A Few Loose Ends.
A Few Loose Ends, new to Little Fiction this month, comes to us from M.W. Fowler. It is a unique and imaginative story about the things we go through, the things we hope for and the things we drag with us — sewing them together from relationship to relationship.
Shortly after his story went up on Little Fiction, M.W. also had another story appear on The Rusty Nail, and soon you’ll be able to read more stories from him on Specter magazine and Used Furniture Review, among others.
You can download A Few Loose Ends for free at Little Fiction, or follow any of these links to read it on your smartphone, tablet, eReader, or desktop.
Thanks.
Swarm Theory.
Swarm Theory, by Braydon Beaulieu, is a wildly and well crafted short story about, or including, the following: ants, prayers, Jesus, floaters, hockey cards, congregations, confessions, pistachio nut ice cream, larvae, peanut butter, semen, bubble gum, robin eggs, queen ants, stolen yellow panties, Henrik Zetterberg, beer bottle caps, blueberry muffins, stolen Rolexes, and a box full of crumbs that will damn us all.
It’s been referred to as the story that Chuck Palahniuk would write if he were to write a story about Catholic ants. And we would tend to agree.
You can download Swarm Theory for free at Little Fiction, or follow any of these links to read it on your smartphone, tablet, eReader, or desktop.
Lunchbox never drove drunk, but the cops rarely believed a man reeking of wine and scotch. Hazards of the job meant suffering numerous breathalysers over the last few years. Lunchbox kept promising himself he’d quit the warehouse, but just like Dale’s Wing Shack and their Thirty Cent Thursdays, he always came back for more.
Little Birds, read by Xe Sands
Listen to How the Lights Get In — the second of three stories that make up Sarah Flynn’s Little Birds — read by the wonderfully talented Xe Sands. This marks the first ever Little Fiction title to be narrated, and we couldn’t think more awesome things about it if we tried.
Soul Gazing.
Soul Gazing, new to Little Fiction this month, is a story about the life that fills our eyes — the stories, the history, the moments and the people. And what happens when that life is replaced by a pupil that can no longer dilate.
In Soul Gazing, Pete Grapentien has crafted an emotional and poignantly told story about life and death, and of waiting for their dividing lines to meet.
You can download Soul Gazing for free at Little Fiction, or follow any of these links to read it on your smartphone, tablet, eReader or desktop.
There is no air conditioning here, but the tile floor is cold even at the end of summer. Bodies are lined up and pierced with IV’s that hang from metal stakes. The doctor is calling for a Mrs. Three right now.
Little Birds.
“Someday, someone is going to knock all of the wildness out of you”
And so begins Little Birds, a story in three parts by the always charismatic Sarah Flynn.
In “Brambles,” we read about a young woman whose wildness consumes her. In “How the Light Gets In,” we wake up in the wild, not knowing how we got there, but knowing that there is a place we need to be getting to. And in the final story — the title story — we learn of those who fly away from us, and those who can’t.
Little Birds is equal parts charming and heartbreaking. We hope you like it as much as we do.
You can download Little Birds for free at Little Fiction, or follow any of these links to read it on your smartphone, tablet, eReader or desktop.
Daily Short #2 — Calm, Ghosts
For short story month (which is May by the way), Thomas Duncan is profiling one short story a day. Today he chose Little Fiction title Calm Ghosts, by Meredith Hambrock, and had some pretty nice things to say about us, and Meredith’s story.
Check it out and post some comments if you’re so inclined.
Thanks.
Their friends made jokes about the man who finally tamed her, but at night he watched her sleep and wondered when she would leave him. Her body grew tenser as his grip grew tighter, and he waited patiently for her to discover a secret key that would unlock his hold and let her slip away forever.
Half A Year.
Six months ago Little Fiction launched with two stories from two unknown writers, and a simple concept: fashion the short story after the mp3 by making it digital, portable and free.
The concept seems to have caught on, and next week we’ll be releasing our sixteenth title (seventeen including our Listerature collection).
To mark the occasion, we’ve announced a submission call for a new compilation: Little (flash) Fiction. And, on Wednesday, we’ll be releasing four new stories (up from our usual two).
With no (or limited) expectations heading into this, Little Fiction feels like it’s been a decent success so far.
But the true credit, of course, belongs to the writers and the stories they’ve written.
It belongs to Shawn Syms (The Exchange) and Andrew F. Sullivan (Bright Outside) — the first two writers (and two amazing talents) to try us out after we launched.
It belongs to Will Johnson (Paint by Numbers, and Year of the Dragon), who — until he recently traded coasts — could have been called Little Fiction West for all the buzz he generated out in Vancouver.
It belongs to Kentucky’s Leesa Cross-Smith (In This Room Where We Practice Dying Every Night) and New Zealand’s Anonymous_Author© (Bed. Time. Story.) — our first two international contributors.
And it belongs to Jay Hosking (Analogue), Selaine Henriksen (Sacrificial Lamb), Meredith Hambrock (Calm, Ghosts), Jeremy Hanson-Finger (Climbing Into The Sun), Kimberely Gillis (Little Robin Deadbreast), and each and every writer in our Listerature compilation.
We’ll only ever be as good as the stories we publish. And I’m both thrilled and amazed with the quality of work we’ve been able to put out, and with the talents we’ve been fortunate to associate ourselves with.
If you haven’t read each and every story yet, they’re all right here for you — digital, portable, and free.
