Raphael's Village

A reminder again for all potential contributors of which forums make up our professional categories.

The NEW New Curiosity Shoppe -- home for short fiction and narrative nonfiction -- the home for all the fiction we love that doesn’t fit in anywhere else. Your story is being rejected because it ‘isn’t quite right for us’? Try Raphael’s Village -- if we love it, it’s in, regardless whether it’s literary, fantasy, anything in between, or impossible to categorize. We are also looking for spiritually-based fiction of any kind for this forum. Word Count: 3,000 words or under preferred, 5,000 words max.

Quiet Contemplations -- home for poetry of all kinds -- poetry can soothe the soul and cleanse the spirit. It can also make us laugh, cry and think. Please send us yours. Line Count: 40 lines or under preferred. Epic poems need to adhere to our word count and should, perhaps, go to the NEW New Curiosity Shoppe.

Healing with Humor -- home for funny of all kinds -- make it funny. No, really. Humor is subjective and we’re open to much of it, but gentle humor will have a better chance of acceptance than negative humor. Humor that doesn’t make any of us laugh will, sadly, probably not be accepted. While we will occasionally post something in public domain from some of the legends of humor, please don’t do so. We want your original humor, so that we can help you become one of the next humor legends. Word Count: 3,000 words or under preferred, 5,000 words max.

All our other forums are open to submissions, but are not considered professional. Once accepted as one of our contributors, we would like a short (2-5 sentence) bio, written in present tense, that will reside on our Contributors Pages.

Contributors under age 12 are encouraged to submit to Nicholas’ Corner. Contributors between the ages of 12-18 are encouraged to submit to The Mystic Grotto for the Young Adults. Feel free to let us know how old you are in your bio. Nicholas’ Corner is for children and by children, and The Mystic Grotto for the Young Adults is by and for young adults -- if you feel your piece is more adult, feel free to submit it to one of our other forums. NO adult themes will be accepted for Nicholas’ Corner or on The Mystic Grotto for the Young Adults.

The Editors reserve the right to move any and all submissions into whatever forum/s we feel said submissions best fit. For more complete information on our wants and needs, please review the information on our Writer's Contribution Guidelines forum.

A humor piece from a new contributor about one of the editorial staff's favorite things. Beware the wild turkeys, cats and humans alike! Humor Editor

Kitty's Gone Wild, by Lisa Dovichi

What in the world was Newton doing? I watched my white, long-haired cat slink through the tall grass outside my window. I work from home and basically that means I’m obligated to spend a lot of time looking out the window at the hill beside my house. However it hadn’t been my cat that originally caught my attention -- it had been the gobbling of wild turkeys that had made me look up. It was while I was watching at least twenty humongous turkeys strut around that I noticed Newton.

A lovely poem about looking past the surfaces and enjoying everything, including things never seen. Poetry Editor

Beach Mist, by Matthew Hamilton

It is said that we are borne from the ocean.
Maybe that is why we are so rapt by it.
Deep within the metallic blue of salty mist and white foam
can be found clues to the mysteries of life and the divine.
But do we pay close attention to those clues?

A moving story from a new contributor that reminds us that everyone we meet is a person with a past and a story, regardless of their current circumstances. You, be nice. Fiction Editor

Mad Annie, by Jack Healy

She filled her apartment with bottle caps, streaked her windows with magic markers, and slept on newspapers from the streets. On warm days she sat in her housedress on the fenders of parked cars and greeted passersby with, “’ey you, be nice.” She never missed church on Sunday and, while always arriving late to the service, walked down the center aisle and created a commotion with the crinkling shopping bags she deposited in the pew. Only at the service and no other time did she allow herself the pleasure of lighting a cigarette butt she found in the garbage cans she regularly rifled. When the preacher became animated she yelled, “’ey you, be nice!” She was known to her neighbors as Mad Annie.

An interesting take on a familiar story from a new contributor. We particularly enjoyed how this went the opposite way from what the reader might expect. Poetry Editor

Trinket, by Elise Park

He slipped, falling deep into darkness one night,
A slippery slope full of demons and fright.
He didn’t know then just what he’d become,
But he already knew it could not be undone.

A meditation on the fragile emotions of pets, originally published at FLYMF.com, and now published here. Because we can. Humor Editor

Pet Psyches, by Jeanne Cook

If a person’s pets tell outsiders about them, I shudder to think what that says about my family.

A sweet little poem to start the new year from a new contributor. What 'mights' will it inspire for you? Poetry Editor

I Might, by Ben Langhinrichs

An deeply felt poem from a new contributor. We loved the imagry this creates and think you will, too. Poetry Editor

Tre Fontane, by Matthew A. Hamilton

Poisonous green cracks the dry dusty earth on Oppian Hill.
Flowers of white, red, and pink appear: brilliant colors
surrounded by thin, gristly leaves, dance on sun beams,
moving in silent motion to the rhythm of the wind.

This story will make you think, and, we hope, remember that pets, and the elderly, need and deserve our care not just at the holidays, but all year long. Fiction Editor

Rescued, by Heather Gregson

Mitzi watched the stray enter the park. She'd seen this stray many times before. He looked old and tired. His steps were slow and dragging. Mitzi just knew life had worn this poor old guy down. He needs a friend, Mitzi thought to herself. Someone who will love him and show him he still matters. The trouble was going to be approaching the stray. Few people went near him and when they did, the poor thing shied away from them. Perhaps he'd been treated badly in his life and feared more heartache.

A new contributor gives us a thoughtful rumination on death, dying and living we found both moving and thought-provoking. Fiction Editor

Hello, Goodbye, by Bruce J. Berger

Gene stepped outside the front door of his log cabin to feel the bracing early morning air, inhaled deeply, and closed his eyes with pleasure. It wasn’t the first time that the mountain chill helped him to wake up, clear his head. It had been his habit for years to rise before sunup, walk to the town center, pick up the morning paper, and return up the hill to his house.

This morning was different. He wouldn't walk towards the town, but start uphill from his house towards the forest. He locked the wooden door and, for the first time in his life, leaned forward to plant a kiss on it. He expected never to see that door, or his house, again.

A witty poem by a new contributor we found rather too relatable...but in a good way. Poetry Editor

ODE TO AN ABODE (FAREWELL, PAINTED LADY), by A.E. Skalitza

A sweet children's story adults can enjoy, too, from a new contributor. Fiction Editor

Mud Pies and Snowballs for Thursday Junebee, by KJ Hannah Greenberg


Thursday Junebee sat on her small stool and laughed. Outside, her older brother and her older sister were making a snowman that looked more like a cow. Thursday liked cows. She did not like snowmen.

A witty poem with an ending we didn't see coming. Humor Editor

Pearls of Wisdom, by Ken Johnson

A haunting remembrance piece from one of our favorite contributors. Poetry Editor

Denouement, by W.K. Everhart

A contemplative and touching piece by a new contributor. No matter what your beliefs, we think this piece will make you feel both the joy and the loneliness of following a cause bigger than yourself. Fiction Editor.

Letters From Jane, by Rob Crandall


The burning rays of the sun bored into Thomas’ forehead, causing droplets of sweat to bead up, then streak down his face. Periodically, he wiped his eyes with his forefinger and thumb so he could see. The rest he just let drip. Partially because it was a futile effort to wipe them. Partially because it felt nice with the breeze.

For one night only, Aug. 27th, 2009, D'Arcy McGee's at the Tempe Marketplace, 2000 E. Rio Salado Pkwy, Tempe, will host CELTS, KILTS & TUMBLEWEED. This premiere event will support Maricopa County's Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development.

Since 1972 Tumbleweed has expanded to provide more than 12 direct service programs that provide a continuum of care for over 3000 homeless, abused, abandoned, neglected, and at risk youth annually, ages 11-22

Admission is free, donations will be taken at the door, in addition to 10% of ALL event sales will directly to Tumbleweed.

LIVE MUSIC, RAFFLE, FREE SAMPLINGS, FOOD & FUN!

7pm: ONE FREE GUINNESS to anyone wearing a kilt!
7-8pm: The Bushmills girls will be there LIVE and SAMPLING Bushmills
8pm: We are HONORED to welcome: The MASTER of Whiskey: Thomas Turner who will be sampling whiskey!

LIVE MUSIC ALL NIGHT! Including Ocean's Apart! This is going to be an AMAZING event for an AMAZING CAUSE!! Check out everything Tumbleweed does www.tumbleweed.org. Hope you can join us… BRING A FRIEND or TWO or THREE!

A short, lyrical take on hopeful expectation by a new contributor. Poetry Editor

Yearning Mantra, by Daniel King

American Independence day may be past, but this beautiful piece is appropriate for any time. Fiction Editor

Remember to Remember This, by Sherry Antonetti

Growing up in South East Texas, Independence day meant being lugged to mass, even if we were at the beach, to sing “God Bless America” at the end, and hear a woman who had probably practiced for two months try to imitate Kate Smith. We’d complain about it, being kids, but Dad maintained it set the importance of the day on remembering that this great gift of free will, of liberty, of independence does not come without a prior generation’s cost, nor will it long endure if the current caretakers are ignorant of their past, of the present, or fearful of the future. We’d roll our eyes with that knowing 'Dad' look that only kids can give grownups who obviously don’t understand what is worth knowing.

A short, sweet little piece from one of our regular contributors that most parents of teenagers can relate to. Fiction Editor

Dad’s Secret, by Don Magin

INDEPENDENCE DAY CONTEST -- SHORT FICTION

THIRD PLACE: "FIREWORKS" by Karla Lammers

Our judges really liked this piece, which took the theme in a very different direction from most of our other entries. Enjoy this contemplation of what independence means, beyond a celebration. Editors