The Moon-Haunted Heart

Sometimes, the truest stories are about what ‘almost’ happened; not what was, but what just as easily might have been. The would’ves, the should’ves, the could’ves, the haunting maybes and the melancholy might-haves are the fertile soil in which the most powerful and affecting fiction takes root. Then too, sometimes, the most intriguing stories leave a bit of mystery beyond the margins—small enigmas for the reader to ponder hours and days after the book has been closed. Sometimes, the shortest stories are the ones that stay with us the longest.

The 50 very-short pieces in this collection of mature literary fiction range from as many as 4,000 to as few as 50 words. The purpose of these stories is not necessarily to arouse, but rather to explore various aspects of the human condition through the lens of the erotic in a way that is both enlightening and entertaining.

There are brief vignettes—entire worlds conjured up within the space of an eye-blink—alongside more conventionally expansive narratives. There are a number of stories about the erotic dimensions of ‘disability,’ particularly visual impairment. There are pan-sexual celebrations—the hetero- and homoerotic along with the intentionally ambivalent. There are richly atmospheric scene-settings, effusive literary evocations, and casual pop-culture-inspired dialogues; orneriness and ecstasy, contemporary vulgarity and timeless transcendence standing cheek by jowl, low comedy, erotic horror and lambent exultation comfortably sharing the same space, breathing the same air, seeking the same truth . . .

Here are 50 stories from that secret place where love and madness meet.