Skip to content
Retreats from Oblivion: The Journal of NoirCon

Retreats from Oblivion: The Journal of NoirCon

Noir, crime, and mystery short stories, scholarship, and so much more

  • Home
  • About
  • Index
  • NoirCon History
  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Newsletter Archive

Category: Flash Fiction

“Unfruitful Works of Darkness” by Ly Faulk

FLASH FICTION: “Seeing the city isn’t necessary to know what is going down out there. Crime. He can smell it….”

Read More “Unfruitful Works of Darkness” by Ly Faulk

“Red Lightning” by Ly Faulk

FLASH FICTION: “As she walked by, I tipped my glass and she winked at me. I watched her go, taking with her my fantasies….”

Read More “Red Lightning” by Ly Faulk

“Zocco Chico” by Kurt McGill

FLASH FICTION: “A soft scraping sound…crepe soles brushing across the threshold…a silhouette appeared in the doorway. A glint of light reflected off blue steel in the hand hanging down by his side….”

Read More “Zocco Chico” by Kurt McGill

“Get Back Again” by M.T. Williams

FLASH FICTION: “There was always some bottom feeder trying to take what I built….”

Read More “Get Back Again” by M.T. Williams

“Resurrection” by Barbara Buckley Ristine

FLASH FICTION: “There had been a time when she was too squeamish to touch a spider, when she would cry at the sight of a dead bird, but not now….”

Read More “Resurrection” by Barbara Buckley Ristine

“A Bleak 2020 Begins: from Status Update” by George Toles

FLASH FICTION: “They know everything. I should leave town pronto….” –February 12

Read More “A Bleak 2020 Begins: from Status Update” by George Toles

“All You Need is a Gun and a Girl” by Jim Towns

He leaned across the seat and opened the door, watching every inch of her…. I. Bare trees clung to the snow-frosted hills around the ravine, and the girl who walked along the railroad tracks was tall and beautiful. She wore mirrored sunglasses, long coat, tall boots. An old surplus army bag swung on a leather […]

Read More “All You Need is a Gun and a Girl” by Jim Towns

“In the 19th Arrondissement” by Mitchell Grabois

“I’ve kidnapped the high school girl with the dirty mouth, and she asks if she can share in the profits. Actually, I didn’t kidnap her. She came with me willingly” 1. I couldn’t find my migraine pills, couldn’t find the secret sauce, could not find the formula. My migraines were killing me, like communists kill […]

Read More “In the 19th Arrondissement” by Mitchell Grabois

“The Dump Truck of Self” by Mitchell Grabois

“My body is a situation, a dilemma. I haul it from place to place in this wheelchair. I am a dump truck of self.” 1. Back in the day, I heard that Mama Cass had died choking on a ham-and-cheese sandwich. In reality, eighty pounds lighter than she’d ever been, after two weeks of standing […]

Read More “The Dump Truck of Self” by Mitchell Grabois

“XXX Marks the Spot” by J.L. Delozier

Ella flounced from the theatre, her diamond earrings scattering angry slivers of red light down the deserted street. Not a cab in sight. Not at this hour; not in this part of town. He’d planned it that way. She stomped one glittery Louboutin against the curb and turned on the lanky man hovering at her […]

Read More “XXX Marks the Spot” by J.L. Delozier

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • "The Brass Ring” by Lance Mason
    "The Brass Ring” by Lance Mason
  • "An Inclusive Genre": Stephen Jones on The Art of Pulp Horror
    "An Inclusive Genre": Stephen Jones on The Art of Pulp Horror
  • Nuts and Bolts to the Eight Steps: Paul Tomlinson on Writing the Crime Thriller
    Nuts and Bolts to the Eight Steps: Paul Tomlinson on Writing the Crime Thriller
  • Jose Luis Torres II on City of Honor
    Jose Luis Torres II on City of Honor
  • "Jonathan Latimer, Skilled Artisan of the Crime Genre: Headed for a Hearse (1935)" by WIlliam Blick
    "Jonathan Latimer, Skilled Artisan of the Crime Genre: Headed for a Hearse (1935)" by WIlliam Blick
  • "From Witness to Victim: the Story of Donna Gentile" by Anita DeFrancesco
    "From Witness to Victim: the Story of Donna Gentile" by Anita DeFrancesco
  • "Hollywood Homicide in the Seventies: The Snake and Bake Murder" by Steve Hodel
    "Hollywood Homicide in the Seventies: The Snake and Bake Murder" by Steve Hodel
  • "Keeping the Flame Alive: Dan Bronson’s Shout at the Devil" by WIlliam Blick
    "Keeping the Flame Alive: Dan Bronson’s Shout at the Devil" by WIlliam Blick
  • "Bakersfield: Kern River, June 13" by Pierre Ouellette
    "Bakersfield: Kern River, June 13" by Pierre Ouellette
  • "Something as Big as the Moon: from The Moon Has Fallen into a Well" by Vincent Czyz
    "Something as Big as the Moon: from The Moon Has Fallen into a Well" by Vincent Czyz

Authors

andy rausch Anees Aref Ann Chernow Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Barry Gifford BearManor Media Ben Himmelfarb Brian Greene Burt Kearns Charles Rammelkamp Charles Willeford Chris McGinley Chris Roy Clarinda Harris Craig Faustus Buck D.V. Bennett Dan Bronson Dane Ince David Goodis David Hagerty David Rachels David Ryan Earl Javorsky Gary D. Rhodes George Toles Gerald So Graham Wynd J.D. Smith J.L. Delozier J.M. Tyree Jaap Boekestein Jack Dann Jay Gertzman Jim Towns John McCann John Talbird Jo Perry Joseph Goodrich Joseph Hirsch Ken Hall Kurt Brokaw Lance Mason Lionel White Ly Faulk Mark Krajnak Mark Mayes Mark SaFranko Matthew Sorrento Matt Phillips Melanie Dante Mike Madden Mitchell Grabois Nick Sweeney Patricia Abbott Paul D. Brazill Peter Rozovsky Reed Farrel Coleman Rick Ollerman Robb T. White Robert Cooperman Ryhor Cisiecki Sharon Dempsey Stark House Press Stephen D. Rogers Steve Hodel Steve Levi Susan Hammerman T.L. Huchu Theresa Rodewald Thomas Pluck Tom Leins Vicki Hendricks Warren Moore William Blick Woody Haut

Categories

  • Biography
  • Blogs
  • Book Excerpt
  • Crime-horror
  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Flash Fiction
  • Graphic Novel
  • Interview
  • More than Dead
  • Noir
  • Nonfiction
  • Novel Excerpt
  • Photography
  • Poetry
  • Prose Poem
  • Review Essays
  • Short Story
  • True Crime
  • Uncategorized
  • Visual Art
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Retreats from Oblivion: The Journal of NoirCon
    • Join 134 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Retreats from Oblivion: The Journal of NoirCon
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar