Articles
by John "JAM" Arthur Miller February 2012 Click here to Visit Issue 12 Evolving from one transitional phase to another is the way of people, and of organizations. We either break down and erode into oblivion, or we grow and thrive. The strong eventually stand tall like one of those erect cacti in the middle [...]
Literary Fiction
by David Shames Narrated by Bob Eccles The part of James’ character I hated the most was his awful trend of duplicity. It was not the talking behind peoples’ backs which got to me (because everybody does that), it was the fact that the people whom he would pillory were the same people that [...]
Literary Fiction
by Lucy McKee Narrated by Bob Eccles An alarm clock is ringing, the high-pitched wail so loud I feel it between my eyes. I groan softly. It’s the only thing I can manage at this time of day. David must be awake already. He has a ghastly love of mornings. Lucky for me, he was [...]
Literary Fiction
by D. Thomas Minton Narrated by Bob Eccles Daniel can't remember the name of the woman he left sleeping in his apartment. He calls her The Artist, another in the endless progression of women since Susan, all of them nameless — The Artist, The Doctor, The Blonde, The Receptionist. He rolls down the window [...]
Poetry
Try This Surefire Memory Trick
by Jeff Jeppesen BIO: Jeff is an IT professional and writer living in Warner Robins, Georgia. Jeff is an editor of Every Day Poets, everydaypoets.com. His work has previously appeared in Strange Horizons, Every Day Poets, Everyday Weirdness, The Houston Literary Review, Illumen and Shot Glass Journal.
Articles
Speculative Fiction Stories – Introduction by Kevin Wallis
So here we are at Issue 12, and the brain trust at Liquid Imagination thanks you for sticking around. We do what we do for you, and this month’s speculative fiction stories are perhaps the best batch yet. No, my therapist tells me I need to avoid fence-sitting, so these stories ARE the best batch [...]
Articles
Literary Fiction – Introduction by Kevin Wallis
When Liquid Imagination started publishing literary stories, we weren’t sure what kind of response to expect; we had always been known for our modern fantasy, horror and sci-fi. But the stories in this issue’s batch proves that we made the right decision, so sit back, relax, and enjoy four tales that will touch your heart [...]
Speculative Fiction
The Life and Times of Otto Van Maark and His Luxuriant Beard
by Nathaniel Lee This is the tale of Otto Van Maark, banker and financier of some considerable wealth. It came to pass that Otto, in the waning years of his span, his greatest successes behind him, sat down and examined his life closely. He could not hold it in his hands, as was his [...]
Speculative Fiction
Early’s Engine Repair & Auto Body: We’ll Fix It
by Jennifer Rachel Baumer Narrated by Bob Eccles Morning's just not my time. What can you say about a time of day that makes you feel like a pair of old dirty socks rinsed and hung out over the shower rod in a cheap motel room? Her voice startles me out of my third [...]
Speculative Fiction
by Dameion Becknell Narrated by Bob Eccles Pendleton County Psychiatric Ward. A white room with soft-blue trim and one tinted window. An armed guard stands beside the locked door. The woman seated over the desk from me, she says Please state your name. And I say Eunice Cecil Fanny. That is not your name [...]
Speculative Fiction
by BD Wilson (originally appeared in Fictitious Force #6, in February 2009) Narrated by Bob Eccles Arthur sat on the airplane, looking out at the endless expanse of sun-kissed clouds, and remembered a time when he would have walked upon them. The memory was faint, buried beneath years of education, responsibility, and rational thought, [...]
Speculative Fiction
by Josiah Leonard Narrated by Bob Eccles It was a flushy midsummer’s day, like a peach just turned overripe. No day for a bus ride and the people aboard Comfort Line 507 to Houston were all in a constant uncomfortable shift. There were seven in all. People, not passengers. Miz Dee, the driver, [...]
Poetry
The Moon Sailed Sadly Through the Sky
by James Hutchings BIO: James Hutchings lives in Melbourne, Australia. He fights crime as Poetic Justice, but his day job is acting. You might know him by his stage-name 'Brad Pitt.' He specializes in short fantasy fiction. His work has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, fiction365 and Enchanted Conversation among other markets. His ebook collection [...]
Poetry
by David Seigel Bernstein In the beginning there isn't light—only a thought. It floats in my mind, but it isn't mine. Over time, it grows from solo to choir. And I learn the song of my people. Adagio Rising from the chorus comes dolce refrain coaxing me into the light. Allegro From [...]
Poetry
by Jennifer Hollie Bowles The little girl entered the ribbed-flower forest where fractal colors arced poses on skinny silver legs. Wizards squeezed petal heads. Guards stood with shiny cuff-links and shoes, eyes darting [...]
Poetry
Manga Girls Need Love: Black Cat Alice
by Kyle Hemmings Under a dangerous moon, she invites you over for Egyptian licorice tea. What she doesn't say: Sex will be thorny. Your gooseflesh for ransom. You try to act Gothic Aristocrat, even though your leather is cheap, still smells of the interiors of gone cars. With her frill tie & Cross & Rose [...]
Poetry
Honesty is Murder: Life’s Road Signs
by Robin Masullo BIO: Robin Masullo worked as a news reporter/stringer in her teens, was published in feminist and politically activist newsletters, alternative papers, etc. in her twenties. After writing just for herself and therapy for the last decade, she is now actively writing and submitting again. She lives in Eugene, OR with her [...]
Flash
by Guy Belleranti Tina’s sobs came like a rising wave in the dark bedroom. “I heard it again, Nathan. That hissing...that horrible, horrible hissing sound.” “My poor darling.” Nathan said. “Is that all you can say?” The blind woman slid across the king-sized bed, seeking him, crying out when she could not find him. “Where [...]
Flash
By Anahita Ayasoufi and Ramin Rahmani The little cars, as we like to call them, since no one really knows if they are cars, appeared first on the airport highway, running at a hundred miles per hour in between real cars and trucks, sometimes under them, sometimes above them, flying without any visible wings, or [...]
Flash
by Gwendolyn Joyce Mintz You get home to find an eviction notice tacked to your door and you wish you were back on the reservation where the rent was free. You are not a Native American but your ex-fiancée was. My Indian Princess, you used to call her. She’d grin back at you and say, [...]
Flash
by Linda Manning They rocked in a white swing adorned with colored roses, and his hands curled lovingly around hers. A whisper filled the tiny space between his lips and her ear, a universe of promises swirling within a half-inch of Kodachrome magic. He invited her to canoe a river that snaked into their [...]
Articles
Mine, Mine, All Mine … Or Is It?
by A.J. Brown In my most recent work in progress I created a character named Clemmons Johansen. This guy is tall, but not so much big in girth. He is a black southern man that looks like he could have crawled right out of the 1800's. He lives in a rundown shack off a dirt [...]
Articles
Switchblade Goddess: Book Review
Book by Lucy A. Snyder Review by Jezzy Wolfe The third novel in the Jessie Shimmer series, SWITCHBLADE GODDESS is an urban fantasy thrill ride into eerie territory. Picking up on the heels of SHOTGUN SORCERESS, Jessie Shimmer must deal with the consequences of her momentary defeat of the evil Miko. But with her boyfriend [...]
Literary Fiction
by John Davies Narrated by Bob Eccles "I know for a fact that you've got piss all. Who are you tryin' to kid? Anyone knows your wheezing gets worse when you're attempting the bluff!" "Well it c-costs to find out." "Oh, aye! Look at this. A fisher of men indeed, is our Wes! Isn't [...]