Raphael's Village

Another one of our regular contributors with exciting news to share! Editors

Regular contributor Jeff Gardiner has a collection of stories, A Glimpse of the Numinous, available now from Eibonvale Press.

A girl born with a number for a name, destined to become a new messiah...a seagull who becomes a household pet and national celebrity... flashing patterns of light as a key to your darkest fears...an impoverished family with a murderous secret... In the fourteen stories of his first collection, Jeff Gardiner shows a startling range of styles and imagination, from visceral horror to lyrical literary prose. Keen psychological insight is allied to a shrewd knowledge of ancient myth and mysticism. Gardiner’s recurring interest is in religion and spirituality and the strange traces these almost outlawed strangers have left on modern urban life. His characters are often dangerous and unreasonable, their actions unpredictable, a far cry from the rational universe we like to think we share. Look again at your world and let Gardiner show the glimpses you’ve been missing of the doors that beckon you to other ways of seeing. The ominous, the luminous… the numinous.

Available from: http://www.eibonvalepress.co.uk/books/books_numinous.htm or from www.jeffgardiner.com or from http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=glimpse+numinous

Support our contributors and get your copy today!

My Street Brother, by Richard Hartwell

Enjoy this slice of life on a tough neighborhood street that not be all it appears to be. Fiction Editor.

I see on a page of poetry by Thomas Merton, the line “My sweet brother.” What I read and process instead is the line, “My street brother.” It sticks in my mind and becomes mixed with the street scenes and people on Base Line Street in San Bernardino. I travel this route twice daily and I see many of the so-called street people. And yes, they are my brothers and sisters; perhaps not by blood or birth, but by the shared humanity we must all have in common.

This piece was written several years ago, but, as with all IRS-related humor, it still holds up. We thank the author for allowing us to reprint it here in honor of the Internal Revenue Service's Annual Mid-Year Christmas Party. Humor Editor

Tax Day! Or What Will Uncle Sam Send Me THIS Year?, by Jeanne Cook

There is one thing that unites us all -- men, women, children, animals, celebrities and most corporations -- we all have to pay taxes and none of us really want to.

How to figure out how much living space you really have, by one of our regular contributors. Humor Editor

Kinross Lane, by Richard Hartwell

I live in a house on Kinross Lane. Pleasant sounding, as if it invites you to stop and chat on the front porch, which it doesn’t have, or to visit over a picket fence, which it also doesn’t have. 

A lesson learned at the cost of a dime. Fiction Editor

Once upon a Dime, by Jack Healy

A medieval writer once wrote that he would rather feel compunction than define it.  He points to a psychological reality, I believe, that is true across the board for young children but even at times for adults, namely,  experiencing feelings without knowing how to name or define them.  As a grade school boy growing up in the Bronx, I remember a very distinct event which bears out what the medieval author wrote. Only later could I label it.

Enjoy this memory of motherhood. Fiction Editor

I Remember Mama, by Richard Hartwell

I remember mama. No, not that old movie! I remember a mama who wasn’t. Or was she?

An essay about how satisfaction can come out of our most dire moments. Fiction Editor

Satisfaction, by Richard Hartwell

I believe we do best with these daily transformations. On one most memorable day this past summer, my daughter informed me that it was supposed to be 103 degrees in Riverside later that day. She then went on to inquire if it was going to be even hotter in our own city nearby. I responded that yes, it probably would be. It had not been so very long previously that we had wanted the gray goblins of June driven from the gate and knew with certainty that we would feel much better with a touch of ultraviolet to reinvigorate our veins and stir the juices of our brains. It had not been so very long since it was cold, drab and overcast and we had been searching for the sun. For my daughter, her “yesterday” had been hot, but not oppressively so. For my daughter, her “today” was likely to be that hot and more as well. With that, my mood then became fiery and I became short-tempered, and then we all became lethargic.

A lovely and moving true story from a new contributor, perfect reading for the holiday of love. Fiction Editor

Ruby's Valentine, by Susan E. Lindsey

Several years ago, my grandparents celebrated their seventieth wedding anniversary – a remarkable occasion made possible by marrying young, living long, and nurturing patience.

Another cute story about the wisdom of little children from one of our regular contributors. Humor Editor

No Cause to Remain, by KJ Hannah Greenberg

Siegfried’s mum had not yet picked him up. Mrs. Tharasus bit her lip. Of all of the children in her care, Siegfried was the most likely to squeal, to cry, or to otherwise emphatically telegraph just how displeased he was with a situation. Yet, for reasons beyond the teacher’s ken, that child sat, soldier still, watching the daycare’s doorway.

A fun story about how to pull off a good prank from on of our regular contributors. Fiction Editor

The Laws of the Sea, by Richard Hartwell

The very first time I went down to the sea, it was in a Balboa Dinghy. She, for all boats are she by the mystic laws of the sea, was an eight-foot pram: a blunt-nosed, wooden beginner’s boat. She was built along the lines of the more popular Sabot, but was saved from such mediocrity by being manufactured all of wood and she was varnished rather than painted. Because of this she was, obviously of course, older and heavier and slower. But in a breeze--oh my, in a breeze, she was just superb.

Enjoy this story of family, loss and healing. Fiction Editor

The Toss, by Deb Hockenberry

Eric raced home kicking the red and orange leaves. He panted as he slammed the front door and hurried into the kitchen. “Dad, will you toss the football with me?” He asked as he dropped his spelling book on the table.

Enjoy this story of family, frustration and laundry. Humor Editor

Hunting for Red, by Frelisa Walker

Yesterday, I gave Drew, my son, the money to buy mosquito repellent to spray my mother’s yard for our family reunion. He bought it, but he forgot to bring it for our visit. At the beginning of the dinner, Uncle Mark and Aunt Raven smacked themselves and asked for the repellent. I didn’t want them ridiculing him. So, I said to them, “There’s no need for it.” Even though, I had shorts on and bite marks covered my legs.

A new contributor reminds us why it's always wise to look at things from another perspective. Fiction Editor

It's Always Raining When You Look Sideways, by Margaret Phillips

Ethan Parrola sat in the breakfast nook of his kitchen, focused on his cell phone, his lanky body folded into one of the small chairs that surrounded the table.  Across from him sat Garrett Cho, intently scrolling through messages while disregarding the sighs of his best friend.  On most Sundays the pair could be found working on spins or jumps at the skate park but today their scuffed boards sat at their feet, ignored.  Ethan and Garrett were on a mission, fully aware that they had not reached their goal. Time was slipping away even as they sat there.  The Winter Formal was in six days and Ethan had no date.

Another contributor with exciting news to share! Editors

Raphael's Village is excited to announce the Dec. 15, 2011 release of KJ Hannah Greenberg's newest collection of poetry, A Bank Robber’s Bad Luck with His Ex-Girlfriend.

Songbirds are entertaining. Roses smell nice. Most passion, however, resolves as cacophonous and stinky. In A Bank Robber’s Bad Luck with His Ex-Girlfriend, this mess, which we call “love,” gets reduced, poked at, prodded, and eventually pushed over. Don't miss out on this tough, sassy, hopeful assemblage of verse. Press up against its soft concepts of intimate associations. Come slide among A Bank Robber’s Bad Luck with His Ex-Girlfriend’s articulated regrets, muted longings, and rudimentary joys! The tang of real or imagined, but almost always piquant, romantic life has never been as palpable as it is in A Bank Robber’s Bad Luck with His Ex-Girlfriend.

Links to order A Bank Robber’s Bad Luck With His Ex-Girlfriend: https://www.createspace.com/3729088 or
http://www.amazon.com/Bank-Robbers-Bad-Luck-Ex-Girlfriend/dp/193637322X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324641358&sr=1-1

Please support one of our regular contributors and get your copy of this collection today!

Enjoy this delightful tale of a boy, a fish bone and Christmas! Fiction Editor

The Fish Bone, by Lucie Winborne

He had never expected to miss Christmas this year.

Enjoy this story of loss, faith and dreams. Fiction Editor

Blood Brothers, by Anthony Richmond

It was the spring of 1968, and Bobby didn't know it at the time, but it would be one of their last moments together. His best friend and virtual twin, Richie Wilson, walked over smiling; transistor radio in hand. “Listen to this, Bobby.”

Enjoy this cheerful little ditty about the importance of teachers. Poetry Editor

Mantra, by Richard Hartwell

A timely, poem by a new contributor, with a realistic, yet optimistic, take on the way of things. Poetry Editor (We suggest you take a look at our editorial comments at the end for a little surprise. Editors)

Crash, by John Hansen

A short and sweet one about the spoils of war from one of our favorite contributors. Humor Editor

Tournament, by KJ Hannah Greenberg

The second annual Bobby Fischer Memorial Chess Tournament was held in Parkway Middle School’s lunch room. All nine members of Parkway’s chess club were in attendance. Seven of them rooted for my opponent.

Another poem from one of our newer contributors, taking a look at genius and creativity. Poetry Editor

Van Gogh on the Mountaintop, by Lucie Winborne