Jesus Christ, it gets hot in New Mexico. Although, it is summer, and I do live in the northern hemisphere, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. But I am a pale, pale man and numbers like the one on the cover terrify me.

Anyway, stories. We’ve got them. And they’re perfect for reading in the dark, air-conditioned corners of your domicile of choice. Or outside in the sun, if you’re one of those people.

Speaking of people, our first story, “Golden Hours,” comes all the way from Brazil, by way of California ex-pat Colleen Chen, and tells the tale of a man with a remarkable, if short-lived, gift. Next is the fairy tale retelling “Red,” by Christopher Owen, followed by the Catholic dogma retelling “Jesus’ Nephew,” by Joe Thompson. After that is the sad, creepy “Mammy’d Give Me Minds To Eat,” by Graham Tugwell, who wins the award for having the most porn star-like name we’ve ever published. And last, but certainly not least, is “Jolly Roger,” by Michael Sions, a story that expertly combines corpses, pirates, and insurance salesmen.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to board up the windows before the sun realizes I’m in here.

The online version of this month’s issue is here, and the .pdf can be downloaded by clicking here.

Destiny’s a tricky thing. Alternately unavoidable and completely in your own hands, depending on who you ask. And sometimes it’s both. The only constant seems to be that a whole lot of things are going to happen – good, bad and ugly – and you’re going to have to figure out how to handle them. Whether that’s through belief in a higher power or flipping the bird at a cold, unfeeling universe, whether it’s fighting or falling to your knees, destiny is, ultimately, all in how the individual handles it.

This month’s stories are all about facing that destiny, in one way or another. We start with J. David Bell’s “A Chimaera Story With Four Morals,” a tale about a father and son and a march toward the inevitable. Next are two tales about playing with the strange and unfortunate hands Fate dealt: “Literary Ops,” by K. Marvin Bruce, and “The Swell Foop,” by Mindela Ruby. After that, it’s “The Six,” by Ainslie Hogarth, about a massive turd wrenching one man’s life irrevocably. And, finally, we close with “The Stupidest Thing I Ever Heard,” by Kimberly Steele, a story about how maybe destiny isn’t quite so destined after all.

The online version of Issue Twenty-One is here, and the .pdf can be downloaded here. Read it like you don’t have a choice.

Well, we’re here in New Mexico and so is our stuff, so hooray for that. But, more importantly, we’re a week late with this issue, so let’s keep this short.

We’ve got five new stories this month and they’re all terrific. We start with the great Gavin Broom’s sock puppet parable, “Socko and Roy,” followed by “A Discourse on the Impending Apocalypse,” by the always awesome Aidan Ryan. Next is “Detachment” by the radiant and ravishing Rachel Cordasco, and then “Eli and the Empty Lot” from the amazing Alex Koplow. And we close with an epic love story for the ages, “Julia and Raul,” by Jersey son Ben Nardolilli.

The online issue can be found here, and the .pdf can be downloaded here. And, while you’re at it, be sure to check out last week’s special love letter to New Jersey from Rebecca Camarda here.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got to finish unpacking.