The writer had an idea for a story and took out his spiral pad and pencil nub from inside his ear and began to write about the phone call he received from a late-night TV host who said he was referred to him, read his collections of flash fiction and would like to have him do a weekly spot on his show. The writer was thrilled and saw this as his big break. He began a story about a TV host who just got out of prison for refusing to use the Oxford Comma. The writer’s mother opens his door and says his bologna on rye is ready and he screams at her to close the door and before she does his dog walks in with the bologna sandwich in his mouth and drops it at the writer’s feet. The writer is not wearing shoes and tries to pick up the sandwich with his toes and then begins to reread his work, but he forgot his hand his broken and his writing illegible and the TV host calls and says read me your flash. The dog covers his eyes with his paws and the writer calls for his mother to come read what he wrote. He needs help but his mother said ask your dog I’m busy counting the linen.
Paul Beckman’s flash collection Kiss Kiss, (Truth Serum Press) was a finalist for the 2019 Indie Short Story Award competition. Paul was nominated by Citron Review for Best Micro fiction 2020 and had a micro story selected for the 2018 Norton Anthology New Micro Exceptionally Short Fiction. He was one of the winners in the 2016 The Best Small Fictions and his story “Mom’s Goodbye” was chosen as the winner of the 2016 Fiction Southeast Editor’s Prize, and he was one of the winners in the 2022 microfiction anthology. He’s been published in the following magazines among others:, Litro, Playboy, Pank, Blue Fifth Review, Matter Press, Jellyfish Review, Thrice Fiction, Spelk, Red Fez, and Literary Orphans. Paul curates the monthly FBomb flash fiction reading series via Zoom.