Joseph’s Balloon

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Qualified Entry, Second pixelhose Writing Competition. Fiction Category.

By Elizabeth Cunnane

Joseph’s Balloon By Elizabeth Cunnane on pixelhose.comJoseph’s uncle ran a glass-blowing studio and Joseph had spent most of his weekends for the past year or so in there watching the team of men working. Saturdays they were open to the public and sometimes there were a lot of people so he’d have press himself into the small gaps in the crowd in order to see what was going on.  He liked the heat, and the smell of smouldering newspaper. Continue Reading

The Adoption

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Qualified Entry, Second pixelhose Writing Competition. Nonfiction Category.

By Ute Carson

The Adoption By Ute Carson on pixelhose.comThere had not been such a brilliant autumn in recent memory. Even though it was already September, a month which usually brought dense fog and rain to the port city of Hamburg, this year the temperature was deceptively mild and dry. Margret and I had the door to our balcony wide open. The row houses where we shared a flat were shoulder-touchingly close and noises from neighboring balconies drifted in. It was the beginning of the fall semester, our second year at the university. We were architecture students, a field that promised plenty of opportunities in the early sixties.  We lay stretched out on the floor on our stomachs, drawing. Continue Reading

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Qualified Entry, Second pixelhose Writing Competition. Fiction Category.

By Alex Kario

Untitled By Alex Kario on pixelhose.com

“This belonged to your father. He would have wanted you to have it.” Without any further explanation, I was handed a tiny globe supported by a rusty iron frame. Faded hues of blue, red, and yellow graced its handsome surface. Tiny inscriptions announced the names of its distorted continents and misconstrued oceans in a language completely alien to me. I placed it on a shelf where it stood out like a somber shadow among my vibrant, happy playthings. It became an object of mystery and wonder that haunted my childhood. Continue Reading

The Final Frontier

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Qualified Entry, Second pixelhose Writing Competition. Fiction Category.

By Brent A. Middleton

The Final Frontier By Brent A. Middleton on pixelhose.comChester’s mom gave him one final, tight embrace before setting him down and letting him embark on his first great adventure out into the world. Chester smiled, gave her a peck on the cheek, and turned to face the destiny that lay before him in this strange new land. Continue Reading

The Problem with Madness

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Qualified Entry, Second pixelhose Writing Competition. Fiction Category.

By Eugene Chun

The Problem with Madness by Eugene Chun on pixelhose.com

People who romanticize Van Gogh –like Madness mostly likely have never met him. He’s not the easiest guy to get along with. And he comes out of the blue, when you least expect him to. Most sophisticated aficionados praise the insanity…the intensity…the originality…that’s because they never met Madness…if they did they would think twice about adoring him. I never adored him because I know what he’s really like. Continue Reading

Author Interview: Brianna Soloski

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Publisher’s background Note: Brianna Soloski’s story, ‘Fall into Me’, was a finalist in the pixelhose.com First Writing Competition and is included in 22 Naked Bodies Inside, a short story collection that resulted from the competition.

Briana Soloski headshot on pixelhose.com

Dourandish: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Soloski: I’m originally from Southern California, but have lived in Las Vegas since I was ten years old. I swear it’s not as glamorous as it sounds, though. I went to college in Lake Tahoe and miss the area quite a bit. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and a teaching credential. I’m itching to get an MFA, but it’s not feasible right now. In my spare time, I run a freelance editing business and blog at Girl Seeks Place. I love to read and I will almost always choose to stay in with a book than go out. I also love to travel and wish I could go more places more often. Continue Reading

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Qualified Entry, Second pixelhose Writing Competition. Nonfiction Category.

By Carmen Pe’gues Early

Untitled by Carmen Pe’gues Early on pixelhose.comSometimes our best friends are friends we never knew we had.

Almost two summers ago, my husband and I, were told we were expecting twins. A former doctor had warned us a few years earlier that I should look into getting a hysterectomy, after a near death experience that caused me to have a stroke at the age of 34. It was way too risky to have any more children after my son was born. Becoming pregnant again could cause me to make my husband a widower and leave our four children motherless. Continue Reading

Girls I Shouldn’t Know

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Qualified Entry, Second pixelhose Writing Competition. Nonfiction Category.

By Danielle Villano

Girls I Shouldn’t Know By Danielle Villano on pixelhose.comOpen your testing booklets.  My heart pounded at the prospect of a new picture prompt. Excitement tingled through me, down to the soles of my cheap white tennis shoes.

Look at the photograph below.  The booklets had a black and white photo printed on one page; we were instructed to think about the image presented to us and write a story based on what we saw and imagined.  An image of a boy sitting in a tree, to my classmates, invoked the very boring “one day there was a boy sitting in a tree…” Continue Reading