“The Brass Ring” by Lance Mason

FICTION: “As Tito stepped forward with the pistol in hand, it seemed Corlett’s friend, the quiet, suspicious winemaker, had been right….”

“Honor” by J. D. Horn

FICTION: “There was a run of three years straight when Rose’s family came out on top, and Myrna’s six feet under. But then Myrna’s family had double wins, three times over a decade. The law of averages had held true….”

“Dancer Loses Her Head in Tapas Bar” by Jonathan Woods

SHORT FICTION/EROTICA: “Itztli loved life. He also feared the old gods. And the new…”

“Blue Martini” by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

FICTION: “A couple like us couldn’t last….”

“O Captain My Captain” by Jo Perry

FICTION: “If the arc of history really bends toward justice, the contents of that steel box should belong to me—not to the invisible grandson with his fully-subsidized Silver Lake Craftsman and a ‘job’ writing experimental, bedpan-free screenplays the client cannot fucking stop talking about….”

“Retribution, with Extreme Prejudice” by Glen Bush

FICTION: “I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. That made me even more nervous, so I started to turn around and answer him but that’s when he hit me with a hard punch to my kidney….”

“Bring Me the Dead of Jerry Garcia” by Mark Mellon

FICTION: “Manhood and honor cast aside like the useless impediments they were….”

“Eight O’Clock Sharp” by James McCrone

FICTION: “What had been a general resentment of the halfway house and its rules was now a searing hatred….”

“Swamp Witch Blues” by Jason M. Tucker

FICTION: “Heavy, mud-scented air wafted in from the swamp and was warm enough to build up a sweat just sitting. It made everything a bit more miserable.”