2. stratford The sound came from deep within City Hall. It rumbled across the street, now nearly empty and silent. Katherine Hays stared out upon the near-Gothic design of the town's main building, wondering if she'd made the right choice. Among Main Street, phantom shops stood decaying against the crumbling architecture of a city once proud and prosperous. Art thrived here. So too did business and commerce— businesses like restaurants and breweries that complimented the artists and bohemian souls that frequented the town of Stratford. Now, those shops stood silent—its people, ghosts. Few citizens remained in Stratford after The Fall. It came swiftly and aggressively, wiping out the entire artisan population in a single blow—first the quake, then the plague that swept through its streets, then its unsustainability in keeping those who survived afloat. Much has been said about The Fall. Theories abound. But few facts have been proven. We do know this: on the morning of July 7t

  The Figure in the Frame A Flash Fiction Series Years ago in grad school I studied Niagara Falls and its starring role in Henry Hathaway's film Niagara (1953). Alongside Marilyn Monroe, the infamous tourist attraction - known then as a honeymoon capital for newlyweds - captured a sense of passion and danger that captivated audiences (and lovers, apparently). Because I wanted to explore an area of film that aligned with some of my other interests (literature, and more specificially, geography and travel), cinema that placed landscapes front and center immediately captured my attention. I've always been drawn to the kinds of movies that utilize their places as more than just a backdrop - there's a distinct difference between the New York City of Taxi Driver (1976) and The Avengers (2012). Where one exists as a simple canvas upon which an alien invasion threatens the entire world, the other is drawn with particular cinematic techniques (music, colour, sound, editing) that

              It may not surprise anyone reading this that there hasn't been a lot of posts on this blog recently.  Cory and I have made numerous attempts over the past few years to post on a regular schedule; sometimes we have been successful, while many other times we were not.  We would always try, but life would always take priority and that meant we would have to pause our endeavours.  Most of the time it was work related; prioritizing a busy schedule with time to decompress.  Other times it was due to social obligations with family or friends.  We always did our best to percevere, but it wasn't always successful.               Another hurdle that we needed to overcome was one of our own creation.  Often times he and I would be working on large projects.  Any time we are working on our novels and novellas, we aren't writing smaller pieces for the blog or for any self promotion on other sites or on social media.  Speaking for myself, it became a bit of a vicious cycle i