fresh flash
fiction &
modern fables
“My reflection grew more sad and distorted in the channel below. The troll emerged. She was not aging well. ”
Flash Fiction
THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER“I want to take my bloody heart and bury it in the co-op parking lot, next to the coffin of the mouse she loved more than me.”
Flash Fiction
HEARTS OF PALM“When Fidelia’s lovely little face came into his mind’s eye, it was if someone had smacked him straight in the heart with a flyswatter.”
Flash Fiction
DISPARATE TEMPERATURES
For your reading pleasure, three tales that are green with envy.
Hey, jealousy! Discover modern fables about romance, spite and regret. In The Green-Eyed Monster, three riddles must be answered before crossing the bridge to an ex-boyfriend. In Hearts of Palm, after a vegan couple breaks up, the café where they work sees unplanned menu changes. And, in Disparate Temperatures, a lifeguard patrols the extravagant Sutro Baths by rowboat and there’s only one swimmer he’s come to watch.
Explore more good reads in our libraries of stories fantastic and domestic or listen along at The Story Coterie podcast.Stories Fantastic
Discover modern fables of beauties, beasties and unearthly wonders.
Read more...I could see them all from the other side of the bridge. Kids were racing paper milk cartons, couples were canoodling in canoes, and even the ducks were fat and happy thanks to the generosity of picnickers. It was a summer day, and folks don’t take that for granted here. The north beach of the...Read more...The annual convention at Arctic Dark was not so different than any other trade show. There were the same pipe-and-drape booths, the same unnecessarily complicated carpet for high-traffic areas, the same pitiful bowls of hard candy and chino-clad optimists. The event was distinguished by its...Read more...Everything is temporary. Through the layers of silk organza, she could feel the warmth of his hand on the small of her back. He was as handsome as she’d imagined, and his hands were even stronger and more capable. There was something golden about him under the skin. Her wish had been a simple...More PostsStories Domestic
Discover fresh short fiction about everyday heartbreak and other crimes.
Read more...Once, she was compassionate, loving and kind. Once we found a speckled mouse in the bulk foods section of the Co-op. Tuesday scooped it in the palm of her hand and deposited it safely in the green median of the parking lot. By the time we’d finished shopping, it had only made it about two feet...Read more...Fidelia, he thought as he paid his dime. Fidelia, he thought for seven miles as the Southern Pacific jostled its way. Fidelia, he thought as the streetcar deposited him and a horde of reveling youth at the oceanside park. The swimmers ran with mad folly toward the Baths. Below the labyrinthine...Read more...There were ten colored pencils for the off-season and twelve for the holidays. Dolores had worked at Bodie’s only florist for more than ten years, and she could count on one hand the number of times she’d needed to actually type an original expression for the enclosure card. Like a short-order...
- The Story Coterie Podcast
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About Us
a columbary of lovely and amazing tales
What is StoryCote?
At StoryCote, half of our tales are fantastic. These fables span the adventures of selkies, saints, lycanthropes and even superheroes. The other fables are domestic, spanning the adventures of mere humans, but still from a fabulist’s perspective. All are told in the lyric, lovely and aching way only we know how to tell them.
Discover restless characters, from fairies to farm wives to socialites, all searching for better lives. Unlock the secret to each escape: in the back room of a near-future perfumery, by an imposter at a posh country club, on a cruise ship boarded by hungry pirates, and in many more heart-breaking tales. From the domestic to the fantastic, each tender fable is complete in 2,500 words or less.
StoryCote was founded by writer Candace Leigh Coulombe to share the incredible value of flash fiction and fables in an ever-hectic daily life. Join us for fresh fiction each week through the StoryCote website, podcast and social media. Enjoy the satisfaction of a complete story experience during a quick coffee break. Sneak a secret story during your workday.
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All contents copyright © 2006 - 2026 Candace L. Coulombe. All rights reserved. For reprints and permissions, contact StoryCote.