For many years I managed the front office of our veterinary hospital, Animal Eye Specialists. We had the good fortune of meeting and treating many amazing pets and pet owners. This is a selection from my collection of short stories … Continue reading →

Keiko looked down at her bland breakfast of white toast and milk tea. The other ladies at the table had all ordered lightly, so she followed suit as she always did. But what she really wanted was the greasy breakfast … Continue reading →

From “The Favourite,” a historical novel in progress. “The art of number cannot count the hours / Thou hast been absent.” —Dekker & Middleton (?), The Family of Love, 1608 Royston, Hertfordshire, April 1623 A thick mist hazed their vision, … Continue reading →

As winter approaches and we close the year, here are some tales of childhood, holidays, love and leaving, and an alley cat. Our writers are: Lisa Hills, Daniel Raskin, Priscilla Jayne, Carol Harada, Ann Kim, Merijane Block, Jennifer Clover Hacker, … Continue reading →

I remember being so grateful for Trumpet of the Swans. I read it when I was eight. I can’t remember the specifics of where I read it or how I found it, just that feeling of profound gratitude that such … Continue reading →

My father drove us—my mother, older brother and me—to the station early Friday morning on his way to work. He was a small-town, general practice lawyer, and I knew he was going to court because he wore a suit and … Continue reading →

The presents were wrapped, sufficiently, leaving space for a few hours’ rest before: “MOMMMM!! Can we get up now?!!” Which generation’s careless tradition the Eve before had plattered the smoked or pickled savories that only adult palates could enjoy? The … Continue reading →

The geyser is reliable, Old Faithful they call it. When it strays, abandoning its timetable, that’s when the earthquakes come calling. That’s what they say. As if regular habits—of a husband, of a geyser—could fool us into feeling the ground … Continue reading →

As Tara lay face down in child’s pose on the spongy green mat, she could smell the faint stench of the countless hippies who had come before her, and she vomited a tiny bit in her mouth. She swallowed the … Continue reading →

I long to leave. Easily, quickly, with little to no preparation. To go from pajamas into jeans and an old friendly sweatshirt, my feet slipped into clogs or flip-flops, a quick brush through my hair—or not—a smoosh of clear gloss … Continue reading →

Brief Synopsis: This is an excerpt from my book, Big Uggo: Memoir of a Stray Alley Cat. Having gone through a metamorphosis of his own, Uggo begins rescuing injured critters, saving a dragonfly named Dip, along with his girlfriend, a … Continue reading →

Santa Silverman went to get the Flomax out of the medicine cabinet. This time of year got him all ferklempt; he had to be (1) a giving elf, (2) a lighter of candles, (3) an eater of milk and cookies, … Continue reading →

We are dedicating this issue to the late Michael Wayne Holland, a beloved member of Laguna Writers for eight years. His recent loss sent a ripple of sadness throughout the community; he will be missed. Thankfully, his voice will live … Continue reading →

Once I thought I saw God while driving through Omaha, Nebraska prisms of light shining, but it was just a halo in my rear view mirror, the sun gleaming through droplets of rain after a fierce thunderstorm.

A racket passes through, volcanic and backwards, in this little room where the senior home dessert cart is assembled: glistening pudding dishes, slick Jell-O bowls, all spaced just so, to allow maximum capacity with minimal slippage. It is a kind … Continue reading →

It flew quickly around my living room. Small, black, bigger than an insect. A bird? A bat! But it was daytime. It was a bat, and it was darting about. I remembered last time there was one in the house. … Continue reading →

Wind. Hot dry constant. Tibetan prayer flags blown to rags on my fire escape. Heavy dirty laden with city soot. Heavy with prayers upon prayers, most un-grantable, unanswered, unfulfilled. Un-fulfillable. Who or what can grant my wish, the wishes, all … Continue reading →

I was at a writers conference in Seattle, Washington, when I heard my favorite definition of success. It was given by a woman who had published three novels. “But I bet you never heard of me. Has anyone here ever … Continue reading →