“Four cups?” I stared at the recipe on the kitchen counter. Four cups of sugar? And under no circumstances were you to mess with the four cups. It said so, in big letters. Don’t fuck with the sugar. Well, it actually said to measure carefully, but this was my first time making strawberry jelly. I […]
A week after my husband leaves me, I go out for midnight burritos with the demon who’s going to devour me. I haven’t even bothered to take off my stage makeup, but Zozrozir has my back. With Zoz around, nobody notices my black eyeliner or purple mohawk or the jacket made out of tiny leather […]
Darkness my blanket, tied close by the one I love.Beyond my blindfold, outside this abandoned Chevron station, I hear movement.Gasping, slapping, moist flesh—fwap, fwap—a squeal. Silence.Neighborhood children playing with a pig. Yes, that’s it. Not something screaming, dying. Just kids playing outside the sliding glass doors. They must be with my husband, Jerry. Slapping a […]
Right off the bat I want to tell you the chicken’s just fine. I know how you worry, Mary, and you’d want to know that straight up.So now that’s out of the way, here’s what happened. Me’n George, we were out back. I’d say working hard, but you know us too well for that so […]
The Dark Lord Mortedart feels their limbs unfold as they stretch out to their seven-foot height. They have manifested in a dimly lit alleyway abutting a wide avenue where a festivity is taking place. The sickly-sweet smell of fried cake assaults their nose. Down the road, a band plays ragtime, reminiscent of when Mortedart was […]
If I could guess at our two favorite things at FFO, it would be “strong voice” and “emotional resonance,” which is probably tantamount to saying your favorite things in the world are air and water. Try googling “what is voice in a story” and you’ll get an entire list—word choice, syntax, tone, rhythm, paragraphing.You know—the […]