October 4, 2024

“A Life Lesson From Jimi” by Fiona Sinclair

“A Life Lesson From Jimi” by Fiona Sinclair

*Featured Image courtesy of Thomas Kelley on Unsplash.* It’s always a pleasure to see a returning writer on FC. Fiona Sinclair, an excellent writer who has published with us before, has written a new piece that is guaranteed to keep you interested from the beginning to the end. Tom first heard about it crouching over an illicit transistor built by an enterprising boy in tech class. It was breaktime, he and his mates were tucked behind the outer wall of the gym; their “secret” hiding place teachers turned a blind eye to.   Each band Radio Caroline announced was met with a choric wail by the boys, because most knew attending the festival was a fantasy.   Except for Tom. I could go, he thought to himself, tallying in his mind his not inconsiderable savings account, product…

Continue reading →

September 30, 2024

Introducing Our New Arts & Design Barista!

Introducing Our New Arts & Design Barista!

We’re very pleased to introduce to you, Coffee Club members, Yucen Yao, our new Fine Arts and Graphic Design Barista. It’s hard enough finding a qualified poet, fiction writer or audio arts barista, but finding a creator with the talent and skills to curate contemporary arts has been the toughest. We’ve had to go without one for several years. Now you can meet her. Yucen was raised in Nanchang, China. She took her bachelor’s degree in visual communication at Guangzhou University. Her parents encouraged her to follow her dreams in the arts, and she came to the United States to earn her master’s degree in graphic design at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita. Her career has rapidly taken off: she’s been interviewed in several LA zines, one saying she is…

Continue reading →

September 26, 2024

“Satan’s Shadow” by Thomas J. Misuraca

“Satan’s Shadow” by Thomas J. Misuraca

*Featured image courtesy of Peter Forster on Unsplash* Today we have an excellent horror piece by Tom Misuraca. We don’t get a lot of horror, so this is a welcome treat on FC. Tom is also a prolific writer, so we hope to see more from him in the future! The decrepit station wagon sped out of town. Russell clutched the wheel, squeezing until his biceps bulged. Next to him sat his wife, Trudy, her flesh and clothes caked in mud. Her long, curly hair frizzed by the swamp humidity. Russell felt immaculate compared to her; only his boots were dirty.  “It is done,” Trudy repeated over and over, rocking in her seat.  They drove away from the sun and away from the evil presence that had haunted them. Russell feared they would never escape….

Continue reading →

September 18, 2024

Radio . . . What? RadioGAGA!

Radio . . . What? RadioGAGA!

Philip Gabbard returns to Fictional Cafe with a new creative fiction project: a film treatment based upon a very popular song from the 1990s. Phil is a create-preneur of many talents and interests and we’re always interested in his work. He’s written creative nonfiction, THISday: Words for the Venerable and the Vulnerable, and Thrivation: The Everlasting Philosophy of Providence + Privilege. He penned (on his MacBook Pro) Every Saint, Every Sinner, a novel about his spiritual experiences. He produced and directed an extraordinary video based on the life and death of an archetypal Hispanic woman called La Llorona. Phil is beholden to Freddy Mercury and Queen for the inspiration to write about radio. More specifically, the rise and nowadays the fall of radio broadcasting. With the rise of television, its demise was probably inevitable. TV…

Continue reading →

September 16, 2024

Rachel Gonzalez’s New Story

Rachel Gonzalez’s New Story

Rachel is our Fiction Writer in Residence, and she has written an outstanding new story for us, “Scrappy Metal.” It takes a very contemporary – and ironic – perspective concerning technology and its ever-encroaching desire (read between the lines: AI) to take over our human lives. It’s not only current but it’s also very funny. One of the most enjoyable stories we’ve published. Please let us know what you think of it in the Comments section at the end. Scrappy Metal Photo credit: IRobot.com I crushed another Cheez-It in my hand and sprinkled it on the floor. “God. Would you stop that?” My roommate’s shrill girlfriend, Molly, screeched at me. Although she was always here she didn’t actually pay any bills, so I didn’t have to listen to her. “Hey, I’m just feeding the little…

Continue reading →

This is your site

Welcome to the Fictional Café! Your baristas are interested in all genres of short fiction, poetry, excerpts from novels-in-progress, your photographs, art, and audio or video podcasts. We encourage you to share your work for publication in the Fictional Café. Click on the Join/Submit button above to learn more.

Archive

Facebook

No feed found with the ID 1. Go to the All Feeds page and select an ID from an existing feed.