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.