A haunting happening around Halloween “Hey. Sarah Jane said when she was at the store with Makenzie she saw that princess costume.” “Uh-huh.” “You know, the one she’s been telling us about. She wants that one. She saw it the other day. It’s there. …

Will repairs and corrections restore a broken life? — He walked up the metal steps past the sign every single day. Escalator Down for Repair. It had been permanently affixed to the shiny metal that lined the machine. Many days, the escalator worked and worked fine. Carrying kids and moms, workers, homeless people seeking warmth, and the aimless souls…

The power of healing hands — Sandra got out of the passenger side of the mid-size luxury SUV parked in the back lot of the high school. She squirted germ-x on one hand and rubbed it into the other. She never looked back, just walked straight to her own car, parked about 100 feet away. She…

The story behind a short story series — I’ve been writing seriously on Medium since December of 2021. I write mostly stories about consumer protection issues, some education policy, and occasionally, some fiction. Specifically, I’ve taken to writing a few short stories. …

Secrets of a small-town church group — Martha was the only member of the supper club not to have been born and raised in the faith. In fact, until she married Ronald, she’d been a sometimes practicing Catholic. Well, except for the two prior divorces. …

Finding refuge in religion — Thanks to the recent church elections, the Macon County Supper Club would now include two deacons. Yes, there was head Deacon Dean, a spiritual rock leaned on by so many-especially Pastor Gregg. But now, Ronald was a newly elected Deacon. Ronald wasn’t technically a new Deacon. He’d served in that…

Whatever it takes to win — Paul easily won election to the Mayor’s Office. It was his second time running, and this time, he hadn’t made any mistakes. He’d been organized and focused and he hadn’t slept. He’d met with all the key players and exchanged what he had to in order to earn their backing…

A cat and a plan A yellow cat walks across the desk, coming into full view of the screen. Christy strokes it from head to tail. There are issues of The Atlantic in view once the cat jumps from the desk. Christy’s soft voice tells everyone in the Zoom meeting…

A man, a job, and a secret — James found himself sitting alone in his car at around 8:30 each night, wet from a mixture of his own sweat and the sprinklers on the fresh rack — the place in the tiny store where the vegetables were displayed. He’d light up a White Owl Sweet and roll down…

Who is inside Chelle’s phone? — Photo by Oleg Magni on Unsplash Chelle couldn’t figure out what was going on with her phone. She kept insisting to the small circle of friends she regularly texted that something was wrong. Her phone was slow to charge, she’d tell them. …

Earnings and engagement on a slow growing platform — It’s been ten weeks now since I started writing on Simily. I’ve been updating here every week — sharing my experience writing on what started as a fiction forward platform. Is Simily Stepping Up? Tales from 9 weeks on the platformadvocateandy.medium.com This week’s update includes two milestones. First, I now have more than 100 followers. Next, I have my first story…

Earnings and engagement on a slow growing platform — It’s been ten weeks now since I started writing on Simily. I’ve been updating here every week — sharing my experience writing on what started as a fiction forward platform. Is Simily Stepping Up? Tales from 9 weeks on the platformadvocateandy.medium.com This week’s update includes two milestones. First, I now have more than 100 followers. Next, I have my first story…

Everyone at Connor Street Baptist loved Billy. He was a short, round man with a forgettable, round face framed by large round glasses. His sparse hair looked to be Vaselined to his head, creating the effect of long, thin, gray-black rows. He smiled. All the time. “What do ya know…

A woman, her church, and some birds . . . — 10 AM Saturday morning. Supper Club day. Wanda would be hosting the group of eight that evening. She always relished hosting days. The chance to show everyone the modest home where she and Dean still lived despite his apparent career success. It was the home where they’d raised their children…