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August September 2015 www.pilcrowdagger.com Pilcrow & Dagger August September 2015 volume 1 No. 6 Editor LeeAnn Rhoden Subscription Services Subscriptions orders can be made at www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions or by mail Pilcrow & Dagger PO Box 2261 Evans GA 30809 Include your address with all inquiries allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. Editor A. Marie Silver Graphic Artists Sue Hymel Sarah Smith Advisory Board Christopher L. Silver Mack Rhoden Advertising Information Direct all advertising questions for Pilcrow & Dagger to info pilcrowdagger.com or download the Media Kit www.pilcrowdagger.com about advertising Featured Authors Steven W. Baker Brian Michael Barbeito Lana Bella Kat Bodrie H. R. Boldwood Paul Colby Colin Dodds Robert J. Fox Suzanne DeWitt Hall Noreen Lace Jason Lavin Daniel LeBoeuf Helen Mandlin Alyssa Martin Alice Osborn Ashok Shenolikar Terri Skurzewski Okafor Emmanuel Tochukwu Jane Turner-Haessler Letters & Correspondence Please send all letters correspondence and feedback to info pilcrowdagger.com or Pilcrow & Dagger PO Box 2261 Evans GA 30809 Cover Art A. Marie Silver Printed By Claffey Printing Augusta GA Editors Note Life is filled with Firsts. Four years ago Allison found out some exciting news. Her husband was away at the time training for a new position as a certified computer geek. He was supposed to be gone for a few months and this news was something that couldn t wait. Since she couldn t tell him face-to-face she knew the delivery would have to be spectacular. So Allison sent him an email. Yes an email not exactly spectacular in concept but since she s a writer the content of the email was a flash creative nonfiction piece called The CPU and the Disk. And because her husband was in training to become a certified computer geek she decided to write the story in a language he would understand. It went something like this Once upon a time there was a CPU and a Disk. On numerous occasions the CPU and the Disk would join together to transfer and receive information. Normally when the disk transferred the information into the CPU it would automatically go into the Temporary folder and after so many days passed the information in the Temporary Folder would then be sent to the Recycle Bin. However on one particular day unbeknownst to either the CPU or the Disk the information the Disk transferred was sent not to the Temporary Folder but to the C drive. When this happened a file was created. To see contents of the file click on the attachment. This was the attachment A couple of days ago LeeAnn watched her son go off to his first day of school. It was a first for her and a first for him and the whole day was rife with emotion. Questions abound - is he okay is he eating his lunch is he making friends is he following instructions And a wave of relief to see his smiling face at the end of the day. Firsts are hard because they incorporate the unknown. Some firsts are good some are not as good. For this issue we invited our writers to tell us about their first experiences. Some writers submitted stories about their first day on a new job (Restaurant Chaos). Other writers shared stories about their encounters with Hollywood (My First Call). Then there were the bittersweet stories about moving on after a bad marriage (My First Divorce) and celebrating fresh starts (On Mowing as Reclamation). We hope when you read this you ll share in the joys of these first experiences and maybe even take a trip down your own memory lane. - A. Marie and LeeAnn Editors Table of Contents Short Stories Fiction Carrying Ashes By Alyssa Martin Page................................................................ A Decade in an Hour By Jason Lavin Page................................................................ Madam Zelda By H. R. Boldwood Page................................................................ How I Became a Boy By Paul Colby Page................................................................ Suzanne Attends Her First AA Meeting By Kat Bodrie Page................................................................ Empty Dreams By Okafor Emmanuel Tochukwu Page................................................................ Restaurant Chaos By Jane Turner-Haessler Page................................................................ Essay Fields Sacrosanct and a Prologue Before the Storms By Brian Michael Barbeito Page................................................................ On Mowing as Reclamation By Suzanne DeWitt Hall Page................................................................ Table of Contents Poetry First Summer in the Park By Lana Bella Page................................................................... Drowning Dreams By Steven W. Baker Page................................................................... The Bystander s Love Song By Colin Dodds Page................................................................... The Kiss By Noreen Lace Page................................................................... Rogue Tissue By Alice Osborn Page................................................................... Short Stories Non-Fiction Ukrainian Outhouse By Robert J. Fox Page................................................................ My First Orchid By Daniel LeBoeuf Page................................................................ My First Call By Terri Skurzewski Page................................................................ My First Day in the United States By Ashok Shenolikar Page................................................................ My First Divorce By Helen Mandlin Page................................................................ Miscellany Miscellany (mis-uh-ley-nee) n. 1. a miscellaneous collection or group of various or somewhat unrelated items. 2. a miscellaneous collection of literary compositions or pieces by several authors dealing with various topics assembled in a volume or book. Miscellany is a feature in our magazine. It offers a miscellany of tidbits and whatnot that you ll find interesting. Don t miss out Looking for Something to Do We ve gathered the most up-to-date information for upcoming Literary Festivals and Writers Conferences throughout the months of June and July in the U.S. Canada Australia New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Get yourself a single issue to check it out or better yet a subscription so you ll know what s happening for the rest of the year. Now go plan that working vacation Issue Release Dates January 15 2015 Premier Issue March 1 2015 April 15 2015 May 30 2015 July 14 2015 August 28 2015 October 12 2015 November 26 2015 Be sure to get every issue Subscribe today at www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions How Many Have You Missed Already Ukrainian Outhouse By Robert J. Fox My fianc and I were taking an overnight bus to Yalta located on what was still at the time the Ukrainian province of Crimea located on the Black Sea (before Russia decided it wanted it back). I was looking forward to leaving the dirty claustrophobic confines of industrial Dnipropetrovsk in eastern Ukraine (little did I know that I was simply trading that in for the dirty claustrophobic confines of Yalta). The Dnipropetrovsk bus terminal was a depressingly dingy building with a pervasive Soviet feel to it. After waiting far too long in a line not nearly long enough to warrant the wait we were finally able to purchase our bus tickets from a less than enthusiastic and clearly bitter ticket agent before setting off on our journey to what many considered to be the crown jewel of Ukraine so much so Mother Russia decided to recently re-claim it as hers. R. J. Fox s nonfiction story Ukrainian Outhouse is an hysterical narrative on the difficulties of travel for a first world person in a second world country. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. Carrying Ashes By Alyssa Martin Now that mom died my sister and I didn t have a lot to talk about. It s like neither of us could do or say the right thing to appease the other. We were the couple after our children died slowly and painfully holding on to each other out of the principle. Ariel swallowed looking anywhere but at me. Maybe we should go for us. Not everything is about our parents. Ariel pretended to be too upset with me to ever talk to me again but she failed. After a few months of her incessant begging I finally agreed to go to Germany. Ariel thought it was a perfect way to spend our summer and she kept saying so in the taxi on our way to the Minneapolis airport. As she talked I clutched the bag holding our mother s ashes a little tighter. Alyssa Martin s story is a sweet story of love family forgiveness acceptance and healing. Bittersweet and nostalgic. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. My First Orchid By Daniel LeBoeuf For most people exposure to orchids is limited to a decoration sitting at the side of a plate often at a Chinese or Thai restaurant. In that setting the blooms are simply something to move out of the way to get at your food or if it s off to the side already something to glance at as you re reaching for the soy sauce no more distinguished than a spring of parsley a twisted lemon slice or a smear of green paste off the back of a sous chef s spoon. Imagine though if a butterfly were perched on that plate. Would you not marvel at its beauty its delicacy Such an event would elicit gasps of astonishment and people of all ages would clap their hands in delight. Yet I put to you that the orchid flower is no less wondrous no less astonishing no less worthy of notice. Daniel LeBoeuf writes beautifully and gracefully about his passion for the delicate orchid and weaves a lovely metaphor of relationships and marriage between the lines. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. My First Call By Terri Skurzewski It all began with a horoscope that silly little three- or four-liner blurb that caught my attention in the newspaper a little over a week ago. I generally don t make a habit of reading them and I especially don t put much weight into their messages. But this time it made mention of staying true to oneself and not brushing adventure away. It made me stop and think about my bucket list. Sure there are several things I d like to see and do before taking my last breath but I hadn t put together a formal list nor prioritized any goals. I d become reactive to whatever life threw in my path I had given up on taking action. That particular day s horoscope made me reconsider this and my subconscious must have begun looking for opportunities to remedy this inaction. Terri s nonfiction story is a fun tale of checking off an item on your bucket list. And how just taking a chance can lead to great things. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. Submissions We Accept Fiction Non-fiction Creative Non-fiction Mainstream Horror Humor Fantasy Science Fiction Young Adult Themes Pilcrow & Dagger is a thematic literary magazine. Be sure to check the theme before making a submission for publication. August September 1st Experience Stories October Halloween and Horror Stories November December Holiday Stories January 2016 Fantasy Fairy Tales and Sci-Fi www.pilcrowdagger.com themes We Don t Accept Stream-of-Consciousness Fan Fiction Erotica Children s Literature Anything overly religious or political www.pilcrowdagger.com submissions Be sure to check the guideline specifics for proper formatting and delivery. We accept submissions from around the globe. If your submission is selected for publication you will be notified 2-4 weeks prior to publication. We do not notify you if your piece was not selected. We accept simultaneous and multiple submissions and if published we hold nonexclusive rights to your work. Be sure to check out the upcoming issues for special author interviews Who will be next Hmmm... Don t miss out. Get your subscription today. Although we are thematic we are open to and accept ALL submissions. A Decade in an Hour By Jason Lavin A black F-150 stares us down as we try to look unintimidated. It s raised four feet off the ground with tinted windows and a bass system that sends shockwaves beneath our feet and rattles my fillings. The rumble of its idling engine sounds like a growling animal ready to pounce. I feel a surge of adrenaline as my flight or fight instincts kick in but I stand my ground. Looking back on the night I wish I would ve listened to what my body was telling me Run. The passenger door opens and a man exits the truck. I try to catch a glimpse of the driver but he peels out of the parking lot tires screeching like a bobcat. Jason Lavin shares a story familiar to just about every adolescent in the modern world. The struggle between coming of age and what to do when you do. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. Fields Sacrosanct and a Prologue Before the Storms By Brian Michael Barbeito Quiet. It was in the middle afternoon. Quiet but not solemn. Something else. Something in the air was there just beyond or apart from thinking from the linear and logical process. It was the first venture to the fields and they weren t any fields or space but something bordering on sacrosanct... There was no particular central point no nexus but rather it was all a farmer s field a series of fields as if from antiquity but both ancient and new. Maybe there was a vortex or a higher vibration (certainly there was a higher vibration). Far from the first person there its purity gave me the feeling that I was the solo adventurer in a discovery. Mr. Barbeito s essay flows with the simplicity and beauty of green fields and the connection we have to the rain. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. Madam Zelda By H. R. Boldwood We tore through Rodanthe and into the woods pretending to be knights upon our steeds searching for a dragon to slay. Only when we reached the majestic tents of The Barlow Brother s Carnival did we finally stop and there we found our dragon. She was a magnificent fortunetelling machine named Madame Zelda with a porcelain face and coal-black eyes that flashed yellow when she dispensed divinations on tiny strips of paper her lips siren red her head encircled with a silk scarf. She wore shoulder-length hoop earrings and sat cross-legged before a crystal ball her gaze never wavering head held high an all-powerful clairvoyant willing to share the future with those who dared seek it. People waited patiently under the sweltering sun for her pearls of wisdom intriguing insights and prophesies. She was a portal to the unknown. When had ten cents ever purchased more Charlie and I were moths to her flame. In each issue of Pilcrow & Dagger one story is chosen to be read as a podcast. In this issue we chose Madam Zelda by H. R. Boldwood. This story is a tale of mystery guaranteed to haunt you. Be sure to take a few minutes to listen and enjoy. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. To listen go to www.pilcrowdagger.com podcasts. On Mowing as Reclamation By Suzanne DeWitt Hall I bought my first house a year and a half ago at age 50. The place was a bit like me beat up and ugly from the process of divorce. Every door was punched or kicked in and the laminate flooring was peeling off in chunks. One room was covered in magic marker graffiti. Another had holes in the wall board and when we tore it down a fountain of puzzle pieces poured out. Outside the violence continued with holes pockmarking the vinyl siding and enough broken glass to tell of its own Kristallnacht. Suzanne s essay is a confirmation that home is where the heart is and what you make of it. Like a phoenix from the fire she brings her home to life with love. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. How I Became a Boy By Paul Colby As soon as my eyes were drawn to the fluorescent highlights in Bridget s red hair she turned and scowled at me. What are you looking at I stopped in the middle of the hall taken aback and a little flustered. Nothing I said. Nothing What s that supposed to mean smartass Side-stepping my way out of the hallway traffic I gave her a once-over noting that she was both similar and different from how I had remembered her without taking stock of how she was either one or the other. One thing I did notice was that she was holding her books against her bosom and her bosom was pushing back. Maybe that was something new but I couldn t say for sure. Paul Colby treats us to a nostalgic tale of an adolescent boy becoming aware that he is indeed a boy. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. My First Day in the United States By Ashok Shenolikar Realty hit me as I landed on the platform that appeared similar to a train station in India one long wide stretch of hard floor about 100 feet wide and 1000 feet long with a barrack like building in the back. One difference was the absence of porters dressed in white dhoties (loin cloth) and red coats beseeching people to hire them to haul their luggage. Here I had to do it myself. I was lucky I only had one small suitcase and a shoulder bag. Ashok Shenolikar shares his story of coming to the United States giving us a mere taste of the courage it take to make a new home and change our future. Charming To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. My First Divorce By Helen Mandlin I met Peter when I was fifteen on the subway. We both rode the 7 train from Flushing to our respective high schools. Mine Performing Arts. I was a sophomore majoring in drama. Peter s Stuyvesant. He was a senior with all the other smart kids. In the subway car he was standing holding onto a pole wearing a sport coat with corduroy elbow patches. The New York Times was tucked under his arm. Holding onto the other side of the same pole I felt special when he asked me what school I was heading to. He looked to be six feet tall. I was all of five feet two. He looked down at me through horn rimmed glasses his long blonde hair dangling over his eyes. Later when Easy Rider came out everyone took him for Peter Fonda s double. Helen shares her story of divorce. How youth and hope don t necessarily end in happiness and sometimes happiness springs out of hard times. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. Suzanne Attends Her First AA Meeting By Kat Bodrie There was always something to do that early clean the blinds or check to make sure the ketchups were full. You never knew if one of the college kids got lazy the night before and didn t check his section. Sometimes the cooks would make a big breakfast cheesy eggs with a dozen somebody brought in feeling good about the day. They d share with me if I wanted call me back quiet so the others wouldn t feel jealous. Kat s story demonstrates how easily it is to slip into decline and the strength it takes to know when you ve reached the bottom. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. Empty Dreams By Okafor Emmanuel Tochukwu The night before Eze died I had an empty dream. In the dream I was in a quiet dark room. I can t really say if it s the same room I still enter in my dreams. Or whether it is a room at all. It was velvety black. Like a dark screen was placed over my eyes. I walked round and round. Still darkness. I tried to sit on the floor and wait for something to happen. But there was no floor. There are no floors in my empty dreams. Only thick layers of more darkness underneath. Perhaps I should scream. Nothing escaped my mouth. It was like being in a vacuum and the vacuum tightening itself on you on your soul except that you breathed and every other thing was normal. Okafor Tochukwu writes a wonderful psychological thriller leaving the reader questioning what s real what s paranormal and what might be. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. Restaurant Chaos By Jane Turner-Haessler Get yourself a cup of coffee and sit at the bar said Susy. After I ve had my cigarette and coffee I ll give you a tour of the place. Introduce you to the girls. Okay said Nellie as she filled a large Styrofoam cup with black coffee. This might turn out to be a great job after all she thought. Twenty minutes passed while waiting for some instructions when one of the ladies came over to the bar. She didn t look very happy so Nellie put on her best smile. I m Nellie the new waitress she said extending her hand. Are you here to work or drink coffee said the lady. Susy is supposed to show me what to do replied Nellie. She told me to sit here and wait until she was ready. She s not in charge. Jane writes a wonderfully funny story of the first day on the job and what happens when there are more bosses than workers. Or at least more bossy people than you can shake a stick at. To read more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. So Much More Don t miss out on the poetry A number of works guaranteed to entertain Steven W. Baker Lana Bella Colin Dodds Alice Osborn To see more go to www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions. Order a single issue or annual subscription print or digital. Noreen Lace Author Information Brian Michael Barbeito Twitter BrianMBarbeito Facebook https www.facebook.com Fictional.Vignettes Lana Bella Facebook https www.facebook.com niaallanpoe Kat Bodrie Website http www.katbodrie.com Facebook https www.facebook.com katbodriewriter H. R. Boldwood If you enjoyed H. R. Boldwood s story be sure to check out Dead Reckoning available through Grey Wolf Publishing or on Amazon.com Paul Colby Contact pacolby ncsu.edu Colin Dodds Books on Amazon Another Broken Wizard WINDFALL The Last Bad Job Website http www.thecolindodds.com Robert J. Fox Website http www.foxplots.com Twitter foxwriter7 Suzanne DeWitt Hall Website http www.sdewitthall.com HuffPost Page http www.huffingtonpost.com suzanne-dewitt-hall Facebook https www.facebook.com SuzanneMarieDeWittHall Twitter smariedewitt Noreen Lace Website www.NoreenLace.com Helen Mandlin Website http www.helenmandlin.com Facebook https www.facebook.com profile.php id 100009492370839 Author Information Alyssa Martin Social justice blog https mnwomenscenter.wordpress.com Scottish Literary Magazine Aloud story They Never Die https aloudqmu.wordpress.com 2015 04 29 they-never-die-alyssa-martin Alice Osborn Website http www.aliceosborn.com Twitter alice_osborn Facebook http www.facebook.com aliceosborn Book on Main Street Rag http mainstreetrag.com bookstore product heroeswithout-capes Ashok Shenolikar Website http www.ashokshenolikar.com Facebook https www.facebook.com ashok.shenolikar fref ts Twitter ashenoli LinkedIn https www.linkedin.com pub ashok-shenolikar 12 a19 295 Terri Skurzewski Facebook https www.facebook.com terri.skurzewski fref ts Twitter lilysback Contact lilysback aol.com Okafor Emmanuel Tochukwu Facebook https www.facebook.com emmanuel.t.okafor Twitter phenomenaltoch Jane Turner-Haessler - Website http www.janethaesslerart.com This information can also be found on http www.PilcrowDagger.com Listen to the Podcast www.pilcrowdagger.com podcasts Produced by Christopher L. Silver If you want to see more from this Sneak Peek Order a subscription Print or Digital http www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions You can also order single issues In Print or Digital http www.pilcrowdagger.com subscriptions