Cursed Moon by Jude Chao. After seventeen years in Decatur, Illinois, Jude headed west and eventually landed in the soft, temperate arms of San Diego, California. She has sold two short stories; her first novel, Cruel Resurrection, is making its rounds to the literary agencies, and she is currently sweating over her second. She speaks English (natch,) Mandarin Chinese, and Hebrew, is learning Arabic, and dreams of having Yoshitaka Amano illustrate her work someday. Her more irrelevant thoughts are collected at obscureinsd.blogspot.com.

The demons had returned, and we came too late to save the child. A black cloud of flies buzzed around him; death's rot poisoned the air... (continued)

Premonitions of Doom by Rebecca Kane. Rebecca lives in Colorado where she enjoys mountain biking, skiing, hiking and running. In winters, she drives her two teenage children to their various free-style skiing events and in summers, her family travels to mountain biking races that the entire family participates in. Rebecca is a passionate reader of the supernatural, crime, murder and macabre. Rebecca's short story "Murder in a Stupor" appeared in the Fall 2005 issue of MT.

"Kara, guess what?" My best friend Stephanie ignored the library’s code of silence as she rushed towards me. "What?" I was curious. Did she score another bargain at the mall?... (continued)

The Girl Who Loved Shooting Stars by Kevin Gruzewski. Kevin lives in the south suburbs of Chicago. His previous works have been featured in The First Line, The Green Tricycle, The Muse-Apprentice Guild, and ToastedCheese.com. He is also a regular contributor to Pat: The Magazine for Guys. When not writing he attends to a 40-hour weekly commitment and wishes he could see more stars in the sky.

I brought a dark bottle to my mouth just about the time my world started spinning. Around me a prominent bass rhythm blared as several people from my past danced in the fashionable living room... (continued)

Return to Brigadoon by George Bisker. George Bisker was born in Ohio in 1965. A West Point graduate and veteran of the Persian Gulf War, he is currently employed as an IT/IS Manager. He was recently recognized by New York Times Bestselling Author Tracy Hickman, who chose his story Path of Dreams as the first place winner in the Tales of the Canticles contest. He is currently working on a novel he hopes to market next year. Feedback can be sent to gbisker@yahoo.com.

After the old man introduced himself as Jeff Douglas, he sat down, placed a battered briefcase on the floor next to him, and asked Jake Flanagan a question. "Have you ever seen Brigadoon?"... (continued)

Escape by Donna Marie Robb. Donna Marie has published a fantasy fiction novel through a small press. Her story "The Waterghost" was published in the Summer 2004 issue of MT. She has also had stories published in Dark Moon Rising, Enigma, Femspec and Alien Skin Magazine, and is in the process of writing more short stories and novels. During the day Donna works as a children's librarian, making time to write in the evenings and on weekends. She also enjoys traveling to exotic foreign countries with her husband Ron Atmur.

"Why don't you fight this, Elishen?" Blinking away the hot tears that blurred her vision, Trilby glared up at her friend. "The sorcerer race controls us because they think they can... (continued)

The Patience Factor by Rick McQuiston. Rick lives in Warren, Michigan with his wife and two children. He has been writing for nearly ten years and has had twelve stories published. His other creative pursuits include painting, music (he plays drums, guitar, bass and keyboards), poetry and astronomy. Rick's short story "To Keep Something In" was previously published in the Summer 2004 issue of MT.

Everett Stones was a patient man. He wore the virtue like a coat, immersing himself in it, using it as a tool to deal with life’s unexpected and inevitable twists and turns... (continued)

SPECIAL FEATURES

NEW FICTION BY ASSISTANT EDITOR JJ COLLINS: WOUNDS

THE ASHLEY BARNARD INTERVIEW
Author of THE UNICORN THIEF

The Oiler by Kip Tobin. Kip believes beliefs can be crutches, science can be fallible, silence can be as beautiful as a symphony, most lies are told with inviting smiles, lightness blinds more often than darkness, intuitions are usually absolute personal truths, heaven is momentary and empires always fall. He is presently working on his book entitled, Ankle Tales from Mayrit, a book about teaching English in Madrid.

By the third week into his stay, he would use olive oil with anything. It began innocently enough; it always does. Even before he moved there, he loved olives... (continued)

The Notification by Joseph Sollazzo. Joseph has been writing stories for most of his 39 years. His "real" job is a sergeant for the Tampa Police Department, which he says leaves him precious little time to write. His 2005 New Year’s resolution is to find the time to not only write, but to submit his stories. So far, he's had three acceptances, "which makes all of the rejections much easier to swallow."

They were only the second and third dead people Miller had ever seen. The first had been his grandmother, who had died when Miller was eight years old... (continued)

Lights, Camera, Action by J. Damien Hood. J. Damien lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia with his wife and three children. "I fell in love with writing in the second grade. My father took me to Poe’s house and bought me a collection of his short stories. I stayed up reading until after midnight. I fell asleep after reading 'The Tell-Tale Heart.' I closed my eyes that night staring into the eye of the old man as he lay in bed. I was frightened, lonely, crazy. But above all, I was happy."

"Are you sure he tests positive?" Mike asked. "Yeah, Wendy’s a Bio major and she ran it herself. Hell, he’s only got a couple of days left"... (continued)

Leviathan's Fishhook by Ariel James. Ariel is a married 20-something living in Kansas City, Missouri. He holds a B.A. in English, and is completing his Master of Divinity, in the hopes that greater knowledge of God will promote better communications between the two of them. In his downtime he plays hoops, blogs (bittersweetblue.blogspot.com), and wishes he could write like C.S. Lewis. He attempts to write in the same manner that he reads—-bravely, imaginatively, and somewhat compulsively.

For me there are no "good old days." I don’t look over my shoulder much as a rule. Once you’ve stared a troll or harpy in the eye--much less a dragon--memories are like old debts, best forgotten... (continued)

Delete by Edward Rodosek. Edward Alexander Rodosek was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia. He is a Construction Engineer, Doctor of Technical Science and Senior Professor on the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Ljubljana, Slovenia, European Union. He is married to Rina and they have one daughter, Tejka. Edward is an author of ten collections of short science fiction stories and four novels in Slovenia with good reviews. Several of his short stories have been published in SF magazines in USA and UK (Aphelion, Down in the Dirt, Dream Vault, Jupiter, Skyline, Spinnings, Thirteen, Ultraverse, Vermeer).

Anthony Bing had worked at Omnitest Inc. for years. The entire company was engaged in a huge test program of the future interstellar spaceship IS–1... (continued)

MISSED IT IN THE LAST ISSUE?

Well here is another chance to read the The Brian Holtz Interview, author of "Harvey & Ethel."

  MIDNIGHT TIMES PUBLICATION INFO

If you are a new or beginning writer interested in an opportunity to get published, and you have written work with a "darkness" theme, I encourage you to take a look at the MT submission guidelines. Previous contributing authors and their works can be accessed from the Fiction & Poetry Archive or the Back Issues page. Future contributing authors, publication deadlines, and special themes for upcoming issues can be found on the Next Issue page.