It was the best-selling horror novel of the 1960s, selling over four million copies. This highly popular novel was a catalyst for a boom in horror fiction, which achieved enormous commercial success in its wake. Instead of the horrors being set in a dark castle or remote forest, the story is set on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Levin makes the familiar scary by staging increasingly horrible “coincidences” there alongside apparently ordinary people living through the polit

She has been puzzled not by a calculus problem but an ethical problem. She even knows the answer. She just doesn’t know whether to tell the truth or a lie. June’s story “The Question” was published in COMMUTERLIT MAGAZINE. The story is a flash fiction story, barely 500 words, short enough for commuters to read while traveling to work or anyone else looking for a piece short on length but long on meaning. The most famous of all flash stories was a 6-word story attributed to E

As a member of International Thriller Writers, I served in 2024 as a judge for its best standalone thriller novels published that year. I read well over 100 entries over several months to compile my list of the best and compare that list with those of the other judges for that category. Classic thriller novels often feature high-stakes danger, psychological twists, and unforgettable villains. These features create suspense. So how can you maximize suspense? While reading

Saffron is a shade of yellow or orange, the color of the tip of the threads from the saffron crocus. These threads—actually the stigma of the flower—trap the pollen grains. Their color then turns reddish when dried. Now it just so happens that in June’s story “Deadly Confrontation” in the December 2025 issue of Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder, Katerina’s body was found covered in a remnant of saffron-colored silk. Miriam uses this information to confront the k

In “Deadly Confrontation,” June’s story in the December 2025 issue of Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder , Katerina, beloved by everyone, is brutally murdered in her perfumery. Miriam’s only clue comes from the victim’s best friend, Delia: “I heard something. Someone downstairs in her shop. A thud of heavy boots. I didn’t know whether to hide under her bed or tear down the back stairs. When the pounding stopped, I ran to the window, but the crowd had already swal

The principal streets of Roman cities were framed with colonnades attached to adjacent buildings, such as stores, inns, taverns, public offices, and sanctuaries. These colonnades served as critical architectural elements that blended practical engineering with political and social symbolism, creating monumental, orderly, and functional public spaces. For example, they formed covered walkways (porticoes) that provided paths sheltered from rain and sun to protect pedestrians. T

My story “The Drink” takes place in New Paltz, New York. Benny—nicknamed Bunny because of his bucked teeth—was orphaned by the hairpin turn pictured here. He explains: I grew up just over the mountain ’til Ma and Pop done got killed. Car accident on the hairpin turn. Anyways after that, I stayed in foster homes, one after the other ’til I was sixteen. Hated it. So, one day I stole the money the missus kept in the bread box and up and left. Got as far as I could on this bus o

Miriam’s friend Aspasia operated an apothecary from a storefront shop just beyond the West Gate of the agora. Like the one pictured here, her shelves were lined with carefully labeled ceramic jars of oils, resins, powders, and herbs, and scrolls of medicinal recipes. In “Deadly Confrontation,” published in the December 2025 issue of Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder , Miriam tells of her alarm upon entering Aspasia’s shop one evening: The oddly quiet apotheca

As Binyamin prepares for his voyage to train as a gladiator, his sponsor explains the risk of sea travel: There’s no way to predict a ship’s departure date. First the winds have to be favorable. Then the pre-sail sacrifice of a bull has to go well. Next the time of the month has to be auspicious. No Roman skipper would depart at the end of a month. And the omens must be propitious. A sneeze on the gangplank, a wreckage on the shore, or a croaking crow or magpie perched on t

During Miriam’s time, there were no ships expressly for passengers. Rather they booked passage on a grain ship. In The Deadliest Lie, Miriam’s twin brother Binyamin travels to Rome on a grain ship for the first leg of his journey to Capua to train as a gladiator in the school Spartacus made famous. Binyamin’s sponsor explains: Like most of the passengers, you will sleep on the deck. The ship will supply only water and a hearth in the galley for you to use after the crew ha