blog for May 27 BAR ROOM BRAWLS ARE LIKELY EVENTS IN NOIR FICTION

Let’s listen in on the couple living in that seedy flat upstairs:

“You think I like it in this attic cage, slinging hash while jiggling my tits for chump change?”

“I know. Things are tough right now. But just gimme a little more time, and our luck will change. You’ll see. Once I pay off that cop in Nashville, I’ll be able to get another trucking job, and everything will be right with us again.”

But she knew he’d never get ahead of that beef.

Because my story “The Drink” is an example of noir fiction.

The great thing about barroom brawls—and fleabag joints—is that they make perfect settings for that essentially pessimistic crime subgenre known as noir fiction (meaning dark fiction). There’s one additional element that often makes a story noir: the love triangle. In this case, it’s Benny—I mean Bunny:

“Folks around here call me Bunny, on account of my teeth. Kids in grade school tagged me that, sayin’ I looked like a bunny rabbit.”

Sure enough, his teeth were so bucked he must never have closed his mouth.

Enjoy watching greed and lust propel these characters to their doom in “The Drink”, this almost contemporary short story published in the August 2024 issue of A Thin Slice of Anxiety. Just click here and read it for free.