Fish Tale by Dianna Sinovic
July 30, 2026 by Dianna Sinovic in category Quill and Moss by Dianna Sinovic tagged as A lifetime, Bartender, Celebration, marriage
Two months into the job, and Cordi knew every regular’s preferred beverage. She could sift the deadbeats from the barflies who had dough, and had memorized The Bartender’s Guide, from the Apple Martini to the White Knight. Mostly, she poured and listened.
The Flying Fish did a brisk business at dinner of seafood and burgers, and then stayed open until two with a part-time night cook in the kitchen for late-hour snacks. Cordi worked the Thursday-Friday late shift, the shift with the best tips.
“Fish and rings tonight, Skip?” Cordi set a frosty glass of ale in front of her favorite regular. He might be fifty—or eighty. She didn’t know, and at twenty-two, anyone older than thirty seemed ancient. Skip Jowett’s beard was more salt than pepper, and he wore a battered captain’s hat, the only remnant left, he said, of his long years skippering a fishing boat off the Jersey Shore. He was quiet. Even as the hours passed and he asked for yet another tall one, he never grew belligerent – or fell asleep, spilling his drink.
“How about the halibut?” He was more somber than she’d seen him.
“Everything okay?”
He waved her away. “Fine, fine. Tell Drew I want the fish extra crispy. And the onion rings, too.”
After passing on the order to the kitchen, Cordi switched her attention to the others at the bar but kept an eye on Skip. He sipped his ale and watched the basketball game, but he was distant, distracted.
Drew’s fish platter momentarily brightened Skip’s face. He pushed his ale aside, tucked a napkin into his polo shirt, and with a wink at Cordi, got down to business.
“If you want to talk, I’m here,” she said. “Scout’s honor, whatever’s bothering you stays here. It’s like client privilege, for barkeeps. We don’t gossip.” Then she walked away, to let him think it over.
At a quarter to midnight, Skip finally motioned to her.
“Another Belgian?”
He shook his head. “I’ve had enough, too much probably.” He placed a fifty on the smooth wood. “That should cover it.”
Cordi put her hand on his, feeling the roughness of the skin, the prominent veins. “You need me to call a cab?”
The clink of glasses and the roar of the crowd on the TV filled the silence he let linger. “In a few minutes, I’ll have been married forty-five years. That’s a lifetime. Tomorrow she’s going into hospice. Hell of a way to celebrate an anniversary.”
More of Dianna’s Stories
Tari Lynn Jewett: Featured Author
July 28, 2026 by Tari Jewett in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett, Featured Author of the Month tagged as #Charmed Writers, #FireworksintheFog, #HeromsaForTheHolidays, #PleaseSayYes, Love and Mud Puddles, romantic comedy, Tari Lynn Jewett
Tari Lynn Jewett lives with her husband of nearly thirty years (also known as Hunky Hubby). They have three amazing sons, a board game designer, a sound engineer and a musician. For over fifteen years she wrote freelance for magazines and newspapers, wrote television commercials, radio spots, numerous press releases, and many, MANY PTA newsletters. As much as she loved writing those things, she always wanted to write fiction . . . and now she is.
She also believes in happily ever after . . . because she’s living hers.
One of Tari’s newest title is Love and Mud Puddles, available now.
Hannah loves her accounting job, the condo that she purchased herself, and her best friend Melinda. What she doesn’t love is baking. To be fair, she’s never tried. But when her cousin shames her into bringing homemade cookies to the family Christmas Eve celebration, she begins a quest to make the perfect holiday cookie.
Paramedic Josh also occasionally teaches kids’ cookie baking classes at his family’s bakery. When a beautiful accountant mistakenly signs up for a children’s holiday baking class, he realizes immediately that she’s in the right place.
Can this local hero help to save Hannah’s Christmas? Or will it all go up in smoke?
Tari’s other Books
All Over Again (Palindrome Poem) by Neetu
July 26, 2026 by Neetu Malik in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik tagged as broken, Fury, Futility, Neetu Malik, war
All Over Again
(Palindrome Poem)
life spills . . .
forming red rivulets in sand
in the vast desert
man’s fury against man
reasons I do not understand
why or how this came to be
who knows the rationality
in the circle of history
with unending repeats
I see blood . . . I see man
a glinting rifle
in his hand . . .
for a broken piece of land
© Neetu Malik
Some of Neetu’s Books
Knowledge is Power
July 22, 2026 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as Banned Books, books, George Peabody Library, St. Petersburg Florida, The Library, Veronica Jorge
Anniversaries are festive occasions marking milestones and accomplishments. We recount experiences and memories; some sad, but hopefully mostly joyful. We celebrate the depth and richness of our shared lives.
Anniversaries are also a time for looking back to where we have been and how far we have traveled. We also peek forward to catch a glimpse of that which is to come.
It seems fitting that the United States of America is doing the same in 2026 during its 250th anniversary. Documentaries, films, community activities, art, and books continue to explore the American experiment of democracy, freedom, and the equality and rights of all people as the nation, in its ever-changing cultural and political metamorphosis, engages in ongoing discussions of education, free speech, the role of the arts, and banned books.
So, I was delighted when on a recent trip to St. Petersburg, Florida, I chanced upon a restaurant named, The Library. Bookshelves lined the walls filled with volumes of books. Giant round lighting hung from the ceiling reminding me of the light bulb that appears in comic strips on the top of a character’s head when a brilliant idea illuminates them. The aroma of coffee and good food wafted through the air in this space modeled after the George Peabody Library in Baltimore, Maryland. Peabody believed in the power and importance of education and built an institute for the citizens of Baltimore dedicated for that purpose. What a great place for nourishment of body and mind.
At the nearby Museum of Fine Arts, The Last Library IV Written In Water, an installation by Ward Shelley and Douglas Paulson, intrigued and energized me. On tilted shelves filled with banned books, the artists also placed fake archives, and political propaganda alongside the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Human Rights.
According to the information plaque, the installation, like a real library, honors the written word, but the artists challenge the viewer to find the truth among alternative facts, confusing sources, and language shaped by artificial intelligence. We are asked to think about how much we can trust the written word, and causes us to even wonder about the future of democracy.
Art and books reveal that these important topics will always remain relevant and are conversations worthy of continual study and exploration for a nation and its people to live up to its founding principles and values.
Happy Birthday, America. Keep the dream alive. Make it a reality for all.
Veronica Jorge
See you next time on August 22nd!
Books Reviewed by Veronica
Tari Lynn Jewett: Featured Author
July 14, 2026 by Tari Jewett in category Charmed Writer by Tari Lynn Jewett, Featured Author of the Month tagged as #Charmed Writers, #FireworksintheFog, #HeromsaForTheHolidays, #PleaseSayYes, Love and Mud Puddles, romantic comedy, Tari Lynn Jewett
Tari Lynn Jewett lives with her husband of nearly thirty years (also known as Hunky Hubby). They have three amazing sons, a board game designer, a sound engineer and a musician. For over fifteen years she wrote freelance for magazines and newspapers, wrote television commercials, radio spots, numerous press releases, and many, MANY PTA newsletters. As much as she loved writing those things, she always wanted to write fiction . . . and now she is.
She also believes in happily ever after . . . because she’s living hers.
One of Tari’s newest title is Love and Mud Puddles, available now.
Hannah loves her accounting job, the condo that she purchased herself, and her best friend Melinda. What she doesn’t love is baking. To be fair, she’s never tried. But when her cousin shames her into bringing homemade cookies to the family Christmas Eve celebration, she begins a quest to make the perfect holiday cookie.
Paramedic Josh also occasionally teaches kids’ cookie baking classes at his family’s bakery. When a beautiful accountant mistakenly signs up for a children’s holiday baking class, he realizes immediately that she’s in the right place.
Can this local hero help to save Hannah’s Christmas? Or will it all go up in smoke?
Tari’s other Books
Featured Books
MERRY BELLES: A Bluestocking Collection with Friends
Seven charming holiday stories from award-winning and best-selling authors.
More info →
SEASIDE SWEETS
After her ex runs up her credit card, clears her bank account, and gets her fired, Seanna escapes to Seaside, Florida where the men are hot as the Gulf Coast sun…one in particular.
More info → THE SCRIBE OF SIENA
The captivating story of a brilliant woman's passionate affair with a time and a place . . .
More info →
