Merry Christmas, Yellow Mama-style!

Yeah, I know. The pandemic still rages, with the new Omicron strain, now. School shootings and political crises haven’t let up. Everywhere we look, there’s something to freak out about. In spite of all this, let’s stop and chill. Let’s be safe but try to enjoy the holidays.

Reading YM Issue #89 is a great place to start. As always, we’ve got an awesome lineup, and even some “Christmas” tales.

Seasons Greetings from Roger Johns, with his noir-ish “Manny Dietrich’s Adventure in the Blighted Kingdom,” in which a trucker attempts a quickie with one of Santa’s “elves.” In Gary Clifton’s “Priorities,” a cop breaks up a lover’s spat on Christmas Eve.  Jan Christensen’s “All for One, One for All” features three coworkers who plot to whack their abusive boss before the holiday party. And Bernice Holtzman’s “The Most Magical Season” shows us how New Year’s Eve can be the most cheerless of holidays.

In his sequel to “Bus Stop” (in YM Issue #86), Jonathan Woods chronicles “Ishmael” and Robin’s “Bittersweet” Key West reunion. Kenneth James Crist’s “The Lunch Box” gives us vigilante bomber Crank as a young lad.

Other powerful stories include Niles Reddick’s “Who’s Going to Pray for Me Now?”, in which memories of a suddenly-deceased loved one leave the narrator shattered. K. A. Williams’s “The Burglar” surprises a homeowner in more ways than one. And Don Stoll’s “Swallow” explores racism in the London P.D.

Our poetry lineup includes Catholic school memories by YM newcomer Gale Acuff, as well as fine poems by YM regulars Meg Baird, Hillary Lyon, Judith Nielsen, and others.

Full-length and flash fiction stories (and some poems) are individually illustrated by our gifted artists: Kevin Duncan, Sean O’Keefe, Hillary Lyon, Steve Cartwright, Ann Marie Rhiel, Michael D. Davis, Darren Blanch, Henry Stanton, Cynthia Fawcett, AF Knott, W. Jack Savage, and our newest artist, Bernice Holtzman.

And check out Mike Kerins’s chilly Winter 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 revised Archives, to catch recent stories or poems by your favorite writers you might’ve missed.