Sometimes it takes an alien perspective to show us what it means to be human. My story, "The Outrider," published in The Corona Book of Science Fiction, explores a paradoxical culture that condemns a cheerleader for killing her just-born baby and lauds millions of girls for walking into clinics all over the planet to achieve …
Category: fiction
Book Worm*
Zahara's jaw fell open. Her book slid off her knees and hit the floor. She scrambled for it and flipped to find her page, all the while shaking her head in denial. Page found, she pored over the words once more. Unconsciously her hand went to her throat. Zahara let the book fall in her …
Collateral
Could it only have been two hours since Devon last pushed open the glass door? That was a lifetime ago. That was when Devon dreamed a dream. When he didn't hate banks and bankers and the soul-crushing thing called collateral. The loan officer chanted the word as if it were a talisman. With a savage …
A Letter to Gigi*
Dear Gigi, I chose you after giving it about thirty seconds' thought. You're right up there with Hitler and Jesus and the young me, which is a rather strange party, I admit. Can you imagine the four of us playing Peanut? I just played that game for the first time, by the way. Never played …
This Happens to be an Excuse
...as to why I'd temporarily abandon my blog. Something happens when you don't write regularly: you get stiff-brain. You believe you don't have anything worthy to say, even though your friends are posting about their new moisture-repelling socks and how potty training's going with the puppy (with pictures). Things, big things, happen, but you neglect …
CNF Published in The Forge Literary Magazine!
Besides being full of excellent stories that make you feel you're plumbing the Atlantic, The Forge is a visually stunning platform. I'm honored to have my creative nonfiction work "The Boots" published there today. The Forge editors were some of the nicest with whom I've worked. When my piece was selected, I was days away …
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Unexpected Kindnesses
It's been 2+ months since my brain surgery, and I'm clawing my way back to the level of energy I once enjoyed—happy to be thus clawing. When I am tired and things don't get done, I smile and thank God I'm alive, that I'm here to sink into the couch after pulling a bit of …
You Call It Coffee
I don't get it. You never took the covers before. You never minded about my snoring, about my restless legs. I peek at you with one eye. Your long hair fans out against my pillow. Your perfumed shampoo claws my nostrils. Do I complain? No. "Out!" You give me the shout-and-shove. "Your breath stinks," you say. …
Announcing the Winners of the 5000 Words Creative Writing Contest
It was during my 5000 Words Writing Class that I first heard the news about my brain tumor. I'd be lying if I said it was easy to focus during the weeks leading up to my surgery. I let some things go, like this announcement. The stories that follow were written by my students, all …
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KL Griffiths 