Comfort and Joy

A new Matt Brooks short story will be in the December edition of Wilde Oats.  A tale set during the terrible flu epidemic of 1918, it's about love and survival.  Here's a small excerpt:

"Porca madonna!" Lou exclaimed, exasperated.  "I've known mules less stubborn than you, you ... you... Hungarian plowboy! I tell you, you are going back to bed." He was nearly shouting, but Polo's mouth was set on 'intractable'.

"I am not going back to bed, little diva," Polo insisted, biting off each word and chewing the consonants.  "Scream all you like.  That may help you gather the goats at home, but it won't get me into bed unless you're there with me."

"You dare to speak to me like that?" Lou shouted.

"Ha!" Polo snapped his fingers.  "Yes! Just like that!"

Lou leaned across the table until his face nearly touched Polo's.  His voice was tight with menace.  "Save your sauce for the geese shitting in your stableyard a day's walk from godforsaken Rejetanya or wherever the hell it was.  I have things to do and I'm not leaving until you're in bed and you've promised to stay there."

"And I certainly will not promise.  You can shout until you croak like a toad.  It will get you nowhere."

"Like a toad, is it? And you heehawing like a mule.  What did I ever do to deserve a lover like this one," Lou shrieked, reaching for a vase.  "Cocciuto!"

"Rospo!" Polo shouted back, grabbing a pillow.  He lifted it in front of his face just as Lou flung the porcelain at him.

The vase hit square on the pillow and dropped unharmed to the carpet, splashing water onto Polo's pyjamas and slippers.  He looked down, saw the flowers lying in a sodden pile at his feet, and burst out laughing.

(The picture is of the  female impersonator Lionel Ames, and comes from this website)

Conversations in a Horse

The Trojan Horse by Tiepolo

Michael Gouda's funny play will be in issue 6.  He's had a few stories published in Wilde Oats and its predecessor magazine already, and it's good to have another.  The story's set inside the horse given by the Greeks to the Trojans.  You'll like it. 

Brian Holliday

Brian Holliday has had a couple of stories in Wilde Oats.   You can see his Wilde Oats page here.  One of his stories (Home Cooking) was subsequently accepted for publication in I Do Two!, the anthology written in support of gay marriage.  We're pleased to announce that we'll have another story from this author, entitled Christmas Eve, a heart-warming story of unexpected love from an unexpected place, in issue 6 of our magazine.

Here's a quote from the story:

I was busily shoving papers back into my briefcase, listening to comments from members of my own company, and then, suddenly, I saw these eyes.

You’ve got to understand, that’s not usually the first thing I notice about a guy. Most often I start my looking below the neck, sometimes below the waist, and sure, I get to the face eventually but, well… this was different. They were nice eyes, a blue so dark they were almost black, kind of startling because his brows and lashes were light, pale blond. That led me to his hair, the same pale blond color, longish and curling over his ears. His mouth was a real cupid’s bow with a funny downturn to the corners that made his smile unique. 

 The new issue will be published in December.

The photo is from Brian's Google group, which you can visit here.