In February's Web Exclusive, "Lake House," a couple has retired to a remote location. We know there is tension between them, and between the narrator and his adult son, but the origins and causes of this tension are only hinted at, the way a painting focuses its composition by suggesting some elements and detailing others. Our more detailed image is that of a drone silently making its way across the treetops of this new territory, reporting strangeness, even its own failure, to the lonely man … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Michael Powers
Good
https://soundcloud.com/americanshortfiction/libby-flores-good Sea grass tickled the backs of our knees as we crossed the beach. Meredith was trailing behind, humming something familiar, but it was faint, mixed with the salt in the wind. Barefoot, I sank deeper. We were walking toward the water, meeting the edge of the continent, both feeling strange. I turned to make sure she was behind me. Her blond hair was flying back as the long grass waved. That hair was always whispering to me. In … [Read more...] about Good
Lake House
We retired, and we bought a house by a lake that none of our friends had ever heard of, in a town none of our friends had ever heard of, in a region of northern New York far from anything, where every low place is the place of a lake. The lake was cool in summer and deep, and we swam in it. All around us were the low small houses of our neighbors and the piney woods, and beyond the woods were the fields where farmers grazed their cattle. The whole town smelled of manure most days. After a … [Read more...] about Lake House
Web Exclusive Interview: Merrill Feitell
In December's web exclusive story, "The Cupcake Factory," we bear witness to a moment between siblings that we know will become, for one of them, a searing memory. We know because it's told as if the scene is already crystallizing as it unfolds, and with a weight that can only manifest for him down the line. It's an exercise in recognizing ourselves, and in being in multiple places at once: in the present and in the future, looking back at the past. We talked to author Merrill Feitell about how … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Merrill Feitell
Web Exclusive Interview: Siân Griffiths
In our January web exclusive story "The Key Bearer's Parents," a pair of loving parents (clowns, by trade) explain how they raised their son in order to try and make sense of his very troubling decision—a decision whose implications seem to depend entirely on the reader's point of view. It's a story that prompts an endless number of questions, so we were thrilled to have the chance to ask them of author Siân Griffiths. Erin McReynolds: This story supposes an alternate present—or a plausible … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Siân Griffiths
The Cupcake Factory
https://soundcloud.com/americanshortfiction/the-cupcake-factory This is New Hampshire in winter, past midnight. The roads are clear, the houses dark, the sky a suffering orange-gray, fat with frost and the forecasted blizzard. In the distance, like the North Star, John Stapleton, Jr. can see the truck-stop sign hovering above I-95, Bob’s Big Boy spinning just above the tree line, offering up his empty tray. Stapleton’s sister Esther is driving. She tucks a greasy lock of hair behind her … [Read more...] about The Cupcake Factory