There’s a thin line between love and hate, between friends and enemies, between helping someone and hurting them. And there’s an even thinner line between lust and a trip to the emergency room, between leaving a man behind and laying down cover fire while he makes his escape, between poetic license and an ill-conceived run-on sentence. And the line between wanting a hamburger and punching your buddy in the face? You need a microscope.

So, to honor that thin, poorly painted, hard-to-see line – the one that runs haphazard through your psyche, crosses a busy interstate and then doubles back on itself and jumps off a cliff, leaving you simultaneously sad, furious, horny and tired – we bring you issue seventeen of Jersey Devil Press.

First up is the based-on-a-true-story “The Monster at Baggage Carousel #3,” by Matthew Bey. Next it’s Carol Deminski’s tender “The Fortune Teller,” followed by Ken Ledford’s “Space Creature Versus Earth Creature.” Then we move onto the action-adventure part of our program with “Courting Aleksandra,” by Mark J. Reagan, and “Out of Sight, Out of Time,” by Timothy Miller.

Five magnificent stories presenting a grab bag of emotions, all guaranteed to be less straightforward than you’d think.

Read it online here, or download the .pdf here. As always, if a particular story tickles your fancy – or any other parts, for that matter – be sure to leave a comment, or share it on the social site of your choice, or buy the author a drink. Or all three. Trust me, they’re not gonna mind.