Taking the Dream Spinner
“Taking the Dream Spinner” – A Novel Excerpt
Metropolis: A New Novel by Monte Schulz
Metropolis, the sixth prose fiction novel by Monte Schulz, is a dystopian narrative of love in a time of war and moral disintegration.
“Python,” An Excerpt by Rob Swigart
Rob Swigart brings Lisa Emmer back for Python, Book Three of his fascinating mystery series. I met Rob Swigart on the afternoon of April 29, 1977, at the University of Oregon Bookstore, where he was autographing copies of his first novel, Little America. Although we lost touch with one another for many years, Rob published more novels, many of which I’ve read. One day, perusing my bookshelf, I picked up Little America again and read Rob’s inscription. I turned to my computer and quickly found an email address for him! I’m very happy to know Rob once again, today as a friend and fellow novelist. Rob shared “Water,” a short story with us on FC a few years ago, and today we’re helping bring attention to his latest work, Python, the third book in his…
Valentine’s Day 2022 at the Café
Three of our Coffee Club Members Share Their Valentine Stories Thank you, thank you everyone, for sending us your Valentine stories! We baristas have read your work and have tried to select works which portray different human perspectives – this in these days of a seemingly endless pandemic which has darkly colored the Be My Valentine emotions for a lot of folks. Our first Valentine’s Day winner is Wiam Najjar’s short story,”Valentine.” Wiam Najjar is a writer at heart and a school principal in mission. She leads teachers and students then goes home to her sacred haven; writing. She’s been published in online magazines and writing blogs and was shortlisted in the 2018 Memoir Magazine #MeToo Essay Contest. You can check out her articles on MyDramaList and her blog WiamNajjar’s Haven. Valentine “Valentine, you forgot your coffee!” She turned…
Let’s Celebrate Valentine’s Day Together!
It isn’t a contest, but you can be one of the winners Dear Fictional Cafe Coffee Club members,Valentine’s Day is just two short weeks away and what the world needs now is love, more love. How would you like your flash fiction, short story or poem on the theme of love to be chosen for our Valentine’s Day blog post? If you’re interested, please send your manuscript, following our usual FC submission guidelines here to me personally at jack@fictionalcafe.com. Your story will be reviewed by three FC baristas and the ones we choose will be our Valentine’s Day gift of love to all the world (really! FC is read in 67 countries!). Please get your entry in ASAP – the deadline is Feb. 12. I can’t wait to read your poems and stories! Jack Jack B….
Founder Jack’s New Novel and a Great Offer
Get a book and a chance to do some good at no extra cost! Fictional Cafe Members: Enjoy a great read and support cycling safety too! If you ride a bike, as I do, you might be interested to know we ride one of the most innovative machines in world history. Bikes became popular in the 1800s because of a shortage of horses caused by – whoa! would you believe a volcano eruption? – and henceforth were called “hobby horses!” Before they made the first airplane fly at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright Brothers had a bicycle shop where they sold (doh) bikes named “Van Cleve” and “St. Clair.” Mark Twain wrote a ludicrously humorous article about his experience riding – and falling again and again – from a “penny farthing” bicycle, pictured here. I got…
Wanna NaNoWriMo With Me?
An invitation to join me in a great month of novel-writing Several years ago I was working on a novel about this same time of year. I’d begun it quite a few months earlier at my home in Boston, but at the time I was happily—if not somewhat chilled—writing from a 150-year-old farmhouse in rural France. My fingers, clad in fingerless knitted gloves, flew over the keyboard, pausing occasionally to sip from my café au lait or tea for warmth. I was having a best-of-times. An email came through cyberspace from a best friend and writing colleague who lives in Oregon. I stopped writing to see what he had to say; several years earlier, again while lodging at this same Finistere stone maison, he had done me a great service by buying and shipping me a…
“Bicycling with Butterflies,” A New Book by Sara Dykman
Editor’s note: Most of us are likely curious about the person who writes a book — in particular, one who rode her bicycle 10,201 miles to follow the monarch butterfly migration from Mexico across the United States to Canada and back again. So we’re introducing a new feature to our book excerpts: a Zoom interview with the author. If you like what you’re about to listen to, watch, read, please leave a note in the Comments—and treat yourself to a copy of Sara’s book. This is the best book about adventure cycling I’ve ever read, and it’s available on Amazon in hardcover, Kindle and Audible. ~ Jack Bicycling with Butterflies excerpt: “A Million-Winged Sendoff” DAYS 1 AND 2 / MARCH 12 AND 13 MILES 1–118 The sun’s warmth began to pour steadily through the branches,…
“Brevity,” A Flash Nonfiction Anthology Book Review
When Rose Metal Press asked if I would consider writing a review of a forthcoming book entitled The Best of Brevity, I thought, Why not? I favor brevity. After all, that famous line, “Forgive me for writing you such a long letter, for I didn’t have the time to write a short one,” is one of my favorite [mis]quotations, even if we’re not exactly sure who first wrote it. Was it Montaigne? Cicero? Machiavelli? Pascal? Wilde? Twain? Mencken? Does it matter? So the book arrived and I noted the cover read, “Twenty groundbreaking years of flash nonfiction.” I was intrigued; having written flash fiction for years and years, I was embarrassed to admit I knew little about this genre. But flash nonfiction? Now I wondered, Hmmm, this might be boring. Then I began flipping pages,…
Free Writing and Publishing Conference Next Week!
Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE) is hosting a virtual conference for all writers next week. Free and open to everyone! Check out the details below. FREE WRITING AND PUBLISHING CONFERENCE! Please Join Us for IPNE’s 9th Annual Independent Publishers & Authors Virtual Online Conference, Nov. 6-7, “Publishing During the Pandemic!” Conference Details and Registration at IPNE.org Are you planning on writing a book? Already working on one? Are you interested in learning more about the publishing process, from manuscript to published work? How to build an audience? “Publishing During a Pandemic” is the theme of the 2020 Conference, presented for you on Zoom over two days, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7. There’s no charge to attend and you don’t need to be a publisher, published author, an IPNE member, or even a…