Krista says, “Sound prompts were offered for initial inspiration, and one evoked heavy rainfall on a metal roof. From there, I thought about the desire to be drenched. And how close the desire to be drenched is to the desire to drown. Voilà, the birth of Phil and his particular tin predicament.”

Phil dreamt of the sea the way candles dream of flame.

He would have fled to the sea long ago — candle wax vanished into air — but unlike candles, Phil had Molly. Molly who’d rescued him, held him close, her song of a face whispering its own drenching temptation.

But still, some nights after Molly fell asleep, the sea sang, and Phil couldn’t resist. Rusty step after rusty step, he would creak his way down to the shore. In the salt-scented air, the pull and call of the wide water begged him to wade, dip, dive in if he dared. It pleaded with him to abandon his rusted ankles, elbows, hips, knees, iron joints, and strong shoulders to the blue wet of possibility. It promised him he would not only float, but would sail free. Come, come home to me.

Listen to Krista read the opening of her Shimmer 12 story, “No Place Like Home, or Building the Yellow Brick Road.” (3kb, mp3)

Order your very own copy of Shimmer 12 today!

Author Monica Byrne talks about the genesis of her Shimmer 12 story, “Five Letters from New Laverne“:

This story is very important to me. It’s very close to my heart, because it is the first story I wrote after deciding to become a writer–deciding that that was really all I ever wanted to do and that I was going to build my life around doing that. But what happened right as I decided that, and right as I was about to embark on that, is…tragedy.

“Five Letters from New Laverne” puts me in mind of Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness and encompasses all that a Shimmer story should. It is soaked in sorrow yet ringed in hope. I hope you will pick up Shimmer 12 today so you can experience its wonder for yourself.

Author Peter M. Ball reads from, “The Mike and Carly Story,” which you can find in its glorious entirety in Issue 12 of Shimmer, now available!

So the trouble starts like this: Mike likes Carly and Carly doesn’t like him back. Mike’s trying to figure it out as best he can, then he turns fifteen and this werewolf thing happens – boom – and he spends three nights a month camping out in the middle of nowhere because a pining teenage werewolf and the full moon just aren’t a great combination. It’s enough to make you feel bad for the guy.

Click here to listen to Peter read from his story. (15mb, mp3)

Want to read the rest of the issue? Of course you do, because it’s all spectacular. Nine stories that will take you places you’ve never been before await you in Issue 12 of Shimmer.