Breakfast at Curley's, Shari Poindexter Douglas - A love story that gives new meaning to the word onion. "Doc Woolfolk was an ass man."

The Beginning of the End, Madaleine J. Laird - Margaret, a young woman serving in the Air Force, has second thoughts about her long-distance marriage to a Marine. "I sat alone in a row of black, vinyl seats at the airport in Iraklion, waiting for my husband to check his luggage."

The Wedding Jester Makes Everyone Laugh, Larry Shoham - A Jewish divorcee wants to develop a relationship with her rabbi outside of the temple. "Lib Wyckoff stood beside the punchbowl with a hand on her jutting hip."

St. Fragile, Pray for Us, Maggi Michel - Katie and her sister Fragile try to concentrate on the good things in life after their parents' nasty divorce. "I had to knock on the screen door of the shabby little grey house my mother had moved into when she left my father."

Dreams from Beacon Hill, Scott Lunceford - A professor suppresses painful memories with morphine. "Cymbals crash and shimmer, like the shatter of glass."

Game Point, Dana Marterella - A young woman wants her mother to be more accepting of her daughter's sexuality. "The tennis guy has a little crush on me, my mom says."

Always Available, hallie jones - A recovering bulimic returns to college life and goes on a road trip, confronting new sexual desires along the way. "When I was first released, I moved back into the sorority house."

Memoirs of a Violin, Theresa Marie Heim - An unexpected glimpse of the instrument Tara played as a child summons up memories of her father, who encouraged her musical talents. "My heart began to race as I peered through the window of a violin shop one night while walking home on Raymond Avenue."

Pieces of a Dream, Cheryl Preston - Ten-year-old Jessie uses her bicycle and her imagination to escape from life with her alcoholic mother, who is also an aspiring actress. "It was eight a.m., and the long drapes were still drawn."

True Love Tales, Robin Page - A story of the horrific consequences of interracial love earlier in this century. "Olivia was thirty-eight and without a satisfying cause when her mother died."

running, carine risley - A description of a lover who has withdrawn inside herself and become lost. "mostly she walks."

The Chicken Cook, Nima Razfar - Mick loves to cook chicken, but he needs to convince someone that he deserves to get paid for doing it. "It was a dry, sunny, smoggy early morning, just like every other."

Hanby Jessop, Jeremy Engel - In-between composing "Fun Food Factoids," the women on the staff of a cooking magazine deal with a psychotic killer. "Dear Dashing Dishes magazine, I am mean and angry after I read your article in last month's issue that talked about cooking spaghetti squash and making it so it tasted good when people eat it."

Vacuity: An Exercise, Joni Templeton - A day (night) in the life of a college student. "It was six o'clock in the evening and I was still groggy from the aftermath of yet another night spent out with the group, carousing around town trying to fulfill the nebulous purpose of finding some diversion or entertainment with which to occupy our time."

Life Is Warm, Life Is Good, Robin Caine - Megan spends an evening at the hot springs, contemplating her navel and the meaning of life. "Naked, warm, and happy, I looked up at the full moon."

Settling, Denise Silva - A young woman deals with a pregnancy scare and learns the truth about her grandmother's marriage. "Maddie cupped her hands around her slight belly."

Two Weeks, Berkley Johnson - Dave Jensen visits his ailing grandfather while confronting the possibility of his own mortality. "'You should probably prepare yourself,' my dad says, finally turning to me as our plane is landing, 'for the fact that Grandpa may not be okay.'"