Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Presents Flush Fiction (35 page)

Desmond Warzel
is the author of two dozen science fiction, fantasy, and horror short stories. He lives in Pennsylvania, and has been a wrestling fan since 1986 and doesn’t care who knows it. “Wrestling With Alienation” appeared in
Redstone Science Fiction
(Nov. 2010).

Courtney Walsh
’s longer, more serious stories have appeared in
Hunger Mountain, New Orphic Review, The Long Story,
and
Callaloo
. He is a retired English teacher.

William R.D. Wood
lives in the Shenandoah Valley. He grew up in the U.S. Navy and now spends his days troubleshooting other people’s problems. His fiction is spreading, but his truth will always be found at home:
writebrane.blogspot.com
. “Headhunter” originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of
Flash Me.

Robert Perchan
‘s poems, stories, and essays have appeared in scores of literary journals, and in anthologies published by Dell, Black Sparrow, City Lights, and Global City Press. His prose poem novella
Perchan’s Chorea: Eros and Exile
(Watermark Press, 1991) was translated into French and published by Quidam Editeur in 2002. His poetry chapbooks
Mythic Instinct Afternoon
and
Overdressed to Kill
won the 2005 Poetry West Chapbook Prize and the 2005 Weldon Kees Award, respectively. “My First Foreign Woman and the Sea” was first published in
Furious Fictions.

Edward Palumbo
holds a B.A. in English from the University of Rhode Island. His fiction, poetry, and comic shorts have appeared in periodicals and anthologies including
The Poet’s Page, Rough Places Plain, Tertulia Magazine, Reader’s Digest
, and
Ancient Paths
.

Tom J. Lynch
is a web developer in Washington, D.C., a graduate student in Illinois, and a father in central Virginia, where he lives because it’s hard to parent over the Internet. His previous credits include a poem scrawled on the wall of a bathroom stall, and some flash fiction scribbled on a piece of paper that was later folded into a toy boat, set adrift in storm runoff, and sucked into a sewer.

Kenton K. Yee
has placed stories in
Brain Harvest, Word Riot
, and
Bartleby Snopes
. A Ph.D physicist, Ken adores irrealism, quantum mechanics, and orange sorbet. “Irreverisble Dad” previously appeared in
Brain Harvest,
August 2011.

A.J. Sweeney
is a freelance writer in Brooklyn. She lives with her husband across the street from a cemetery and a high-voltage ConEd
substation and hopes that one day, maybe during a thunderstorm, this combination will result in some really cool zombie action.

Beth Cato
is an associate member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. Her recent publications include
Daily Science Fiction, The Pedestal,
and a story in
Mountain Magic: Spellbinding Tales of Appalachia
(Woodland Press). “Brains for Breakfast” was published online as an honorable mention in the 2009 Ligonier Valley Writers’ Zombie Flash Fiction Contest.

Eric Pinder
is the author of
North to Katahdin, Cat in the Clouds,
and other books about animals and nature. He lives in the middle of moose country in northern New Hampshire. “Clueless” first appeared in the literary journal
Happy
in 1996.

Kirk Nesset
is the author of two books of short stories,
Paradise Road
(University of Pittsburgh Press) and
Mr. Agreeable
(Mammoth Books); as well as a book of translations,
Alphabet of the World: Selected Works by Eugenio Montejo
(University of Oklahoma Press); and a nonfiction study,
The Stories of Raymond Carver
(Ohio University Press). He was awarded the Drue Heinz Literature Prize in 2007 and has received a Pushcart Prize and grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He teaches creative writing and literature at Allegheny College. “Mr. Agreeable” previously appeared in Nesset’s book
Fiction.

Rebecca Roland
’s work has appeared in
The Absent Willow Review
,
Everyday Weirdness
, and in the anthology
Shelter of Daylight
. She lives in New Mexico with her family and works as a physical therapist when she’s not writing. “The Secret Ingredient” appeared in the anthology
Shelter of Daylight
in October 2007.

David O’Neal
’s work has been published in
Sensations, Writers’ Forum, The New York Times, The Marin Poets Anthology, Vision, The Eclectic Muse, The Lyric, Red Heart/Black Heart
(anthology), and
The Poetry of Science
.

Over thirty years,
Gail Denham
has had short stories, poetry, essays, news articles, and photos published in many national and international publications.

Marsh Cassady
is a former professor of both creative writing and theater. He is the author of 52 published books—fiction, nonfiction, drama, and haiku—and many short pieces. His play
To Ride a Wild Pony
appeared Off-Broadway.

Corey Mesler
has been published in numerous journals and anthologies. He has published four novels, two books of short stories, numerous chapbooks, and two full-length poetry collections. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize numerous times, and two of his poems have been chosen for Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac podcast. He runs a bookstore in Memphis. “Aftermath” appeared originally in
Notes Toward the Story and Other Stories
(Aqueous Books, 2011).

R.W. Morris
is a twice-retired (once from the army and once from the post office) senior citizen and sporadic writer with some success at being published over the years. His biggest coup with to CBC Radio in 1980 for “just under a thousand bucks.”

Daniel Chacon
is the author of three books and is a winner of the American Book Award, the Hudson Prize, and a Christopher Isherwood Foundation Grant.

Nathaniel Lee
’s fiction has appeared in
Podcastle, Pseudopod,
and
Abyss & Apex
. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and obligatory cats, and he works as a phone monkey to keep them all fed.

Robert Taylor
is a freelance writer and novelist with a special interest in the humor and fantasy genres.
Lindsay Gillingham Taylor
is a freelance writer, poet, and musician. The couple resides in Oregon with their kids, dogs, cat, and, yes, goldfish. More at
smashwords.com.profile/view/rjt
.

Darren Sant
is a writer who lives in Hull, U.K. His stories have been published both in print and online. Find him on Twitter @groovydaz39. “Duel” was first published at Flash Fiction Offensive (June 2011) It was also included in Sant’s collection
Flashes of Revenge
(Trestle Press, 2011).

Sonia Orin Lyris
’s stories have been published in
Asimov’s SF, Pulphouse, and Expanse,
as well as anthologies
New Legends
(Bear),
Infinite Loop
(Constantine),
Cyberdrams
(Dozois and Williams),
Tapestries and Distant Planes
(HarperPrism), and
The Tomorrow Project
(Intel).

Robert Pepper
specializes in bringing dark humor and irony to stories from his own life and his own imagination.

Douglas Hutcheson
(
twitter.com/DouglasHutch
) co-edited
Harvest Hill: 31 Tales of Halloween Horror
. His stories include “The Travellin’ Show” in
History Is Dead
, “An Uncloudy Day” in
Groanology 2
, “Do Us Part”
in Ghostology
, “No Brother to Hold Me” in
Hellology
, and “As the Worm Turns” in
Zombies Without Borders
.

Katherine A. Turski
lives in North Texas with her husband and clerks by day for a local library. When she has time, she enjoys reading, baking, and watching corny B-movies from the ‘30s and ‘40s.

S. Michael Wilson
is an author and screenwriter in New Jersey. He is the author of
Performed by Lugosi,
the editor of
Monster Rally
, and a regular contributor to the film review podcast Moviesucktastic. For more, go to
smichaelwilson.com
.

Daniel Kason
graduated from Union College with a B.A. in English. His short story “Dark Creation” appeared in
Indigo Rising
, and he is currently seeking an agent for his science-fiction novel. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in English at the University of Maryland.

S.G. Rogers
’s short fiction has been published by
Absent Willow Review, ReadShortFiction, Aurora Wolf,
and
Luna Station Quarterly
. Her novel,
The Last Great Wizard of Yden,
was published in 2011 by Astraea Press.

Jason Schossler
’s first book of poetry,
Mud Cakes
, is available from Bona Fide Books. He is the inaugural recipient of Bona Fide’s Melissa Lanitis Gregory Poetry Prize, and the recipient of Reed’s Edwin Markham Poetry Prize, two Pushcart Prize nominations, and the 2010 Emerging Writer award from
Grist: The Journal for Writers
. “For Wile E. Coyote,
Apetitius giganticus
” appeared in a slightly different form in
Green Mountains Review.

Colleen Shea Skaggs
loves to write and read good fiction. Her short fiction has appeared in various literary journals. She is an active member of the Idaho Writers League.

Douglas Smith
’s stories have appeared in over 100 magazines, including
InterZone, Amazing Stories, The Third Alternative, The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror,
and
On Spec
, as well as in anthologies from Penguin/Roc, DAW, and others. He was a John W. Campbell Award finalist for best new writer and has twice won the Aurora Award for best speculative short fiction by a Canadian. “Nothing” appeared in Smith’s collection
Chimerascope
(ChiZine Publications, 2010).

K.G. Jewell
lives in Austin, Texas. He once rode his bicycle across the country. He stopped counting the flat tires somewhere in Nebraska. His website, which is never updated, is
lit.kgjewell.com

Steve Cushman
has published a short-story collection,
Fracture City,
and two novels,
Portisville
and
Heart with Joy
. Visit
stevecushman.net
. “The Boat” previously appeared in
Fracture City.

Celeste Leibowitz
writes articles, short stories, and grant proposals. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Bruce, and son, Jason. She works
as a development associate with Big Apple Performing Arts. A longer version of “Grandma’s Pillbox” appeared in
The Electric Dragon Café.

Janel Gradowski
‘s work has appeared in
Litsnack, Luna Station Quarterly, Yellow Mama, Long Story Short
and
Every Day Fiction
. Visit her blog:
janelsjumble.blogspot.com

Sealey Andrews
writes horror and dark fantasy from her home in Seattle. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading slush at
Every Day Fiction
, or at the sushi bar down the street from her house. “Kitchen Basics” was originally published online at
Everyday Weirdness
in early 2010.

Sean Flanders
received an English/creative writing degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and currently lives in Rochester, Minnesota.

Deirdre M. Murphy
is a writer of speculative fiction, as well as an artist and musician. You can find her work a number of places online, including
tornworld.net
and her blog,
wyld_dandelyon.livejournal.com

Noel Sloboda
lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and several German Shepherd rescues. “Detached” originally appeared in
The Angler.

Cindy Tomamichel
has worked as a geologist and is currently an environmental scientist. She has three finished action-packed novels, one science-fiction, one romance, and one fantasy.

Thomas Pluck
lives in New Jersey with his wife, Sarah, and their two feuding cats. He is a systems administrator and trains in mixed martial arts. He is working on his first novel. Find him online at
pluckyoutoo.com

Peggy McFarland
has worked in radio and restaurants, sometimes simultaneously. Her many years behind a bar have helped her write interesting
characters. (If anyone asks, they are all fictional.) She lives in New Hampshire with her family and a neurotic dog. “Charlie Makes His Way” was published as an honorable mention in a content by Silverthought Online.

Sally Clark
lives in Fredericksburg, Texas, where she does not garden or eat vegetables. Her poetry and stories have been published in numerous magazines, journals, and anthologies. Find her at
sallyclark.info
. “Milk Jug Garden” has previously been published in
Green Prints: The Weeder’s Digest
(Green Prints, Spring 2006) and under the title “Tomato Libations” in
The Ultimate Gardener
(HCI Publishers, 2009

Brent Knowles
is a game designer and author. He has been published in
Neo-Opsis, On Spec,
and
Writers of the Future (Volume 26)
. He can be found at
brentknowles.com
.

Elizabeth Creith
writes fiction and poetry, primarily fantasy. Her work has appeared in
Thema, Odyssey,
and
Silver Blade,
among other publications. Elizabth writes in Northern Ontario, distracted occasionally by her husband, dog, and cat. She blogs at
ecreith.wordpress.com
.

Cathy C. Hall
is a humor writer from the metro Atlanta area. Her essays, articles, and (very) short stories have been published in both adult and children’s markets. She’s currently working on a (very) funny middle-grade novel or two while planning her takeover of the (writing) world.

Kathy Allen
attends high school in Bakersfield, California. Kathy enjoys working with special-needs youth as a peer counselor. She is a voracious reader and also loves writing short stories and creating original pieces of art.