What a Story, Thomm (2017.12.23)
We don't poach Sarah T so we can watch a good movie of a bad movie on a winter's night.

A Special Place in Hell (2017.12.13)
If I am in Hell, ministering the damned, that makes me a demon, right?

Have Yourself a Scary Sinterklaas (2017.12.02)
Terror puppets put one in the mood for the holidays.

Hypothetical Life of the Anxious (2017.11.30)
My anxiety lets me plan out resurrection.

A Good and Accurating of the Darkness (2017.11.26)
I am not dark. I just have some darkness within me.

Thanks for the Memories (2017.11.24)
I review prominent Thanksgiving memories, resulting in the end of Bryan's engagement.

Kiss and Tell (2017.11.13)
Learning the real context of a first kiss doesn't end a marriage.

Four to Six (2017.11.11)
Mistakes end up improving the night with lovely people.

The Neuroses of Accidental Lives (2017.11.07)
Wherein I want beauty to matter more than the heat death of the universe.

David and Grillades (2017.11.06)
We meet Susan's David.

Dr. Susan (2017.10.29)
I meet someone who had the potential to be adored.

The Presence of Predators (2017.10.17)
Many adults sexually abuse children.

A Fork Stuck in the Road (2017.10.14)
Melissa deserved a wedding day instead of a funeral.

Pico the Immortal (2017.09.17)
Surely an immortal teddy bear hamster cures all worries about death.

The Bicameral Mind (2017.09.15)
Do the gods talk to you?
Me either.

September 12th (2017.09.12)
We were together on September 12th, 2001, and, apparently, not since.

Fantastic Beast and How to Lose Them (2017.09.09)
I struggle to be at the writing table at a wedding, since I am not the centerpiece.

Sometimes the Abyss (2017.09.08)
Don't magnify insects into kaiju.

My First Victim: the Little Girl with Black Eyes (2017.08.25)
I have loved the victims and nearly drown rescuing them.

Picky Aardvark (2017.08.24)
I see the fellow ants, but I don't know them.

Fabio, the Goose, and Infinite Consequences (2017.08.23)
A sprained ankle could change the world. A terrorist attack in 2001 is still killing Americans.

Some of Them Want to Be Used by You (2017.08.22)
The world wasted a vital resource not supporting gifted tots.

Enjoy the Silence (2017.08.21)
Just shut up for a second, okay?

Fleeing Happiness (2017.08.20)
Should I seek out happiness?

Radical Times at Lake George (2017.08.18)
Just accept vacations are out of your control.

Stolen Time (2017.08.05)
We visit Melissa's grave.

Lizzie Borden Took an Ax (2017.07.29)
We visit the site of a double homicide and have breakfast.

Too Far Away for Me to Hold (2017.07.14)
Bands get older, the fans stay the same... well, no, we age too.

Daniel, Kest, and the Quiet (2017.07.11)
Daniel and Kest visit.

Firework Apocalypse (2017.07.03)
Fireworks aren't the end of the world.

Thirty-Seven Questions (2017.06.30)
How many questions are needed to like someone at a party?

What I Do on My Summer Vacation (2017.06.23)
I write.
There, I just saved you the trouble of reading it.

Dancing Instructions from the Beyond (2017.06.22)
In rapid succession, I encounter two men Melissa slept with, who now want to be friendly with me.

Wake to Sleep (2017.06.21)
About sleeping with friend.
I mean, sleeping as an analogy to friendship.

A Citizen of the Sacred and Mundane (2017.06.12)
You cannot be wholly spiritual in a mundane world. Bills must be paid for your crystals.

Not a Bad Gig on a Bad Day (2017.06.09)
My job really isn't that hard.

Archipelago of Social Islands (2017.06.08)
I make plans to stay sane.

The Problem of Cool (2017.06.07)
I'm no longer cool, but that's not a bad thing.

Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose (2017.06.05)
Are any of us free?

Sweet Sorrow (2017.06.03)
Amber leaves for a few days, for the first time since we moved in together.

Immemorial Day (2017.06.02)
You can't live forever.
Not me, though. I'm going to be immortal.

Trash Buddy (2017.06.01)
I pick through garbage and meet someone, but maybe I'm the real trash buddy...

Suicidal Tendencies (2017.05.25)
We work so hard to keep alive boys you wish were dead.

The Huge Heermance (2017.05.21)
Jay Gatsby lives and is in Tivoli.

Sea of Weirdness (2017.05.20)
I may not be under the water, but I can interview those who see mermaids.

Stop Watch (2017.05.18)
Time slows inside my head.

Grok Doubleplusungood and Jalad at Tanagra (2017.05.17)
I want to reach out, but I am a linguistic puzzle.

Our Digitally Departed (2017.05.15)
Facebook won't make the dead rise.

Our Nameless Cat (2017.05.12)
The story of a half-feral, hissing beast.

The Blackout of '17 (2017.05.10)
A tree tugs at the power lines. A chainsaw rips off the wall.

Liz the First (2017.05.05)
Liz is a therapist. She is not the therapist, but she may be a friend.

Seeking: Sherpa (2017.05.02)
The therapist who takes Xen as a client had better be a guru.

The Lake of Better (2017.04.27)
Things are better (or right), but the bad sticks out by contrast.

Benevolent Dictator (2017.04.21)
I would rather head an oligarchy with Elizabeth from Bioshock: Infinite.

Late for the Love of My Life (2017.04.19)
I could have met Amber sooner and would like back the time.

Madeline, Who Makes Zines (2017.04.16)
We encounter a curious librarian who makes zines, though not in the wild.

Comfortable in Their Skin (2017.04.13)
My students are burdened by their race and sometimes want to be transethnic.

False Starts for a Star (2017.04.03)
Amber deserves success.

Greedy Kindness (2017.03.29)
If you are kind because you expect an unlikely reward, is it still kindness?

Low Tide (2017.03.27)
There are mostly good days, but they are less interesting.

Crossing the Bridge (2017.03.23)
Chris crosses a bridge. Metaphorically.
No, wait, I mean literally.

Eidolon and Daemon (2017.03.08)
You are not yourself. You are the being moving your body around in this world.

Good Riddance (A Series of Masks) (2017.02.20)
Xen performs at No Such Convention and attends a memorial service all in the same weekend! Good thing he is a masked magician.

She Would Not Want to Be Burned (2017.02.14)
Melissa wouldn't want to be cremated. She tried it once.

Melissa Remains (2017.02.11)
Melissa lingers and former friends are told.

Melissa Dies (2017.02.10)
It's right there in the title. No metaphor here. She is dead.

The Saddest Lines (2017.02.06)
A letter to Daniel's retreating back.

I Will Miss You (2017.01.30)
Daniel leaves.

Childfree Anxiety (2017.01.25)
Xen really doesn't want children, but he can't let it drive him crazy.

An Accounting of Best Friends, Past and Present (2017.01.09)
If one best friend is riding off into the sunset, what happened to prior ones?

Last Sushi (2017.01.07)
Goodbyes are forced over Japanese food.

The Art of Losing (2017.01.01)
Daniel and Kest bring us to a museum and some of us end the night in Uptown Kingston.

Thomm Quackenbush is an author and teacher in the Hudson Valley. He has published four novels in his Night's Dream series (We Shadows, Danse Macabre, Artificial Gods, and Flies to Wanton Boys). He has sold jewelry in Victorian England, confused children as a mad scientist, filed away more books than anyone has ever read, and tried to inspire the learning disabled and gifted. He is capable of crossing one eye, raising one eyebrow, and once accidentally groped a ghost. When not writing, he can be found biking, hiking the Adirondacks, grazing on snacks at art openings, and keeping a straight face when listening to people tell him they are in touch with 164 species of interstellar beings. He likes when you comment.