Fiction Commons^™

Rooms Without Men, Kailey Brennan

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

A Series Of Tubes, Timothy Concannon

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Out Of View: Stories, Justin Bendell

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

OUT OF VIEW is a collection of stories set in the American Southwest about people coping with loss—the death of parents, children, ideals, innocence.

The characters in this collection reap or resist lessons of life as they struggle to find their place in the world. In “First Rain,” 15-year-old Tessie struggles with the loss of her father and the demands of her mother as she navigates the rocky terrain of adolescence. In “Monsters,” middle-aged Maury has to choose between a new relationship and protecting the well-being of his 4-year-old ‘daughter.’ The stories are influenced by the Western realism of Maile …

The Saints Of Banias, Jennifer Maritza Mccauley

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

THE SAINTS OF BANIAS is a novel set in a fictional slavetown during the Reconstruction Era. The work seeks to blend myth, magic, and history to create a world that is both believable and otherworldly. The novel follows Beah, an ex-slave girl travelling to the town of Banias in hopes of finding her mother; Prophet Moon, an itinerant vision-seer who offers to help Beah with her goal; and the founder of the town, Claude Banias, who struggles to protect Banias from bloodthirsty radicals. As the characters’ lives intertwine, they face more challenges and secrets.

THE SAINTS OF BANIAS is loosely …

Rulers, Rhetoric, And Ray-Guns: A Post Colonial Look At 90'S Alien Invasion Media, Logan Matthew Hudspeth

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis opens discussion on American alien invasion films of the 90s as a self-critique, a reaction to being an imperial power at the end of the Cold War. The alien menace in these films is not the "other" but rather the U.S. itself being the colonizer or conqueror looking to expand its sphere of influence. Furthermore, it discusses how Presidential rhetoric in the films play a role in this postcolonial reading. Specific works studied are: Independence Day (1996), Mars Attacks! (1996), Babylon 5: In the Beginning (1998), and The Puppet Masters (1994).

Laurus: After Dark. Fall 2014, Daley Eldorado, Sarah Benal, Emily Burns, Kirsten Clawson, Eric Holt, Sam Greenfield, Sean Stewart, Lori Nevole, Kayla Punt, Alexa Horn, Nicole Mosby, Abie Rohde, Michael Page, Dizzy Roberson, Samuel Lee, Emily Tran, Leonardo Casabella, Scott Sampson, Katie Cooley, Alec Kaus, Hannah Eads, Madeline Cass, Nicholas Wilkinson, Haley Heesacker, Mina Holmes, Evan Pillle

Laurus: Undergraduate Literature Journal of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Contents

Dizzy Roberson
“The Devil Is Just Left of the Spleen”...6

Samuel Lee
“Sonnet - To Punk”.....9
“Sonnet, Again”......26
“Sea of Trees”......42

Emily Tran
“Bloody Eyeballs”.....10

Leonardo Casabella
“The Broken Frame”.....11

Scott Sampson
“Packed”.......18

Katie Cooley
“Shades”.......19

Alec Kaus
“Warrant”......20
“Waiting”......25
“When the Night”.....44

Hannah Eads
“Blessed Be!”......21

Madeline Cass
“Scrimshaw”......23

Nicholas Wilkinson
“The Hunt”......27

Haley Heesacker
“The Lonely Pink Flower”.....35

Mina Holmes
“Sugar and Spice”.....36

Evan Pille
“To the Desk of Edgar L. Brandbum”...45

Contributor Bios......59

Editor Bios......62

The Story Of My Art: A Study In Fiction Writing, Victoria J. Steelman

Senior Honors Theses

This creative thesis examines the several aspects of the author’s study and experience on the path to become a fiction writer. The author’s writing theory is addressed, utilizing research from a variety of authorities on the subject and focusing primarily on the nonexistence of rules for crafting fiction, the role of education in the life of the writer, and the importance of the practice of writing itself. The second section details the writer’s personal method of crafting fiction, focusing on the key elements of character, plot, and setting. The third section contains a full marketing plan for the author’s intended …

As Close As You'll Ever Be, Seamus O'Scanlain

Publications and Research

Short story collection featuring Victor McGowan - set in Galway, Belfast, Boston and New York. Irish crime fiction noir collection.

Brigid's Peace: An Examination Of The Influences Of The Catholic Intellectual Tradition On One Writer's Creative Work, Marie A. Hulme

Presidential Seminar on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

The genesis of my novel, Brigid’s Peace, which I began in the spring of 2013 coinciding with my studies in the Presidential Seminar, was an interest in examining the need for luminosity, for transcendence, for beauty in the face of dark despair and evil. My work centers on the story of an Irish Catholic family living in Belfast, Northern Ireland during the time of sectarian conflict known as “the troubles,” but more specifically on the impact of events related to that time on one young woman, Brigid Donegan, an artist and one of seven sisters. Through a close, third person …

¡Escriba! ¡Write! Volume 12, June 2014, Hostos Community College Library

¡Escriba!

Eric Stewart- "Same Love: Examining the Relationship Between David and Jonathan";

Santee Agrispin- "Music in my Life";

Jessica Anchundia- "Where I’m From";

Ahmed Caraballo- "A Life With Meaning";

Dina Esquivel- "How ‘McDonaldization’ Affects Our Society";

Jose Javier Castro- "Anonymously Yours";

Jose Javier Castro- "Homeland Uprootal";

Jose Javier Castro- "Gone but not Forgotten";

Earl Justice- "Dreamality";

Gisselle Belia- "Adios";

Eric Stewart- "After the Arrest: Exploring the Inner Workings of the New York State Criminal Justice System";

Karla Ferrera- "Poetry: The Awakening of a Creative Self";

Mario Leazard- "Sisters are Good Listeners";

Marlenny Toribio- "Finding Ways";

Angelica Rodriguez- "Antes de Morir";

Angelica …

Grafton Ave.: A Screenplay, Christopher Porazzo

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Mom, Dad, And Johnny, John Condry

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

The Sand In The Glass: A Journey Through The Writing Process, Cory Wentworth

Senior Honors Projects

“At one time I thought the most important thing was talent. I think now that — the young man or the young woman must possess or teach himself, train himself, in infinite patience, which is to try and to try and to try until it comes right.”

—William Faulkner on writing

Storytelling is one of the oldest traditions and forms of entertainment in the history of the human race. Whether through oral storytelling, wall paintings, or the written word, storytelling may be as old as language itself. I yearn to be a part of this history and to have my …

The Ancient Art Of Smile-Making, Elizabeth Ann Garrett

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

If I am anything, I am a Kentuckian, which means I appreciate a good storyteller. In my writing, I hope to bring back some dignity to the “lost cause” of the good values from a broken culture. While I am not quite “southern” enough to qualify as a writer of Southern Gothic fiction, I can relate to this brand of identity crisis in which someone wants to maintain an archaic mindset in a culture charging towards “progress.” As technology and corporate success take precedence over a genteel and pastoral soul, our collective competitiveness has crippled a quaint future of back …

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Coop Board's Borg Queen: A Sf/Memoir, Marleen S. Barr

Publications and Research

This is a short story.

New Tricks (2014), John Nelson, Katie Miller, Stacey Berry, Deana Hueners, Ashley Geditz, Brianna Prill, Ashley Rieger, Mary Metzger, Sarah Sproul, Dillon Dwyer

New Tricks

It is an exclusive secret if one knows a muse and it is an even more exclusive ability if said person is able to channel her beauty. For most people, seducing a muse is no easy task. It takes a special kind of creative mind to attract the personification of art. Frequently, the rigorous process of invoking one of the muses often involves a set of rituals that resemble courtship displays. Muses demand undying attention and affection from their vessel before they will allow themselves to flow through a mortal instrument and onto a medium of art. In those rare …

Out Of Reach [Short Story], Kathleen Fowler

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Dice Hearts And Other Islands, Bailey O'Brien

Honors College

This collection of fiction, cumulatively Dice Hearts and Other Islands, explores both the isolation of islands and the connections that can be made between them. While these islands can be the physical landmasses of the sea, in this collection islands also refer to the isolated selves of the characters. Inspired by Elizabeth Strout’s narrative style in her novel Olive Kitteridge, the short stories in this collection similarly unveil the two main characters through stories bridged with connections. The latter half of this collection, a play and a monologue, are influenced by the playwright John Cariani. As are the …

Eduard, Sasha, And I Go To The Black Sea, Sharon L. Stephenson

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

During the coffee break I tell Eduard that one of the bigwigs from his lab creeps me out. To him this is no surprise. He asks if I have gone swimming in the Black Sea. No. Not yet. I plan to go this afternoon, when most of the conference participants are on an excursion to a botanical garden. He decides I need an escort.

Eduard is older than my mother, born in 1935. I have known him for over twenty years. Yesterday my children chided me for not including Eduard in our skype session. Today he and I sit outside …

Haiti, 1965 - A Novel, Fabienne Sylvia Josaphat

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

HAITI, 1965 is a historical novel set in Haiti where a struggling taxi driver, Raymond L’Eveillé, struggles to provide for his family under the rule of the infamous dictator François Duvalier Sr.

Raymond’s brother Nicolas, a professor and attorney, lives a more luxurious lifestyle, and both brothers are at odds over finances. When Nicolas decides to write a book about the crimes committed by the government, the inevitable happens. The brutal Tonton Macoutes militia raid his home and find notes that are as evidence enough to send him to Haiti's most notorious gulag of the era, Fort Dimanche, It will …

The Lines We Crossed, Jane Deon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

THE LINES WE CROSSED is a historical novel set in Umbria, Italy from 1943-1944. One October morning, Emilia Testadura awakes to find the Nazis have arrived in her village. Major Christoph Strauss presses Emilia into service as housekeeper for the soldiers who now occupy an abandoned palazzo in the village. As the stakes and complications rise in the war throughout winter and spring, so they do for Emilia. Brutal reinforcements arrive and conditions become very dangerous. Emilia realizes she is falling in love with Major Strauss. She learns secrets that change her view of her deceased father and herself. That …

Visitations: A Novel, Joseph Anderson

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

VISITATIONS, a novel, explores themes of haunting and desire in New York City, in two time periods. The modern-day action focuses on Alan Philips whose wife, Beth, has recently died. His efforts to resume a normal life are sabotaged by what he comes to believe is her ghost. In the parallel story, in 1924, Oliver Nathan Blackburn, a pulp writer, in the midst of a breakdown writes a story that may play a role in Beth’s death.

VISITATIONS presents Alan and Oliver’s perspectives in third person narration, so that the reader is both close to and may question the subjectivity …

Life Is Good-If But Briefly, Tim P. Curtis

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

LIFE IS GOOD—IF BUT BRIEFLY is a contemporary, satirical novel written in the third person. Walter Dingles, the story’s protagonist, is an introspective twenty-two-year-old with a knack for screwing things up. After finishing college, Walter realizes he’s emotionally ill prepared to face the world on his own. He moves back home vowing to get his shit together. He lands a job at his old high school, but his efforts are exacerbated when his grandfather’s porn collection ends up in the principal’s office, he unknowingly begins taking his mother’s estrogen supplements, and family secrets come to the fore. In the end, …

The Helvetica Story, Jonathan Lyons

Other Faculty Research and Publications

A humorous short story on the rise and fall of the typeface Helvetica and its many imitators.

The Watermark: A Journal Of The Arts - Vol. 22 - 2014, University Of Massachusetts Boston

The Watermark: A Journal of the Arts (1993-ongoing)

No abstract provided.

Three Stories: "Permission," "Consolation," And "Presentation", Christopher Merkner

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Lone Flower: A Collaborative Cybernovel, Western Kentucky University Department Of Communication

Communication Student Publications

No abstract provided.

2014 Jim Wayne Miller Contest Winners, Creative Writing Committee

Mary Ellen and Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of Writing

No abstract provided.

Howard Elman's Farewell, Ernest Hebert

Dartmouth Scholarship

Part Falstaff, part King Lear, but all American, Howard Elman was a fifty-something workingman when he burst onto the literary scene in The Dogs of March, the first novel of the Darby Chronicles. Now in this, its seventh installment, the Darby constable is an eighty-something widower who wants to do "a great thing" before he motors off into the sunset.

Maybe Howard achieves this goal, but he manages it in strange, wonderful, and dangerous ways. On his quest he's aided, abetted, hindered, and befuddled by his middle-aged children, his hundred-year-old hermit friend Cooty Patterson, a voice in his head, and …

Histories, Arthur B. Evans

Global Language Studies Faculty publications

No abstract provided.