We also brought our demons. In Burning Girls and Other Stories, Veronica Schanoes crosses borders and genres with stories of fierce women at the margins of society burning their way toward the center. This debut collection introduces readers to a fantasist in the vein of Karen Russell and Kelly Link, with a voice all her own.Emma Goldman--yes, that Emma Goldman--takes tea with the Baba Yaga and truths unfold inside of exquisitely crafted lies. In Among the Thorns, a young woman in seventeenth century Germany is intent on avenging the brutal murder of her peddler father, but discovers that vengeance may consume all that it touches. In the showstopping, awards finalist title story, Burning Girls, Schanoes invests the immigrant narrative with a fearsome fairytale quality that tells a story about America we may not want--but need--to hear.Dreamy, dangerous, and precise, with the weight of the very oldest tales we tell, Burning Girls and Other Stories introduces a writer pushing the boundaries of both fantasy and contemporary fiction.With a foreword by Jane Yolen

    But Tommy's dreams, and talent, fly higher, up in the rigging with the trapeze. When rising star Mario Santelli offers him flying lessons, it looks like the start of wonderful new life, and to Tommy's surprise, his relationship with Mario deepens even as his skill soars in the rigging. But life in the 1940s forces them to keep their love a secret, and the stress pushes both Tommy and Mario to a precipice. And as Mario flies higher and higher, Tommy begins to wonder if it will always be his role to catch Mario as he falls.A tremendously moving tale, a rich family saga, a wise and compassionate portrait of a special love in a cruel world.

    Lonely Christopher combines a striking emotional grammar, reminiscent of Gertrude Stein's Three Lives, with an unyielding imagination in the lovely/ugly architecture of his stories.Lonely Christopher is the author of several poetry chapbooks and is a contributor to the poetry volume Into (Seven Circles Press). His plays have been published, staged in New York City and internationally, and released in Mandarin translation. His fiction received Pratt Institute's 2009 Thesis Award. He is a founding member of the small press The Corresponding Society and an editor of its biannual journal Correspondence. He lives in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

    An online exchange leads to a meeting with a psychic who assures Tommy that his naturally subdued aura is to blame for his timidity. Blue and violet tones are out, and shades of yellow and red are in!Of course it's a bunch of baloney, and to make it worse, the intimidating shop clerk overheard the whole conversation.Just when it seems like Tommy's life can’t get any more dreary, a colorful character drops out of the sky. Nathan's so vivid, he seems to good to be true. Is he?Novelette, approximately 40-50 pages or 14,000 wordsPetit MortsIndulge your sweet tooth with five deliciously weird tales by Josh Lanyon and Jordan Castillo Price!A storefront. You've never noticed it before. It's small, unassuming, and yet there's something about it that draws your eye. And the aroma drifting out, rich and dark, so enticing. How could you have overlooked it? It must be new.So why does it look like it's been there for ages? And the chocolatier behind the counter...certainly you'd remember him.#1: Hue, Tint and Shade by Jordan Castillo PriceYellow is as yellow does.#2: Slings and Arrows by Josh LanyonIt's a fine line between "secret admirer" and "stalker". #3: Moolah and Moonshine by Jordan Castillo PriceIf you ever go to France, watch out for those ticklers.#4: Other People's Weddings by Josh LanyonPulling off the perfect wedding can be murder.#5: Spanish Fly Guy by Jordan Castillo PriceI held my nose I closed my eyes...I took a drink.

    it really is.i mean—he was gorgeous, and so hot for me i could give him a boner by picking my nose.so it was great. repeatedly.but a man has other needs, y’know?like electrolytes.__________________________________2,807 wordsedited by brona littlecover designed by vanessa northwith thanks to www.queerromancemonth.com

    She dreams of indulging her passion for ornithology and visiting the famous new amusement park--a summer of fun before she returns for her final year of high school, after which she’s expected to marry a nice boy and settle into middle-class homemaking. But in the country, Garnet finds herself under the supervision of equally oppressive guardians--her father’s wealthy cousin and the matron’s stuck-up daughter. Only a liberating job in a hat shop, an intense, secret relationship with a daring and beautiful flapper, and a deep faith in her own fierce heart can save her from the suffocating boredom of traditional femininity.Silhouette of a Sparrow is a coming-of-age story about a search for wildness in a confining time, and a simultaneous quest for security in an era full of unrest. It is the tale of a young woman’s discovery of the science of risk and the art of rebellion, and of course, the power of unexpected love.