Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Chapters.
A House Divided - Chapter 1
Synopsis: A young indigenous Liberian boy's life changes when he gets adopted by a wealthy Americo-Liberian family in 1970s Liberia. Amidst cultural tensions, our protagonist has to figure out what it means to be a Liberian and more importantly, what it means to be him. When the cultural tensions in Liberia come to a boiling point, our protagonist finds himself seeking refuge in the United States and having to relearn who he is and what it means to be a Liberian on American soil.
By C.R. Hughes2 years ago in Chapters
Prince of Santa Monica
The opulent mansion directly overlooked Santa Monica Pier. Once or twice upon a time, Tony Quinn had wanted to invite a friend over if only just to see the lavish lifestyle of his family just before booting the friend back out into the coldness and emptiness of the impoverished. That had been had Dr. Anthony Quinn and acclaimed model, Moriah Quinn, had treated those whom they considered lesser than. However, they could do so no more. There were two cruel certains in the world; and one of those certain cruelties had removed Dr. Anthony Quinn and Moriah Quinn from their lavish lifestyles and from a world of "lesser-thans." There was no more question of comparisons of earthly wealth for them; their remaining concern now, if they were cognizant of grasping to one, would have been the destination of Heaven or Hell. Suddenly, their kingdom was unattended; save for the heir apparent to the family values and valuables...
By Kent Brindley2 years ago in Chapters
The Brother Who Kept
Lee, New Hampshire 1982 I sat in silence starring at the open field as my old man drove the Ford F-150 along the main highway. I felt his words before he even started talking as he flicked a cigarette out the driver’s window. He had just dropped off my mother for an Adult Ed word processing class at my high school she was taking to improve the accounting on our farm. Dad signed me out of class early so I could help restock the feed for the cows. I knew though there was another reason. I felt this conversation was in plans since the day I was born and having just passed my fifteenth birthday the idea of what was coming was in the air.
By C. H. Richard2 years ago in Chapters
The Taste of Poverty
The rural south in the US has a way about it that pulls you in. It's sandy rivers with swampy ponds. It's red clay cliffs near vast lakes. It's field of cotton blistering under the sun. It’s rows and rows of pine forests, with amber needles where the grass should be and tall dark trunks looming up over you. Due to their fast growth, the lumber industry booms there. The really straight pines become powerline poles across the state. The less describe become boards and the really crooked are turned into wood chips or particle board. I can look at a pine tree and tell you what it will be cut for. We had our own land that was cut for timber, but it wasn't replanted. The seedlings cost money and took too long to return it.
By Laura Lann2 years ago in Chapters
Under the Florida Sun. Top Story - September 2023.
Prologue- June 23, 2014 A long time ago someone, history remembers as unknown said. "Under the Florida sun is the best place to be." I think they were right. Because there's no place, I'd rather be than sitting on the shores of Grasshopper Lake with my toes dancing in warm grains of sugar sand feeling lake water run up along my feet before circling around my ankles while my eyes look out across the ripples of water in front of me for gators breaking the surface like branches floating.
By The Invisible Writer2 years ago in Chapters
Cyprus: Where History and Identity Collide
Introduction: Cyprus, a sun-kissed Mediterranean jewel, has long been a land where history and identity collide, where the echoes of ancient civilizations resonate in the present day. Nestled in the eastern Mediterranean, this island has been a crossroads of cultures, a place where diverse peoples have left their indelible marks. As a writer embarking on the journey of creating the next Great Cypriot Novel, understanding Cyprus's complex tapestry of history, culture, and identity is essential.
By Tereza Giannouri2 years ago in Chapters
A Drop in the Ocean
The tight walled labyrinth of brick terraces had loosened to stretches of bay windowed semis in magnolia, beige and cream, flashes of green glimpsed down side alleys, creeping into front gardens, and eventually garnishing horseshoe drives before taking over entirely, fading from the vivid hues of tended lawn to the dryly yellowing pallor of ripening wheat as the flat fields opened out on either side of the road. Lydia knew she was late without needing to glance at the clock on the car’s dashboard, but she did, as if casting time a stern look might stem its advance, allow her to catch up, feel less at its mercy. It was the same look she used when the children threatened to unravel her, and it didn’t work then, either. The morning had been a difficult one, and on her knotted shoulder, the blue cotton of her dress was still dark with Jack’s tears. Maybe his snot too. “It is what it is, I’m doing the best that I can”, she thought, and tuned the radio in search of some music she could sing too, re-set her mind.
By Hannah Moore2 years ago in Chapters
Dear Leonardo. Runner-Up in Next Great [American] Novel Challenge.
One must accept the 1990s as a formative decade in the fabric of Americana. As American as the Elk, so too is the tale of a young midwestern girl writing fan-mail to her favorite actor. Written from Fiona's perspective, reading and reliving those memories as an adult.
By Abbey June Schwartz2 years ago in Chapters
Breaking Horizon
Chapter 1: The Last Horizon Elliot McKenna was not, by any standard measure, a hero. He was a gruff and wrinkled man of 58, with hair receding faster than the glaciers he had once studied. An atmospheric scientist by training and an adventurer by compulsion, Elliot had spent the better years of his youth traveling to the Earth’s most uninhabitable zones. Now, confined to a chair in his drafty Boston apartment, he was left only with the company of his regrets and an old ham radio that crackled more than it spoke.
By Stevie Johnson2 years ago in Chapters
![Runner-Up in Next Great [American] Novel Challenge](https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/c_fit,h_46,q_auto,w_46/64c550bb418f46001dda0f4a.png)
