The humdrum of the everyday can wear on a person. Grocery store runs, paperwork, bills. For Mabel Schwartz, a solo trip on the open road is the solution, even if it scares her. In a Super 8 Motel along the way, she discovers what she really needs.  Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/twenty-miles-south-of-macon Essay Written By: Melissa Wozniak Essay Voiced By: Kris Keppeler Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

The non-descript anonymity of a waiting room can be a melancholy experience, even more so if you find yourself there frequently. Erin Shea’s “Waiting Room” faces the stale gray of these liminal spaces head on, following the protagonist’s internal journey during the course of one doctor’s appointment. Along the way? The Price is Right, Selena Gomez, and the psychological struggles of chronic illness. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/waiting-room-lv3wu40jdv Essay Written By: Erin Shea Essay Voiced By: Crystal Judkins Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

Family can be messy. Rachel Pollock tackles one family’s grief - for what was lost, and for what they never had, in “Exit Wound.” With as many twists and turns as the back road it’s set on, this story is one of a kind. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/exit-wound Essay Written By: Rachel Pollock Essay Voiced By: Kris Keppeler Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

Voyeurism is a fact of city life, but Bebe King Nicholson takes it to a new level with “The Blonde.” One woman's loneliness and nostalgia begin to bleed into the life story of another she sees from afar. Will imagination and reality collide, or will the window for that opportunity close too soon? Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/the-blonde Essay Written By: Bebe King Nicholson Essay Voiced By: Kris Keppeler Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

Family histories get brought into the present in Andie Ngeleka’s “The Ghosts in West Texas.” Hot, dry air blows over the plains, bringing memories of what came before - and warnings for what’s to come. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/the-ghosts-in-west-texas Essay Written By: Andie Ngeleka Essay Voiced By: Crystal Judkins Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

Grief and resentment coil around one another in this dark fantasy from AJ Nelson. “Chop Chop” luxuriates in language, transforming seemingly routine moments into a feast for the imagination. All of these familiar details add up to an ending that is anything but ordinary. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/chop-chop Essay Written By: AJ Nelson Essay Voiced By: Tessa Flannery Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

Gambling, debt, and the sounds of Sinatra swirl with cigarette smoke in George Murray’s quiet action story “The Kneeler.” Follow one man’s journey in a casino bar from opera to loan sharks to deadly trouble. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/the-kneeler Essay Written By: George Murray Essay Voiced By: Gary Spangler Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

In a new pandemic world, brain fog seems to be affecting us all. That phrase takes on a whole new meaning in Madoka Mori’s unnerving “Fake Meat.” Perception is a slippery beast for this protagonist, causing his world to swiftly unravel in a way that is humorous and eerie all at once. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/fake-meat Essay Written By: Madoka Mori Essay Voiced By: Andrew Parella Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

There’s nothing quite like a mother’s love - but there’s nothing quite like her disapproval, either. Vivian R. McInerny’s “Apartment Complex” is a story that’s as comedic as it is relatable: life sure takes a different turn when Mom moves in. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/apartment-complex Essay Written By: Vivian R. McInerny Essay Voiced By: Wilson Conkwright Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

"Pareidolia" is an intriguing tale that leans in paranoia and the paranormal. Conor Marko asks questions about the boundaries of obligation and addresses how we move forward from tragedy. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/pareidolia Essay Written By: Conor Marko Essay Voiced By: Andrew Parella Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

The spookiness of a dim, overcrowded antique shop packed to the brim with bric-a-brac can scarcely be denied. Add some malicious magic into the equation, and you’ve arrived at the setting of Patti Larsen’s “Lifted.” This is a curiosity shop best visited during daylight hours. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/lifted-a51r140din Essay Written By: Patti Larsen Essay Voiced By: Jasmine Hammond Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

Kallista Kusumanegara constructs a singular vision out of flashes of many, lending new ideas to what comes after life. “Destination" calls for a letting-go, allowing us to surrender to the wash of words, visuals, and stories. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/destination-rq8glz0uq0 Essay Written By: Kallista Kusumanegara Essay Voiced By: Gary Spangler Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

Mirages. They can come from wistful thinking, from nostalgia, from the burning sun. In “Heat Stress,” Claire Ibarra immerses us in the mind of a mother running away from her past into the Moab desert. But what is she running toward? Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/heat-stress Essay Written By: Claire Ibarra Essay Voiced By: Tessa Flannery Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

The ballet - an art which embodies culture, beauty, and grace. But what of the people behind the performance? Elodie Hollant’s “Libellule” offers a glimpse into the personal world of one ballerina, following her as she moves from a childhood love of dance into the darker complexities of adulthood. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/libellule Essay Written By: Kelson Hayes Essay Voiced By: Crystal Judkins Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

“Fresh Off the Boat” provides a look at the present through the lens of a sobering vision of the future — a world darker, but not too different from our own. Kelson Hayes brings us to a dystopian Central Europe which may be just around the corner for all of us. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/fresh-off-the-boat Essay Written By: Kelson Hayes Essay Voiced By: Gary Spangler Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

It's one of the hottest summers in recorded history and a couple are attempting to navigate their relationship to each other — and to the future of the Earth. In "Burden of Proof," Scott Hardy captures cycles of inner and outer conflict with a dark and biting wit. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/burden-of-proof-d3835k0bfl Essay Written By: Scott Hardy Essay Voiced By: Wilson Conkwright Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

A familiar scent is a surefire way to catapult the mind back into memory, to a particular moment in time. Decay, a sea breeze, wine. Three smells that tie this story together, and propel the protagonist down a west coast highway. Steve Hanson’s “The Envious Flood” resists the pull of nostalgia to level a clear-eyed gaze at the past. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/the-envious-flood Essay Written By: Steve Hanson Essay Voiced By: Gary Spangler Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

There’s fear of the unknown - darkness, monsters, and the like - but sometimes the most terrifying are the things - and people - we think we know best. Jacqueline Garrahan’s “Bull” is a masterful look into the frigid, the cruel, and the disturbing, deep in the dead of a Maine night. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/bull-s44z6d0a07 Essay Written By: Jacqueline Garrahan Essay Voiced By: Gary Spangler Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

Settle into the southern humidity with Lucas Díaz-Medina’s “Going Fishing.” A journey of introspection and self discovery unfolds as two boys mosey down a bayou back road. Family history and mythmaking collide when a passerby gives the boys a lift.  Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/going-fishing-5gecdm0imj Essay Written By: Lucas Díaz-Medina Essay Voiced By: Daniel Ison Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks. 

Matthew Daniels puts a new spin on job interviews with “Mistress of the House of Books.” With a heavenly interviewee, the power dynamics are bound to be flipped. But there are some roles in this world that just can’t be reversed. Check out this essay at: https://vocal.media/fiction/mistress-of-the-house-of-books Essay Written By: Matthew Daniels Essay Voiced By: Tessa Flannery Follow Vocal on Insta Follow Vocal on Facebook Tweet at Vocal on Twitter Don’t forget to follow Write Here, Write Now for free wherever you get your podcasts or by clicking this link. If you liked what you heard, tell a friend! Just put this link into any of your socials: https://podcasts.vocal.media/ Want to read this and other amazing essays and stories on Vocal? Or maybe you want to write your own story? Get started today by going to https://vocal.media/ and creating a free account. Or, become a Vocal+ member and get access to incredible challenges, promotions and other perks.