Tag: flash fiction

Friday Five: Orange Rose editor Amber Budd

‘Literary magazines exist to uplift the work of other writers, and that’s always been my main priority.’

In less than a year, Amber Budd has built something incredible for the online literary world with The Orange Rose Literary Magazine. Since launching The Orange Rose last July, she has published five issues, each one of which is filled with a broad range of writing–short stories, nonfiction, flash and micro fiction, and poetry from writers well known, lesser known, and unknown–as well as visual art and photography. (Note to writers: Amber’s call for prose submissions for Issue 6 ends May 31, so get busy! [Orange Rose has already hit its cap for poetry submissions.) I’ve had three short stories appear in Amber’s magazine (in issues 2, 4, and 5, which was a pet-themed issue in honor of Amber’s recently departed orange cat, Biscotti). I also received one kindly worded rejection email from her.

Amber is a Missouri-based writer (as am I) who, at age 24, juggles her editor-in-chief work with her pursuit of an MFA in writing, which she began last fall. She holds an AFA and BA in Creative Writing and previously served as editor for Arrow Rock Literary Journal and as a reader for Fractured Lit. Her short fiction and poetry have been published in multiple magazines and journals, and she is currently writing her first novel that will eventually serve as her master’s thesis. Though her chronic illnesses limit her day-to-day capabilities, she uses her free time, according to her bio, “to replay the same two video games for the millionth time, crochet while binge-watching her current TV obsession, and squeeze in D&D sessions with her friends.”

Continue reading “Friday Five: Orange Rose editor Amber Budd”

In case you missed ’em

Links to my latest published writings.

Over the past week I had three pieces published in various literary magazines:

  • “Weather Report” was published last Wednesday, April 15, in Flash Fiction Magazine. This flash fiction piece describes how an ordinary morning walk is disrupted by an extraordinary encounter. I’m grateful to Aishwarya Mishra for her helpful edits, which strengthened this piece.
  • “The Cat Says” was published last Friday in The Orange Rose Literary Magazine. This short story is about the dynamics between humans and their pets, with a bit of woo-woo psychic work thrown in. This piece was part of a special themed issue about pets called “Love You, Miss You,” created to honor the recently departed Biscotti, one of editor-in-chief Amber Budd‘s two cats that inspired the magazine’s name (Biscotti being the Orange). My thanks to Amber for including my piece in this issue.
  • “A Cure for Doomscrolling” was published Sunday, April 19, in an interesting literary message board called Some Words. My poem was one of the poems posted by Some Words in honor of National Poetry Month, which continues through April. Some Words creator and editor Justin Carter pours his heart and soul editing and curating this quirky lit thing, and you should visit to read some of the great works appearing there.

I have one other piece, a short story, that should be published sometime this spring, and the short story that will appear in the Warren Zevon-inspired anthology that comes out in July. Other than that, no other writings have been picked up lately. I hope that changes soon. Whether it does or it doesn’t, I plan to keep writing.