My Cardboard Balcony

by Belinda Roddie "Shakespeare hated  pie. That is a fact." "Which book did you read that from?" "The book of everything." When I wrinkled my nose in skepticism, she brought out the bright red tome and pointed me to the proper page. "Ah. There it is. Doesn't mean it's true." "Yes, it is. You know what's also true?" I rolled my eyes. "What, hon?" "Shakespeare fucking loved cheesecake." "...They didn't have cheesecake back in his era." " They fucking should have!" she screamed in response. This week's prompt was provided by Arden Kilzer.

Donovan sported his brown derby hat while watching his girlfriend at the roller derby, a Victorian appearance at an otherwise neon-helmeted, striped-shoulder pad event. As he watched the girls race around the rink, wheels squeaking as they maneuvered, he heard a rough voice behind him ask, "Where's Holmes, Doctor Watson?"

My handful of readers, I am happy to announce that, on this welcome rainy night, I am taking on a special project with my girlfriend and my sister. No, it is not like any writing project I have taken on. It is not a film, or a novel, or a wild collection of poems. And while my girlfriend has requested that I keep this all on the DL until things are started and finalized, I can safely say that I am very, very excited about it. Considering my low number of hours at the bookstore, my struggle with teaching credential programs, and other attempts at finding things to do or work on, I'm glad that something, with a little inspiration from a college acquaintance, has sprung up to build my creativity and enthusiasm. And I sincerely hope that when we roll this baby out it will be well-received and garner interest in more than just one community. And that's all I'm going to say about it. No spoilers. Shhhh. Writer's Quotation of the Night: Any writer worth his salt writ...

"Caramel Kisses" is an unfinished novel I began to write back in 2009 and stopped working on in 2010. The two main characters - Adriana Maguire Reynard and Emma Burking - would ultimately be revised for my later completed novella, "The Liffey Is Half-Asleep," in 2011. Several elements of "Liffey" can be found in their original forms in "Caramel Kisses," such as the characters' names, the haiku scene, and Adriana's penchant for writing. Because of its influence on my later writing, I figured that this story, though incomplete, was worth sharing. Caramel Kisses: Chapter Twelve by Belinda Roddie I went to church this morning, while Emma was still asleep. The first time in five years. I had gone to a Wednesday mass on campus when I was still a student, but I didn’t think those really counted toward the main tally God supposedly kept for all of His alleged followers. But staying up through a Saturday night had gotten to my religious side,...

One third of the pie was gone by the time the party was over, so I wrapped up the rest of it and drove to the hospital, where I tried very hard not to be distracted by the spider web of tubes spiraling toward my sister's body and face. My mother was already sitting with her, hand clasped over cold knuckles, and looked up with a small smile as I delivered the dessert. "Chelsea's favorite," I explained. "Her friends say Happy Birthday."

Stabbed By A Bayonet by Belinda Roddie Stabbed by a bayonet, I propped myself against the nearest weeping willow, pressed my torn tunic against my stomach, and exhaled, hoping the pain would soon regress and the bleeding slow down. I know I would probably die, but at least I could do so without dirtying my uniform much, or sitting in agony for far longer than I desired. The cavalry would come too late; I was sure of that. I wished to pull the metal shard out of my flesh, but it hurt too much to move or speak. All I could do was breathe, and sit, and think, while the armies stormed closer toward the brink.

"What are you going to do next, oh evil one?" asked the general sardonically. "Burn down the puppy farms and starve the orphans?" "Oh, please," replied the Overlord. "That's painfully stereotypical. Besides, I'm malicious. I'm not evil." "If you check a thesaurus, I'm sure those are synonymous," grumbled the general under her breath as the Overlord turned his attention back to his gathered legion of minions.