Berzerk

Ask Ashley

Jan Flanders (Etiquette)

Real Life Is Stranger

Dr. Jim

Confession Corner

Ask Ashley

I, Kristin Billerbeck, the creator of fashion-conscious, slightly vain Ashley Stockingdale, have an incredible memory for all things ridiculous. If there’s no point in remembering something, it’s stored away in my brain. I guess that’s why all the numbers had to get lost —unless they were phone numbers of cute boys from my past. Those are still there. But if it involves math, nope...gone.

Jan Flanders (Etiquette)

Fiction Etiquette with a Southern Twist Twisted Southern

Good mornin’, everyone. This heah column will delve into the world of fiction etiquette according to moi. And that would be me, Jan Flanders—Ms. Flanders to you, honey chile. Let me assure you, Ah do not ascribe to the type of casual familiarity that is just toooo prevalent among young people today. To indulge in such folderol is certainly not the way Ah was reared, thank you very much, and Ah don’t have the least intention of perpetuatin’ it.

Real Life Is Stranger

Spring Love—for the Birds

As poet Alfred Lord Tennyson said, “In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to . . .” turkeys? It does if the young man happens to deliver mail for the Hilldale Station Post Office in Madison, Wisconsin.

Apparently, a flock of wild turkeys has lately taken a vicious dislike to Hilldale Post Office letter carriers. While the workers attempt to deliver mail, this gang of turkey thugs has been known to peck at the carriers and attack them with their sharp spurs. One postal driver reported a turkey boarding his truck to open up a big ol’ can of heiny whoop on him.

Confession Corner

Confession...from a Bookaholic

Superman had his booth. You have confession corner. A bizarre, if not insane, straight dialogue between a booth and its confessor. Could this be you?

“Psst! Hey, you with the two bags of books on your shoulder. Come over here.”

“What? Who’s calling me?”

“Over here, the booth. Keep turning, a little more, a little more. There you go. It’s me, right in front of you.”

Dr. Jim

Please allow me to introduce myself: My name is James E. Robinson, and welcome to DR. JIM (actually, I’m not a doctor, but I play one on the Web). In real life, I’m a writer, therapist, and a recovering addict.

Many of you are already nodding knowingly, aren’t you? We writers are indeed a different breed, are we not? Certainly, most of us don’t write for the money, glamour, or personal gain. Most of us do this odd thing called writing because, as some wise person once stated, we can’t not do it! Is there any better description of addiction?