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Switchblade: Issue Eleven
Predators thrive on entropy. They’re often the ones closest to us. They know where we’re most vulnerable—where it hurts the most. They come in all types. They cruise the street anonymously, looking for victims; or they return to us like a lethal rash from an unresolved past. They might be ideological extremists. Or profit-driven sharply dressed parasites. They might even be megalomaniacs. But they all thrive on weakness—especially dysfunctional relationships. And they know when to strike, when you think the world’s got your back—and then you realize it does: when it whispers softly that what you’re about to receive is nothing more than a routine prostate exam.
Featuring the poetry of Brian Beatty, and nine original tales of suspense from Jim Wilsky, Serena Jayne, J.D. Graves, John Timm, Alec Cizak, David Rachels, Misha Burnett, George Garnett, and Robb T. White.
Featuring the poetry of Brian Beatty, and nine original tales of suspense from Jim Wilsky, Serena Jayne, J.D. Graves, John Timm, Alec Cizak, David Rachels, Misha Burnett, George Garnett, and Robb T. White.
138 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 3, 2019
2 people are currently reading
1 person want to read
About the author
Serena Jayne
31 books6 followersSerena Jayne received her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, and is a member of Romance Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She’s worked as a research scientist, a fish stick slinger, a chat wrangler, and a race horse narc. When she isn’t trolling art museums for works that move her, she enjoys writing in multiple fiction genres. While her first love is all things paranormal, the mundane world provides plenty of story ideas.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 7, 2019
A marquee lineup of the titans of New Pulp!
If you are new to Switchblade and would like to know where to start, I’ll give you an honest answer: you’ll love them all. But if you want to dip your toe in first, get ISSUE 11. This is the high water mark so far. This is the one to buy. I don’t think I’ve seen so many of my favorite indie writers together in the same table of contents.
Brian Beatty, THE HUSBAND
Beatty’s poem sets a tone of loneliness and alienation. The dark, the snow, the cold cup of coffee. I’m left feeling that anything can happen, that something HAS TO happen. This stasis can’t go on forever.
George Garnet, EXOTIC
A Bulgarian hooker encounters a problematic john in this tense and gritty noir tale. I appreciated the atmospheric details in this piece. The sights and smells and textures of each scene were well-crafted.
Misha Burnett, WHATEVER LOLA WANTS
A man struggles to adapt to new challenges in his marriage by seeking pleasure on the side. When his choices come back to haunt him, he must decide how to keep his secrets buried. This piece was especially well-written with tight prose, great tension, and superb dialogue.
Serena Jayne, GARDEN VARIETY CREEPER
When a former co-worker turns stalker, Jane demonstrates her badassery with a family heirloom. Serena Jayne always brings fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat action to her work and this story is no different. Her characters come alive, and you always know that justice is just one satisfying asskicking away. I look forward to reading her stories wherever they’re published.
John Timm, STRANGERS, PERFECT STRANGERS
Revenants from the past continue to haunt these pages. A newlywed couple is thrown into chaos when a former fling sees an opportunity to cash in. I enjoyed Timm’s narrative style and steady pacing. The tension reveals character at every turn, and the character that is revealed here is quite unexpected.
J.D. Graves, AMID THE NOISE & HASTE
Bud Sanders is a plumber in small town America who is suddenly impacted by the unlikeliest of phenomena -- international terrorism. This is a story only J.D. Graves could write, and he does it with such mastery that it’s a wonder we’re not all talking about him. Graves writes with the kind of wild-eyed clarity and brutal humor I’ve only read in the work of Hunter S. Thompson, and this story is a case in point. I’ve heard rumors he’s working on a novel and you better believe I’m going to stand in line for it.
Alec Cizak, THE RADICAL MR. BOGOTA
A pseudo-intellectual commits a heinous crime in the service of his half-baked ideology. I’ve known plenty of folks like the eponymous main character, so enraptured by their manufactured dogmas that everyone else is made to suffer. What I love about Cizak’s writing is that he is aware of the national zeitgeist well enough to brutally eviscerate it. The story reminds us that ideologies are a dime a dozen and often get ahead of basic common sense. It’s a much-needed and timely reminder in this age or any other.
Robb T. White, THE ALIBI
When a wealthy friend shows up, Jackie is brought along for a free ride. But nothing is free in this dark tale of treachery and mayhem. Strip clubs, set-ups, murder, and dark corners make this story one of the “noir-iest” pieces of the bunch. “As scarce as fleas on an eel” is my new favorite phrase, and there are plenty other fun noir phrases here to enjoy.
Jim J. Wilsky, A BRAND NEW OUTFIT
The Dons have gathered to deliberate mafia business, and one man’s life hangs in the balance. This quick and dirty piece offers a tense and thrilling window into mob life. I don’t know how Wilsky knows so much about the ins and outs of the Italian Mafia, but I’m going to be extra nice to him from now on.
David Rachels, THE LADY UROLOGIST
A man with a particular urological issue gets an unlikely recommendation. This is the kind of story you read with one eye on the page and a smirk at the corner of your mouth. I laughed out loud at the ending, and you will too. This was a much-needed bit of levity to cap off a string of heavy-hitting, hardboiled noir.
If you are new to Switchblade and would like to know where to start, I’ll give you an honest answer: you’ll love them all. But if you want to dip your toe in first, get ISSUE 11. This is the high water mark so far. This is the one to buy. I don’t think I’ve seen so many of my favorite indie writers together in the same table of contents.
Brian Beatty, THE HUSBAND
Beatty’s poem sets a tone of loneliness and alienation. The dark, the snow, the cold cup of coffee. I’m left feeling that anything can happen, that something HAS TO happen. This stasis can’t go on forever.
George Garnet, EXOTIC
A Bulgarian hooker encounters a problematic john in this tense and gritty noir tale. I appreciated the atmospheric details in this piece. The sights and smells and textures of each scene were well-crafted.
Misha Burnett, WHATEVER LOLA WANTS
A man struggles to adapt to new challenges in his marriage by seeking pleasure on the side. When his choices come back to haunt him, he must decide how to keep his secrets buried. This piece was especially well-written with tight prose, great tension, and superb dialogue.
Serena Jayne, GARDEN VARIETY CREEPER
When a former co-worker turns stalker, Jane demonstrates her badassery with a family heirloom. Serena Jayne always brings fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat action to her work and this story is no different. Her characters come alive, and you always know that justice is just one satisfying asskicking away. I look forward to reading her stories wherever they’re published.
John Timm, STRANGERS, PERFECT STRANGERS
Revenants from the past continue to haunt these pages. A newlywed couple is thrown into chaos when a former fling sees an opportunity to cash in. I enjoyed Timm’s narrative style and steady pacing. The tension reveals character at every turn, and the character that is revealed here is quite unexpected.
J.D. Graves, AMID THE NOISE & HASTE
Bud Sanders is a plumber in small town America who is suddenly impacted by the unlikeliest of phenomena -- international terrorism. This is a story only J.D. Graves could write, and he does it with such mastery that it’s a wonder we’re not all talking about him. Graves writes with the kind of wild-eyed clarity and brutal humor I’ve only read in the work of Hunter S. Thompson, and this story is a case in point. I’ve heard rumors he’s working on a novel and you better believe I’m going to stand in line for it.
Alec Cizak, THE RADICAL MR. BOGOTA
A pseudo-intellectual commits a heinous crime in the service of his half-baked ideology. I’ve known plenty of folks like the eponymous main character, so enraptured by their manufactured dogmas that everyone else is made to suffer. What I love about Cizak’s writing is that he is aware of the national zeitgeist well enough to brutally eviscerate it. The story reminds us that ideologies are a dime a dozen and often get ahead of basic common sense. It’s a much-needed and timely reminder in this age or any other.
Robb T. White, THE ALIBI
When a wealthy friend shows up, Jackie is brought along for a free ride. But nothing is free in this dark tale of treachery and mayhem. Strip clubs, set-ups, murder, and dark corners make this story one of the “noir-iest” pieces of the bunch. “As scarce as fleas on an eel” is my new favorite phrase, and there are plenty other fun noir phrases here to enjoy.
Jim J. Wilsky, A BRAND NEW OUTFIT
The Dons have gathered to deliberate mafia business, and one man’s life hangs in the balance. This quick and dirty piece offers a tense and thrilling window into mob life. I don’t know how Wilsky knows so much about the ins and outs of the Italian Mafia, but I’m going to be extra nice to him from now on.
David Rachels, THE LADY UROLOGIST
A man with a particular urological issue gets an unlikely recommendation. This is the kind of story you read with one eye on the page and a smirk at the corner of your mouth. I laughed out loud at the ending, and you will too. This was a much-needed bit of levity to cap off a string of heavy-hitting, hardboiled noir.
November 7, 2019
Switchblade’s eleventh issue aims the spotlight on all sorts of dysfunctional relationships from Brian Beatty’s poem about a husband and his maybe wife to Scotch Rutherford’s editor’s corner and the great collection of short noir fiction.
My favorite stories in this issue are “Whatever Lola Wants” by Misha Burnett, “The Alibi” by Robb T. White, “Amid the Noise and Haste” by J.D. Graves, “A Brand New Outfit” by Jim Wilsky, and “The Radical Mr. Bogota” by Alec Cizak.
Burnett gives us a protagonist who does something very wrong for all the right reasons, showcasing nicely many of the things I love about the noir genre. White brings together high school acquaintances in a strip joint and an opportunity to make a few bucks that isn’t quite what it seems. In Graves’s tale, a plumber digs deep to find the source of a cat lady’s clog and discovers the sad predicament of his offspring. Wilsky, who also severed up a great story entitled “Can’t Win for Losing” in SB10, provides a Chicago-mobster-style business reorg. Cizak, who is also the featured person of interest in this issue, shows the power dynamics between former classmates, now boss and employee, in a bloody quest for some quick cash. In Cizak’s interview, he states: “We’re in the punk rock stage of literature, meaning, going back to the basics and adding some sharp teeth to the proceedings…A good noir story or book, in my opinion, should help the reader understand the loneliness of the individual is a shared experience.“
Great stuff, as always! Looking forward to dig into Switchblade and Pulp Modern’s wicked cool tech noir special editions to keep my noir buzz going.
My favorite stories in this issue are “Whatever Lola Wants” by Misha Burnett, “The Alibi” by Robb T. White, “Amid the Noise and Haste” by J.D. Graves, “A Brand New Outfit” by Jim Wilsky, and “The Radical Mr. Bogota” by Alec Cizak.
Burnett gives us a protagonist who does something very wrong for all the right reasons, showcasing nicely many of the things I love about the noir genre. White brings together high school acquaintances in a strip joint and an opportunity to make a few bucks that isn’t quite what it seems. In Graves’s tale, a plumber digs deep to find the source of a cat lady’s clog and discovers the sad predicament of his offspring. Wilsky, who also severed up a great story entitled “Can’t Win for Losing” in SB10, provides a Chicago-mobster-style business reorg. Cizak, who is also the featured person of interest in this issue, shows the power dynamics between former classmates, now boss and employee, in a bloody quest for some quick cash. In Cizak’s interview, he states: “We’re in the punk rock stage of literature, meaning, going back to the basics and adding some sharp teeth to the proceedings…A good noir story or book, in my opinion, should help the reader understand the loneliness of the individual is a shared experience.“
Great stuff, as always! Looking forward to dig into Switchblade and Pulp Modern’s wicked cool tech noir special editions to keep my noir buzz going.
September 14, 2020
Another collection of hard-hitting crime noir shorts. Men will find "The Lady Urologist" by David Rachels particularly disturbing, so of course it's highly recommended. The lede: "I'm complaining again about how my piss burns when Seymour asks me if I've got the clap. I say, 'Not unless you can get the clap from your fist.'" I'm particularly prone to humor in my noir and this flash fiction nails it. As do the other stories in this edition.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews