Monday, January 25, 2021

"The Muse" - short story

“Have you told your wife about us?”

“My wife? Why do I have to tell her anything?”

“She probably suspects that you’re cheating on her.”

“I’m not cheating!”

“A married man and a much younger woman meeting for coffee every evening? Some people would consider that cheating.”

“We’re not doing anything we’re not supposed to be doing. We’re just having fun.”

“You’re not being honest with her. She assumes you’re coming to this coffee shop after work with the intention of writing, when you’re actually spending time with me. If you haven’t told your wife about us, you’re cheating.”

“My wife trusts me. Totally. After you leave, I’ll start writing.”

Read the rest of the story on CommuterLit.com.

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash.

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

What’s better than having your short story published online?


A package was delivered to my home yesterday. I quickly opened the DHL envelope and pulled out the thick blue magazine. The December edition of Adelaide Literary Magazine. My story “Mother and Daughter” is on page 105.

“Mother and Daughter” was published online last month and you can read it here. Three other short stories I wrote were also posted online during the month of December, for a total of six during 2020. It is always exciting to have your writing recognized, to see your name appear online, and to be able to share your writing with others. But there is definitely something to be said for having your story published in print, and to actually hold the magazine in your hands.

Adelaide Literary Magazine is an independent monthly literary magazine based in New York and Lisbon. The December edition of the magazine, including my story, can be purchased on Amazon.

Another story of mine will also appear in print. “Rakiya,” published online by Vagabond, Bulgaria's first and only high-end English monthly magazine, will be included in its print edition as well.

And finally, I just received notification that another story of mine will be published online. This is my first acceptance of 2021, with hopes that there will be many more to follow. Details of that story will be provided very soon.

Short stories:

The Cave

The Volcano

The Baker

Mother and Daughter

The Bear

Rakiya 


Tuesday, January 12, 2021

"Mother and Daughter" - short story

There was no need for words. Lyuba urged her daughter forward, indicating with a nod which way the young girl should go. Which person to approach. Not the elderly man smoking a thin cigarette or the gawky teenager, his head weighed down by enormous headphones. Not the fashionably dressed woman talking on her phone or the smiling couple strolling with a baby carriage. No, none of those would do. When her daughter hesitated, Lyuba prodded her in the ribs, pushing her toward the heavyset matron laden down with shopping bags.

They had been following the woman for several minutes as she made her way through a market buzzing with early morning activity. Crowds at the vegetable stalls, shoppers searching for the biggest potatoes, the ripest tomatoes, the plumpest squash. Merchants standing proudly behind pungent piles of onions and green mountains of cucumbers. Voices raised as they chanted the praises of their merchandise. Customers demanding the finest produce at the cheapest price. The stocky woman filled her bags and prepared to head for home.

“Get out of my way!” she snapped after the girl bumped into her. She bent down, cursing as she gathered the apples that had spilled onto the pavement. “Damn gypsies!”

As Lyuba hurried to the far side of the market with her daughter in tow, she laughed to herself. Just as she planned, that woman was more concerned with organizing her bags than with checking her purse.

Read the rest of the story on Adelaide Literary Magazine.

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

"Rakiya" - short story

Every spring, a competition is staged in the village to determine the best homemade rakiya in the region.

Comparisons of
rakiya and other spirits are nothing new in Bulgaria – one such competition takes place annually in Sofia – but those contests consider alcoholic drinks mass-produced by established wineries and corporations. The event in the village, on the other hand, is open to residents of the area who make rakiya in their bathrooms, garages, and cellars. This competition attracts little fanfare and winning is solely a matter of local pride.

"Nazdrave!"

"To your health!" Vasil replies, lifting his shot glass to toast his cousin. He stares into Georgi's dark eyes for several seconds and says to him, "Thank you for driving down from Plovdiv."

"You thought I wouldn't come?" Georgi takes down his drink in a single gulp. "I wouldn't miss this for the world. After all, you will be the winner tomorrow. And this is what is going to win," he says, pointing to the clear glass bottle on the table.

"Another toast?"

"Another! We're just getting started!" Georgi shakes ash off his cigarette and hands his glass to Vasil for a refill.

Read the rest of this story on Vagabond.