The Painted Door, an online magazine geared towards showcasing well-established writers, is a short story enthusiast's dream come true. The small, quarterly magazine is both quirky and endearing. Each new issue features a drawing of… well, a door, but a lovely door which changes dramatically according to the issue and season. It is hand-drawn by artist Jerry Hite, who happens to be the husband of The Painted Door’s editor, Ann Hite. Hite, a published writer who also teaches the craft, uses the magazine to showcase the art of the short story. “The Painted Door began because I love the art of short stories. We mostly feature well-established writers, but I also give new writers a place to feel safe and publish. I will work with a new writer on a piece I think is worthy,” Hite said.In the December 2007 issue of The Painted Door, you are greeted by a door with the face of a small girl cautiously poking out; apparently she opened just in time to catch Santa falling on his ass and Rudolph hanging on to the roof for dear life. You are also given the gift of four short stories by featured writer, Peggy Duffy. Duffy, whose work I hadn’t read before, seems incredibly capable of picking up on the things in life that pull on your heart strings and then expounding on them until you feel your heart breaking for the characters she has created. All four of Duffy’s stories deal with different aspects of love, romantic or otherwise. Two of the author’s stories, “Don’t Bring Me Flowers” and “He Cut Deep,” are particularly noteworthy. “Don’t Bring Me Flowers” makes you cringe as you recognize the biting sincerity, and the pain that ensues after an affair. “He Cut Deep” is an incredibly disturbing story about a boy named Jimmy who can’t seem to escape his demons and is unknowingly taking his family down with him.
As The Painted Door promises, its stories are "plain and simple," but they mean that in the best possible way. Check out the site.
Review by Tina Vasquez
0 comments:
Post a Comment