Fiction Commons^™

With The Light Caught Between, Albert M. Jacoby

All NMU Master's Theses

Although Henry and Claire Lumens are twins, their high school lives couldn’t be more opposite. Henry enjoys sketching, looking at handsome boys, and reading about fantastical places, but his shy and pensive nature means he battles demons of his own every day in the gym locker room. Claire, however, loves the world she lives in, which is easy because she’s bossy, clever, and stunning. On their seventeenth birthday, their grandmother gives them a gift that will take them to a fantastical world. Despite their ignorance of the world’s existence, their grandmother insists it’s their birthplace, and the only way they …

16-Bit Ghouls: A Novella, Alyssa M. Bersine

All NMU Master's Theses

This novella follows twenty-something phone psychic and recluse, Jane, whose dead brother haunts her Super Nintendo. When he prompts Jane to find his killer, she must learn how to navigate a world where he is absent. Jane struggles not only with the ghost, but also with letting go of the nostalgia and anxiety that prevent her from moving on with her life. 16-Bit Ghouls is a story about grief and growing-up.

Missing Photos, Angela Rollins

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

The Contract, Elise Silverstein

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Our Babies Are Coming Home, Jason Guisao

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Mr. Davey, President Of The World, Keara Hagerty

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

The Ballad Of Summer '72, Margaret Thon

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Galatea In Blue, Sarah Hopkins

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

The Stella Stories, Francesca Phillippy

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The first three sections of a longer work.

Las Vegas Paperboy, Matthew O'Brien

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

I’m an author and journalist who has lived in Las Vegas since 1997. My first book, Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas, chronicles my adventures in the city’s underground flood channels. My second book, My Week at the Blue Angel: And Other Stories from the Storm Drains, Strip Clubs, and Trailer Parks of Las Vegas, is a creative-nonfiction collection set in off-the-beaten-path Vegas. These two books grew out of my eight years as a writer and editor for Las Vegas CityLife alternative-weekly paper.

I enrolled in UNLV’s MFA creative-writing program in the fall of …

The Escape Artists, Daniel Gene Hernandez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

My thesis, “The Escape Artists”, is a collection of short fiction that represents most of the work I did as a creative writing master’s student. The title is taken from my longest story, a narrative about a young man’s struggle to avoid violence in a federal prison. As a title, “The Escape Artists” also captures major themes in my other stories; characters often pursue emotional escapism or literally seek to evade predators in my fiction. As a writer, I often explore breakdowns in social order, so my stories tend to be set in turbulent, oppressive political climates or else inside …

Comedown, Lacey Daley

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

These stories examine the private spaces we keep within ourselves, and the people we claim to know best. The characters are not connected by place or time, but rather their struggles to learn the same lesson: the body is bound to fail us. “Comedown” explores love and loss beyond what is expected and each story ends with the discovery that these emotions are not always visceral.

Volume 17, Issue 2: Full Issue

Manuscripts

No abstract provided.

About "An Apology For Idlers", Barbara J. Fisher

Manuscripts

I am in complete argument with Robert Louis Stevenson in his essay An Apology for Idlers. However, I cannot help wishing he were here today, so that he could tell me how to accomplish the nearly insurmountable task of being a successful idler...

A Characterization Of Amarantha, Robert Malsberry

Manuscripts

Any attempt to characterize the heroine, Arnarantha, must first reveal her environment. One of the most backward sections in North Carolina is the setting, and the reader is made vividly aware of this' typical "Tobacco Road" backdrop. Amarantha is a farm girl-used to farm life and used to handling animals. The simplification of her name to the harsh and ugly "Mare" fully illustrates the crudeness and coarseness she is exposed to from birth. The author emphasizes Amarantha's faulty speech traits, but the reader feels no contempt for her-s-only pity for her lack of a normal educational background. Along with the …

Idler Meets Mr. Machine-Man, Paul Ross

Manuscripts

IDLER PAUSED to brush the beads of sweat, worry, from his forehead. He watched as the droplets fell to the dusty road of Life, landing in the footprint of the traveler several yards ahead of him. He studied the footprints, concluding that they were made by a person in great haste. This realization caused a cloud of gloom to pass over Idler's face, for he hated to see anyone in such a predicament. No person in this world can be enjoying himself when he has imbibed that destructive potion, Hurry, as this poor soul has evidently done, he decided...

The Luxury Of Idleness, Catherine Cowan

Manuscripts

Living has almost become a lost art...

Why You Should Have A Dictionary, Richard Orman

Manuscripts

Think, if you will, what talent might have been given to the world if little Johnnie had had a large unabridged dictionary. With such an aid he might have been able to reach the piano keys. But no, his family had no such helpful device. Alas, he had no way to reach those beautifully noisy keys, and instead of becoming a great, although underpaid, musician, he had to lay bricks and amass great wealth in later life.

The Meaning Of Democracy, Shirley Stillwell

Manuscripts

...In Gracie's vivid imagination, her chance to enjoy Iife's most exciting luxuries will come only if Herman is made of more than common clay. If he can provide the best, she can make the most of it; if not, her lot will be none the worse. A girl can dream and sometimes, it does no harm for her to do a little dreaming for her boy friend.

It's Been Lovely, But-, Joe Owens

Manuscripts

MANY'S THE DAY I have toted peppermint patties to a hostess, but this is the first time I have come bearing a brickbat. Before proceeding to bash the hand that feeds me, let me say hurriedly that if any hostesses, after reading this, want to come to my glass house, they are cordially invited and may bring their own stones. Without further dodging, I shall get on with this bread-and-brickbat affair...

What Is Wrong With Our Movies?, Lois M. Peeler

Manuscripts

ANYONE WHO has been unfortunate enough to venture into one of our glacier-cooled motion picture houses recently has no doubt been forced to the conclusion that our "movies" have not only hit rock bottom, but that they are attempting to burrow through it. The average person, sick unto death of psychiatrist's couches, mother fixations, and planned crimes, may take one of two paths: He may give up movies altogether, or he may turn to foreign pictures and thereby find a rewarding experience free from Betty Grable's legs and Alan Ladd's torso. What is wrong with the American movies? Predominantly three …

Adventure On Sunday, Roger Mays

Manuscripts

ANYONE OF COLLEGE age should be able to write a lengthy essay on irrational behavior, The period of attendance in high school seems to be the most irrational period of life. This is a time when we substitute impulsive behavior for rational action. Adults try to help us reason things out, but we do not like to be reasonable because it spoils our fun and excitement. From this period of adjustment in my life one irrational experience stands uppermost in my mind...

Courtesy, Sam Kouchis

Manuscripts

l[lV.'\LHY! vVhat's that? It originally had something to do ~ith horses. The knights of old started it. It also has something to do with courtesy and politeness. Maybe the knights were polite to their horses. It's the only conclusion I can come to. Anyway, chivalry seems to have disappeared. If you are doubtful of what I say, stand by the main doors of the school some morning. A girl opens the door to the building, and, before she knows it, a half dozen boys push their way into the building while she stands holding the door. If a boy accidentally …

Impressions Of Keats, Jack Albertson

Manuscripts

...However, I think Keats did find happiness. He found it in his search for beauty. He found it by reaching and climbing to heights unknown to other men. He lived in a dreamer's world, and in that world he found happiness and beauty.

Realizing The Meaning Of Integrity, Francis H. Balcom

Manuscripts

THE WORD INTEGRITY had no definite meaning to me until I read the essay, "The Luxury of Integrity," by Stuart Chase. Moral soundness, honesty, and uprightness were given as definitions in the dictionary. Only through my experiences can I appreciate these meanings. I was reared in a happy home even though it was not blessed with great material wealth. From the first days I can remember, truthfulness and honesty were bywords in my home. The rural area in which I lived provided a never-ending list of chores. T was taught how to do the work required, and, from that time …

The Importance Of Words, Barbara Dunham

Manuscripts

ONE OF THE most powerful forces at work in the world today is the ability to speak fluently. So important are words that many scientists believe that language ability is the missing link between man and the ape. So important are words that hundreds of people devote their lives to the study of etymology and to the compilation of more complete and correct dictionaries, and thousands more continually strive to increase and excel in word power. With words alone, one can hurt deeply or heal gently; one can exalt or degrade; one can lead or be led. Used in the …

The Toy Box, Alice Aldrich

Manuscripts

When the Coopers came to call, I was elected to entertain their six year old twins, Jeanie and Joanie. On sudden inspiration I took the two up to the attic where there is a large toy box, half-filled with odds and ends of once beloved playthings...

It Ain't Etiquette, Forrest A. Dunderman

Manuscripts

...I do not condone coarseness at the table, but its adversary, "delicacy," has risen to such prominence that if the Duchess of Tweedleborn were to give vent to a belch, no matter how tiny or how Bacchanalian, the scandal would be earth-shaking...

The Understandenest Woman, Emmett Mcginley

Manuscripts

WELL, SIR, THIS Mrs. Webb is the understandenest woman I ever run across. They ain't none other like her in my territory. It would sure make things easier if they was. The way things are now, it's gettin' so I just can't quite stomach this mail carryin' business. 'Specially since the war sneaked up on us. Seems like everybody is lookin' for a letter from everybody else. Mothers lookin' for letters from their boys, grandmas from the grandsons they used to bounce on their knee, daughters from their sweethearts, and the brothers and dads are in there too, but they …

Tolstoi, Jack Monninger

Manuscripts

No abstract provided.