Tag: rural

  • “Once, We Were Under the Sea” nominated for Pushcart Prize

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    kellirule
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    “Once, We Were Under the Sea,” a prose poem inspired by hunting for shark teeth in rural central Florida, has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by my publisher, Whale Road Review. Read the piece here. Or, read it here. Once, We Were Under the Sea You don’t have to dig. The teeth have eaten…

  • Fictive Dream: The Almost

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    kellirule
    in ,

    The Almost: a school bus driver passes the early morning hours in rural Florida reading her favorite romance novel while idling in her bus before the kids show up. As the sensual language of the book, “Heather’s Rake,” provides her with an escape from the mundane, she finds comfort in the tension and anticipation of…

  • Moonday Mag: Mirror Image

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    kellirule
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    In “Mirror Image”, forces both supernatural and elemental conspire to silence an author.

  • The Scavenger

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    kellirule
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    “I watched a wake of turkey vultures slurp up bits of cow…” The Scavenger, a rural Florida gothic serial killer tale, first dramatized by Creepy Podcast and later picked up by Illustrated Worlds Magazine – is reprinted below. (First, though, this photo…taken from my grandparent’s 40 acre homestead in Arcadia, FL, where this story is set. Crazy place!)…

  • Green Hills Literary Lantern: Ma’Donna

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    kellirule
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    The Harborside Mobil Stop-n-Go shines its beacon, its big old sign with all the gas prices, the ones that go back and forth a few cents every day for reasons I’ll never know, way up high for the boats to see. After closing, all the lights in and around the store go out except for…

  • Whale Road Review: Once, We Were Under the Sea

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    kellirule
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    Once, We Were Under the Sea, an ode to prehistoric Florida, can be found in the Spring 2025 edition of the prestigious Whale Road Review. The edition in full is inspiringly curated – jewel-like and intoxicating. I recommend reading each piece in order with a warm cup of honeyed tea by your side. Bonus points…

  • Winsom

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    kellirule
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    Thought it would be fun to post the first story I’ve ever published. Here ya go. “Winsom.” WINSOM Bradenton, Florida, 1997 Hart’s desk shook. “Hey, my coffee!” Hart sprang from his swivel chair and lifted the mug, wiping its bottom and sides to stay the drips, but the damage was done. He sighed, watching his…

  • 101 Words: Dinner

    101 Words: Dinner

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    kellirule
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    Dinner: A small (101 words) glimpse into domestic detachment and regret. Published September 2024 in 101 Words. Direct link here. P.S. Illustration above, entitled “Chaos Bowl,” by me.

  • Creepy Podcast: The Scavenger

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    kellirule
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    The Scavenger: A disaffected art school dropout returns to their impoverished rural homestead. But nothing good comes from a life of scrounging for scrap metal and ruminating on everything that has failed you. One must find new hobbies. Dramatized in August 2024 on Creepy Podcast. Narrated by Michelle Kain. Direct link to the audio (Patreon…

  • Heavy Feather Review: Everything Got Worse (the story.)

    Heavy Feather Review: Everything Got Worse (the story.)

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    kellirule
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    Everything Got Worse: a 1990s-era supernatural tale of rural sprawl and eco-displacement told from the perspective of a kid who got eaten by a gator and his mother who will never find out why he died. Published September 2024 in Heavy Feather Review’s Haunted Passages collection. Direct link to the story. Aaaaaaaaand a taste: The…