Editor’s Page – Yellow Mama Issue #104 (June 15, 2024)

Hi all!

Summer’s here, a little early. But who’s complaining? Besides warm, sunny weather, I love how it stays light out till 8:30 PM. (Sometimes I’m still awake!)

Sure, there’s some bad stuff going on around us, but there’s good stuff, too. I love both mentoring, and learning from, other Yellow Mama writers. I had a micro story (“Stiff Lips”) published in Punk Noir, and editor Steve Golds wound up interviewing me. I was also interviewed by Becky Parker of Briar Haus Writes. That interview will be on YouTube on June 17.

Who’s up for summer reads? Noir-wise, you’ve got it made.

In Charlie Kondeck’s “Acceptable Margin of Inventory Loss,” a white-collar career criminal walks into a liquor store heist. In Louella Lester’s tale, there’s “Karma at the Charlie Hotel” when a louse oversteps his welcome. When a reluctant bank robber kills a witness, it’s “Justice Served,” à la Glen Bush. In Walt Trizna’s “Revenge and Redemption,” a neighborhood vigilante “adopts” a juvenile delinquent. And in Jon Park’s “Madam Maree Sees Your Future,” this soothsayer sees more than the client wants.

Other awesome stories include Fred Andersen’s “Rito Was a High Number,” in which a kid tries to avoid the draft in the 1970s. Kenneth James Crist’s Death Valley tale, “The Racing Rocks,” is personification at its best. And James Blakey’s “The Solar Punks” are tree hugging hackers, with Mohawks and killer drones.

Our poetry lineup includes works by regulars Liz Zelvin, Craig Kirchner, and the always-chilling (whether it’s Halloween, or not!) John Grey. Among other  powerful poems, check out Rob Plath’s heart-wrenching “oh how I wish” and Bernice Holtzman’s wistful “Pools.” 

Full-length and flash fiction stories (and some poems) are individually illustrated by our gifted artists: Bernice Holtzman, Joseph Richkus, Kevin Duncan, Hillary Lyon, J. Elliott, Sophia Wiseman-Rose, Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal, Steve Cartwright, Michael D. Davis, Henry Stanton, John Sowder, Lonni Lees, Cynthia Fawcett, Darren Blanch, John Thompson, KJ Hannah Greenberg, and Mandi Rose.

Also check out Bernice Holtzman’s smoldering moon cover!

If you want to submit full-length fiction, flash fiction, or poetry, check out our guidelines page.

Also, please sign our guestbook! If you have comments about Yellow Mama or any stories or poems we publish, you may leave comments there.

And check out our Archives I and II, to catch recent stories or poems by your favorite writers you might’ve missed.

 And thanks for reading!