Scott Kraft’s Neighborhood

In Chapter 4 of Phantom Island, Mr. Peters turns his eyes to the floor and in a nearly inaudible voice says to Larry and Lucy, "You see, some years ago, I committed an indiscretion.”

Phantom Island

Mark Dorset writes: I think that most of my classmates understood the Tonette as I did: it was an instrument that we could get the better of, a small, simple thing, a pushover. We bought the idea of the Tonette, and we cajoled our parents into buying Tonettes.

The Tonette

You can now read complete reviews of Leaving Small's Hotel from Baltimore City Paper, East Hampton Star, Kirkus, Modern Word, New City, New Yorker, New York Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Leaving Small's Hotel

In the latest chapter of Peerless Television Service and Repair, Peter Leroy writes: It has long been my habit, when faced with a problem or question or decision that requires some thought, to turn away from the vexing matter and take up some mindless task.

Peerless Television Service and Repair

Ariane Lodkochnikov: For a long time, I cooked little meals in little pots, the smallest meals that would fill me up, cooked in the smallest pots that would do the job.

My Big Pot

From Chapter 3 of Phantom Island:

Dad and the stranger were standing at the window, looking out over Murky Bay at the hulk of the clam boat, burned now to the waterline, smoking and steaming, but not flaming any longer.

Phantom Island

Mark Dorset on "Autumn's Promise," from his Topical Autobiography:

With the passage of time, and the lengthening distance from school days, the natural rhythm of the seasons has begun to reassert itself, but school made such a strong impression on me that nature will never be able to override its effect completely.

Autumn Leaves

You'll find the link on the What's New page.

In the first chapter of Making My Self . . . and Dinner, Ariane Lodkochnikov writes "I’m going to feed my soul with a project that fires my imagination, a project that is immense and eternal, or at least large enough to fill a lifetime."

Making My Self

In Chapter 2 of Phantom Island, an explosion rends the air, Lucy Peters cries, "What was that?" and Larry Peters answers, "There's been some kind of explosion."

Phantom Island

In "Sorry, Not Interested," Peter is shaken, rattled, and befuddled by the astonishing discovery that life goes on in Babbington while he isn’t there.

Albertine