Welcome to Flash Fiction Online’s 104th issue.Our stories this month have protagonists whose circumstances, status, and identity create the conflict and tension driving the story. After all, the experience—actually, the privilege!–of choosing one’s own path in life is hardly universal. Our protagonists solve problems in their own unique ways, they persist, and they maintain their […]
Paul Kelly’s song, “From Little Things Big Things Grow” popped into my head while considering this editorial. Not surprisingly, it is an ideal segue into our April stories, which in one way or another deal with those things that change us. The song also reminded me of my own unwilling change of direction around 12 years ago when […]
As you’ll read, friendship means different things to different people. Friendship gives us the courage to face our fears, and ultimately, to change. That, and the bits of hope and fun that a good friend provides.In March 2015, FFO published “The Last Man on Earth—A Mini-Novel” by John Guzlowski. In September 2017, we published the […]
This month, Flash Fiction Online celebrates love. Our stories are all about characters making decisions in the name of love. Each situation is different, as are the responses of the characters making their decisions about familial love, platonic love, romantic love, and even magical love.In “Fried Rice” by Shih-Li Kow (Available 2/4/2022), “Gently, Cook, I […]
This January, Flash Fiction Online is celebrating its 100th issue! Fifteen years and 100 issues are two outstanding achievements in the ephemeral world of digital publishing. The ingredients for our longevity? Outstanding stories distilled to their critical essence by authors from all over the globe, an international team of dedicated volunteers, and our amazing publisher, […]
“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.” – J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan As 2021 draws to a close, so does another chapter here at Flash Fiction Online. December 2021 will be the last issue published during Wendy Nikel’s tenure as Editor-in-Chief. Wendy will be sorely missed, but the staff […]
For some, holidays conjure up Norman Rockwell-like images of a cozy family gathered around a perfectly trimmed tree while basking in the warmth of their good life. But for others, the holidays are complicated. Memories and expectations mix with something darker of which we do not speak—at least not openly—but it’s there, all along, beneath […]
There are times in all our lives when we have to face our own mortality. Our bodies are fragile. They age and decline. They grow weary and brittle and weak. They succumb to illness and death. And at the end, they turn to dust. Death is a fact of life on this earth and a […]
There’s something about these days of autumn in the northern hemisphere, with their chilling breezes and lengthening shadows, that makes one’s mind linger on the strange, the eerie, and the macabre. As our bodies seek our warm, winter shelters and our mugs of pumpkin-spiced lattes, our minds wander to what might be out there, lurking […]
Is there anywhere more strange and mysterious than a forest? From the first step within its branches, you can almost imagine that anything is possible. Around any curve of a packed-earth path, you might find the breadcrumbs of Hansel and Gretel or stumble across a buried treasure chest or wander into a secret dragon’s lair… […]
