TCR Talks with Rachel Howzell Hall, author of The Last One

By Dave Oei Rachel Howzell Hall is entering brand new territory with her latest novel. After writing a book series featuring Detective Elouise Norton and ten other standalone crime and mystery novels, the two-time Los Angeles Times Book Award winner has published her first foray into the genre of romantasy with her new novel, The Last One. It features Kai, a sharp, strong, beautiful woman who discovers her clothes are missing, and worse, she has no memory of who she is or why she’s in the middle of a forest. The world is in the midst of drought and a…

Jessup’s Quick Fill by Kerri Brady Long

Jessup used to think thieves were the scum of the earth. Scab-picking sleazeballs just a mote better than serial killers, pedophiles, and rapists. But what had happened lately at the Quick Fill? It made him reckon that so-called artists were the true creeping brutes, ranking only a quarter-step above the Devil. Hell, maybe even tied with Big Red himself. The kid was bone-thin and filthy, his pockets jammed full of pilfered junk, his arms full of those gold bars they all tried to steal. Jesus God almighty, it was too hot for this. The AC was blasting inside the mart,…

The Belt by James Armstong

He’s special, this one. I never would’ve taken him home if he weren’t. And it’s not like it’s our first date. I’ve done this before. I’ll do it again. Unless he’s the one. Whether he is or not, he’s the one right now. What’s that he says? My belt? I picked it up at a thrift store. I tell him that. He says he likes it anyway. More, in fact. There’s a mystery about it, having belonged to someone else. I smile. I watch his fingers as he unbuckles the belt. He peels the pants off my legs. I laugh.…

The Imposter by Derek Andersen

Just as I was about to close my therapy office for the day, a mysterious figure arrived at my door. I could only make out his silhouette, for a brilliant aura radiated from him. From some unseen vantage, angels trumpeted his arrival, their heavenly fanfare rendering me mute. Hark and behold! Before me stood Jesus Christ, Son of Man.  When my eyes adjusted to Christ’s aura, I realized He was not attired in His iconic messianic garb. Instead of immaculate white robes, He sported a gray sweatsuit that bore a rich tapestry of stains: mustard, red wine, and Cheeto dust.…

Funfettti Kisses by Lorraine A. Wheat

Cayla didn’t want her boyfriend telling anyone about their mistake. Not ever.  She didn’t even want to believe their mistake was real. That’s why she was up again peeing on sticks while the entire world was sleep. Her pee dripped from her body to the stick. Squeezing the stick tight, she prayed it would prove the others wrong. Hope, horror, and impatience climbed up her legs. The two pink lines grew, her hands shaking. Maybe she should pee on another. Maybe she should accept this pregnancy as her new reality.  She wrapped each stick in three folds of toilet paper…

REVIEW: The Harrowing by Kristen Kiesling and Rye Hickman

Reviewed by Evelyn Garcia The Harrowing is an innovative thriller written by Kristen Kiesling and illustrated by Rye Hickman. When a teenage farm girl named Rowan discovers she has psychic powers that give her the ability to see horrifying visions of future murders, her life is turned upside-down. Rowan joins Rosewood, a secret organization dedicated to training Harrows, who are individuals with psychic abilities like her own. Every Harrow is given the responsibility to seek out and find imcrims (imminent criminals), so they can put a stop to future crimes. Kiesling presents a refreshing take on the hero’s journey, as…

TCR Talks with Nicholas Belardes, author of The Deading

By Daniel J. Collins Multi-hyphenate author Nicholas Belardes writes what he knows—the ecological landscape of Central California, the study of climate change and crisis, birds, the Chicano experience—and then blends and turbocharges it with the unknown, crafting energetic and complex works that combine the best elements of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. A graduate of UC Riverside Palm Desert’s Low Residency program with an MFA in fiction, Nick studied under horror writer Stephen Graham Jones and crime writer Tod Goldberg. His new book, The Deading, is an eco-horror tale that blends the sensibilities of both genres while also grounding the…

Plums by Anna da Silva

“How about you put the phone away while we eat?” I tell Beck. My words float up, accidental question mark dangling.  “Ma, it’s for school,” Beck says without looking up from under his basketball hoodie. “Besides,” he waves his hand at the empty place-setting in front of me, “are you even eating?” The three of us sit at a round table in the center of a bustling Holiday Inn Express breakfast hall, boys’ jackets and backpacks strewn on chairs, their clunky boots jostling under the table. The air tastes like hot maple syrup.  “Duh! She never eats breakfast!” Finn makes…

Crescent City Connection by Daniel Webre

Her name was Facetia, or so she told me anyway. I met her on Interstate 10. She was hitchhiking, maybe stranded, and I was bored and curious, on my way to New Orleans from a city across the swamp. I had picked up hitchhikers before. So it wasn’t just because she was a young woman and reasonably attractive. But those other times, I’d been drinking, which I realize now made it a bad idea for both of us. I was barreling down the interstate in a mid-nineties Town Car—coal black. This was one of my rare excursions beyond the city’s…

The Mechanical Bull by Jacqueline Berkman

It wasn’t until the bachelorette partiers were on their third round of Never Have I Ever that Violet, sitting under the Cactus Cove’s pulsating array of strobe lights, looked around and realized she couldn’t find any hot guys anywhere.  “Lemme see here,” said the bride-to-be Olivia, her eyes droopy. She’d already had a couple shots and some passion fruit rum drink from the bar and was starting to slur her words. “Never have I ever…done the mile-high club thing or whatever.” This resulted in an eruption of giggles, and at least three of the ladies threw back shots. Violet grimaced,…