fresh flash
fiction &
modern fables
“After the moon rock, we’d smoked more, colluding behind the bleachers and loitering at the A&W or Dairy Queen.”
Flash Fiction
WE ALL SHINE ON“ In a gesture that seems generous for E-Z Pass, it did not report me to authorities or initiate a restraining order.”
Flash Fiction
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE“ When we moved here, I thought the twin moons were so romantic. Phobos and Deimos are now just chunks of rock.”
Flash Fiction
CHASMATA
For your reading pleasure, three short stories about weird science.
Discover new sci fi tales in which women have are changed by space and technology. In We All Shine On, students in a home economics class transform after exposure to lunar matter. In For Your Convenience, a fast pass to the tollbooth comes at the cost of personal privacy. And, in Chasmata, a scientist on a Martian colony, journals her discontent with the mundanities of domestic life.
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...We were all good girls before we touched the moon rock. Until then, we were sewing patch pockets on our midi skirts. Phyllis Brown still wore her tiny pre-engagement ring. We made curfew and seldom smoked. It was the year after a man had walked on the moon, and our school was already changing...Read more...The first week of July, I didn’t have $2.50. I remember approaching the Dumbarton toll plaza with the particular mix of indignation and embarrassment reserved for acute moments of being broke. But there was no toll taker at the window to hand me an envelope and a warning to pay by mail within 30...Read more...Excerpts from the journals of Dr. Rita X. Mather Mariner Colony 003 Revolution 28 (687 Earth Days/1.88 Julian Year) Log No. 1097 Today should be a special day. We’ve officially lived here for one complete orbit around the sun — the first colonists to do so. I imagine there are...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...Bisbee’s bottom itched hot with carpet burns, and her shoulder was scratched pink, courtesy of the keyboard tray. She was happily rife with bruises and bites and, in fact, dressed more conservatively now than before the misadventures began, lest she spike the curiosity of Human Resources. But her...Read more...I live economically. It’s why I often choose to holiday in Cortina d’Ampezzo. There, it’s enough for me to be seen entering Hotel Cristallo from the heli-pad. I don’t need a helicopter of my own — just the reputation that I do. The one extravagance I allow myself is my man Golding: bodyguard,...
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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 - 2025 Candace L. Coulombe. All rights reserved. For reprints and permissions, contact StoryCote.