Berzerk

Ask Ashley

Jan Flanders (Etiquette)

Real Life Is Stranger

Dr. Jim

Confession Corner

Ask Ashley

No Sex (until marriage) in the City

First, I have to admit I haven’t seen the movie, but I did see the fashion and it was . . . bad. If these women want to know why they couldn’t catch a man, didn’t anyone mention to them their clothing? Just because you can wear something, doesn’t mean you should.

Jan Flanders (Etiquette)

Fiction Etiquette with a Southern Twist Twisted Southern

Well, good mornin’ class, er—that is, faithful readers. Ah see you have been mindful of your need to better yourselves by joining your own Ms. Flanders for further admonishment in the Sacred Laws of Fiction Etiquette. I commend your good sense.

Pardon me just one tiny moment while Ah indulge in another wee sip of my mint jul—sweet tea. Now that is most refreshin’. There’s nothin’ more bracin’ early in the mornin’ than the Confed—Southern national drink properly infused with mint—and of course, just a hint of lemon.

Real Life Is Stranger

A Little Too Cozy Mystery

Let’s set our scene. The morning rain has passed. It’s a sun-drenched day in suburban Whitley Bay, England. We enter a charming middle-class home in the heart of town. Our lovely heroine—Heather Stephenson—is busy at her ironing board, crisping her darling husband’s shirts and reciting aloud her favorite Bible verses. During a particularly quiet moment, she thinks she might have heard something back in the bedroom. She investigates.

No, Heather! Not back there!

For one disoriented minute...

Confession Corner

Confession...from a Rag Reader

Whoa, Buddy! Where’s the fire?

Oh, uh, sorry. I didn’t realize anyone was in here.

It’s all right. Come on in.

No, that’s okay. I’ll wait’ll you’re done.

Listen, pal, I’m telling you, it’s empty. Just pull the curtain back and see for yourself. C’mon in, all the way into the booth and talk to me. It’s only a buck and you’ll feel much better. It’s a steal of a deal.

Dr. Jim

Greetings, dear readers.

This first installment will begin a six-part series called “The Six As of Addiction.” Today’s issue involves ASAS—Advanced Submission Avoidance Syndrome.

Dear Dr. Jim,

I am a forty-one-year-old, happily married mother of three. I’ve been a writer (in my own head, at least) since childhood; I’ve actually written more than thirty novels, a couple hundred short stories, and countless articles...