets of rain cascade past my windows and strum amidst the pebbles in my driveway. Their chorus floats back to me faintly through the closed window– a throaty song rather like a wide arena filled with applause. But who is it the rain … Continue reading Applause
They Break so Easily
I keep expecting things to shatter. I pick up my French press, the dishwater drips, suds slip down its sides. I think: the noise this thing will make if I drop it… I can almost feel the shards bounce around my toes, crystal and sharp, winking in the light. I can hear the smash, the … Continue reading They Break so Easily
Review: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
🌟🌟🌟 By Douglas Adams Recommend to Sci-fi lovers I don't know if I'm the best person review this book. I'm not usually a huge Sci-fi fan. I get bogged down in the made up names and get distracted by technology details that date the work. It was no different with this book. The story follows … Continue reading Review: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Impostor Syndrome
I sit at my computer biting my nails. It's a bad habit I fall into when I'm highly anxious. I scroll through the screen reading submission guidelines and articles in Literary Journals and magazines. What is it about reading other people's work that makes one feel inadequate? I stare at the glossy photos of the … Continue reading Impostor Syndrome
Seeking Prose 