Contest Winner!

It's All in the Cards

Gene Alvin

"I want you to go inside with me for a session with Madame Sissly." Sandra's finger sank into his flabby chest as she poked it for emphasis. Why she stayed with him was a mystery. He had a vile temper, no sense of humor and was pragmatic to a fault, she, a dreamer. The motto he lived by was get them before they get you, hers was a paraphrased saying by Samuel Coleridge, "Weave a circle round her thrice, and close your eyes with holy dread, for she on honey-dew hath fed, and drunk the milk of Paradise." The differences were bad enough but recently it seemed she was living with a man on the brink of a breakdown.

It was as though the spirit of Felix Ungar from the old TV sitcom, "The Odd Couple" had moved in. Only in this case Felix was not just picky, he was mean. Harry would wake at all times of the night, comb through their little apartment while she slept and nitpick. The next morning he would shout out orders to her like a construction boss. Each and every little thing that wasn't just so was her fault and was an intentional insult to him.

Contest Winner!

The Telling Place

Nora Peevy

“Really, Logan.” Logan recognized his mom’s tone from previous fights at home -- the “don’t push it further” tone. Her denim eyes flushed with embarrassment. “Do you see what I have to put up with, Ms. Sinclair? Kids and their imaginations.” She laughed an uncomfortable laugh like a piece of china breaking in a quiet shop, as she rumpled her son’s red curls.

Still frowning, Clarice risked a quick peek at her coat rack in the corner. A pink snake tongue flicked the air. Clarice crossed the room, the afghan from the back of her rocking chair in her grasp. “We’ll just cover this so it doesn’t bother you, Logan,” she smiled at him through perfect straight teeth, pinching the nose of the offending serpent between two steely fingers. As she draped the coat rack with her blanket she said in a firm, teeth-gritting voice, “Just you behave now or I’ll be frying you up for the cat’s supper later.” A rotund marmalade cat poked her pink nose out from behind a collection of dusty tomes on the bookshelf, grinning with glee and licking her whiskers. With her grandmother smile perched upon her lips, Clarice turned to reassure Logan. “All better,” she announced as she sat in her rocking chair across from them.

Contest Winner!

Blood Soup

Kelly A. Harmon

The nurse knelt again at the side of the tub and set the four candles in a diamond shape on the flagstones and lighted them west, east, south, then north. The queen dropped her arm over the lip of the tub, her fingers drooping over the tableau. Thin white scars decorated the tips of her red, swollen fingers. Atop the scars, slender red lines of barely healed wounds pulsed in the firelight. Salvagia grabbed each finger in turn, tightening the pressure until blood flowed hot and tight to the tip, then sliced the tender skin.

Crossroads

Rebecca Smith

“I’m sorry, Alicia.” The Mayor laid a heavy hand on her shoulder. “There was nothing we could do to stop them. Why they chose your family we don’t know. Maybe it was the lack of protection. You know how beasts get stirred up on this night. These things happen, even far from the frontier…”

Alicia felt herself stiffen. She looked at the ruined house, at the blood stained ground. Her grandmother’s body lay off to the side, covered by a sheet. Her mother and the midwife had died inside before the fire ever took hold. There were other wounded among the villagers. The two guards who had held first watch were dead.

Editorial - Part #5 (Metamorphism)

Catherine Balachowski

Hail Adventures and welcome again to another quest filled month of the Fantasy Gazetteer. Our imagination loving writers have brought to us delightful stories of metamorphism. Their characters change in ways that are typical to the fantasy genre and amazingly fascinating to the reader. This month our storytellers fill our heads with lessons, discipline and even a bit of karma.
With the heat of the summer sweltering on the fringes of our roofs, we can remember the times as youths when we sat in front of the “boob tube” watching a Sunday night special, with our parents and siblings sharing a bowl of not microwaved popcorn. The excitement that we felt as our eyes adjusted to the living room with the sun going down and our minds concentrating on the quest at hand whether it be Oz or Disney, we began to pull in the story and make it fit into our everyday lives – even into the lives of the youth. So what were we really doing? We were using the imagination of others to enhance our own. Building upon the ideas of others is what has made civilization what it is to day – for good or bad we have evolved.
A little something special for our writers: Our second place winner in this month's Short Story contest, Gene Alvin, has a very unique and helpful blog that new and old writers should find helpful. Take sometime and give it a serious look, lots of tips and ideas to think about for the writer and reader alike, www.aelbooks.com in the USA and in the UK www.aelfwin.co.uk.

Contest Information July 2008

Catherine Balachowski

The Fantasy Gazetteer Short Story Contest for the October 2008 edition the contest begins on June 14, 2008 and ends midnight of August 2, 2008. To be entered in the Short Story category, your story must be between 500-5000 words. First Prize winners will receive $100 and Second Prize winners will receive $50. Both winners will be printed in the respective issue.

The Fantasy Gazetteer Novelette Contest for the October 2008 issue. This contest begins on April 12, 2008 and will end midnight of July 12, 2008. To be entered in Novelette category, your story must be between 10,000 and 30,000 words. First Prize winners will receive $250 and Second Prize winners will receive $200 both winners will be printed in the October 2008 issue.