Author: avriladams

Independence Day

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Ava makes a bargain to dispose of a gangster’s enemy in exchange for a new life.

It was the 4th of July, the country’s Independence Day. It was Ava’s, too. Although, unlike the nation, Ava was still unsure of what it meant to be free. On the vanity she set the lipstick, “Crimson Dynamo”, and the Colt automatic. Ava hadn’t handled either of these for the five years she’d been jailed at Tehachapi State Prison, but she hadn’t lost her touch with the only things a girl like her really needed.

Independence Day is a short story by Avril Adams published in 2017 in LAst Resort – an anthology of stories written by members of Sisters in Crime / Los Angeles.  Edited by Matt Coyle, Mary Marks, and Patricia Smiley, with an introduction by Michael Connelly.

A Halloween Masque

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A Halloween Masque is a short story by Avril Adams published in 2014 in Kings River Life.

Bridget drove a mile down the gravel road that ran parallel to the highway. She had almost forgotten about it as the shortcut to Cromwell. Bridget’s mother never took that road anymore, since the accident, but Bridget was in a hurry. When they curved around the first bend Bridget’s headlights illuminated a massive, twisted oak tree, its branches extending far across the road. There was a long, deep gash in the trunk of the tree where Victor’s car had veered into it that night last year on his way to the Junior Halloween dance. Bridget saw something moving in the brush beside the tree.

KRL is a California online magazine with a focus on the San Joaquin Valley and beyond. It has a strong mystery section and a growing fantasy/horror section as well. It features reviews of all sorts, author interviews, and short stories.

 

 

Imagine Little Tokyo

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First Annual Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest – As part of Little Tokyo Historical Society’s 130th Anniversary of Little Tokyo (1884-2014) celebratory activities throughout the year, Little Tokyo Historical Society held a fictional short story contest that awarded cash prizes to the top three. The fictional story had to depict the current, past, or future of Little Tokyo as part of the City of Los Angeles, California.

Stories:

Ernest Nagamatsu – Doka B-100
Rubén Guevara – Carlos & Yuriko
Satsuki Yamashita – Mr. K
Jeridel Banks – Smiles Sonata
Dimitri Ragano – The Guardians
Kiyoshi Parker – A Little Piece of Home
Avril Adams – A Wedding in Little Tokyo
Chester Sakamoto – Nihonmachi Serenade

A Wedding in Little Tokyo by Avril Adams uses magical realism to weave a story that incorporates the myths and traditions of ancient Japan into the fabric of everyday life. Under the stress of living as a Japanese woman in Los Angeles just before the start of World War II, there is a mysterious encounter with supernatural forces. Here is a preview of A Wedding in Little Tokyo:

As the light danced through the trees it moved toward her with apparent purpose and direction. Suddenly Miraku heard another burst of barks which roused the kit puppy. Pushing a snout through the pine branches, there appeared a snow white fox, a kitsune. Miraku counted five fluffy white tails arched over the vixen’s back and another four carried closer to the ground. Her eyes expressed quickness beyond the cunning of an ordinary fox. Miraku knew she was face-to-face with a vixen of great age and wisdom, capable of wondrous, magical feats. As the fox gazed cautiously at her, Miraku sensed a delicate sensitivity in the kitsune which gave the aspect of a lovely human courtesan. The fox bared her teeth when she spoke and the guard hairs around her nostrils moved together as a field of poppies traced by the wind.

LAst Exit to Murder

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From the Low Riders that nightly cruise the Sunset Strip, to the infamous Dead Man’s Curve immortalized in song, Southern Californian’s fascination with their cars has long been the fodder of legend and has defined a culture known for its fast-paced and sometimes reckless lifestyle. Now, sixteen tantalizing stories from L.A. authors takes us on a Joyride through the darker streets of Los Angeles. At the signpost, just ahead, your… LAST EXIT TO MURDER.

Edited by Darrell James, Linda O. Johnston and Tammy Kaehler with an introduction by Gary Phillips.

Stories:

L.H. Dillman – Cam the Man
Donna May – Rocket 88
Laura Brennan – Driving Dead Daisy
Lynn Allyson – Identity Crisis
Andrew Jetarski – Dance Man
Miko Johnston – By Anonymous
Beverly Graf – Shakata Ga Nai
Sally Carpenter – Dark Nights at the Deluxe Drive-in
Laurie Stevens – Kill Joy
Stephen Buehler – Not My Day
Nena Kelty – Road to Revenge
Julie Beers – The Last Joy Ride
Eric Stone – Traffic Control
Avril Adams – The Lowriders
Bonnie Cardone – The Last of the Recycled Cycads
Paul D. Marks – Dead Man’s Curve

The Lowriders by Avril Adams is an urban tale of racial tensions set in Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles prior to World War II. It was inspired by a visit to the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, where vehicles capture the zeitgeist of Southern California’s car culture. Here is a preview of The Lowriders:

Salvador Bernstein stepped in front of the bathroom mirror. It would be his final check of his appearance before taking the long concrete staircase that wound down to La Palma Avenue from his home on the hilltop overlooking Chavez Ravine. His dark brown hair, long on top, clipped above the ears, gleamed from the oil he’d raked through it. Tonight he wanted to impress the other fellows and especially the girls with his white tie and lavender shirt, and the black calf-length coat that squared and widened his shoulders so that he could pass for a man of twenty-five years and not a child approaching seventeen.

The Student

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A young black girl is menaced by a boy at school with emotional problems.

“You can’t play nothin’.”

I didn’t raise my eyes when I heard his voice. I shifted them sideways. It was the new boy in class. Beside me were the dirty high top basketball shoes, and the black corduroy pants with the too short cuffs belonging to Terence Jackson.

I snatched the ball mid-air and held the jacks, squeezing them until the little pointed stars hurt my palm.  I didn’t like Terence Jackson.  He sure did scare the pants off me.  I didn’t answer him so he took a step closer.  “Did ya hear me, fool? I said, you can’t play nothin’. Gimme those jacks.”

The Student is not yet published.

© Avril Adams, 2022

Photo credit: Bruce Mars via Unsplash.com

Los Mochomos

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A New York city journalist travels to Central America to discover the secret of the red ants. He encounters a mysterious colonel who does not wish him well.

I’m trekking to Tegucigalpa from my new bureau in New York to meet with a man who is, for now, just a murmur on the telephone. He knows of me, he said, having read my articles on corruption in Asia. In a tumble of whispers he said it was the murder of his wife that drove him to it. He’ll give me a story on the drug trade and its soldiers in Central America, called by the natives, los mochomos: the red ants.

This magical realist short story has not yet been published.

© Avril Adams, 2022

Photo credit: Marv Watson via Unsplash.com

The Baby

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Christine meets up with an old friend who has just had a baby, named Scarlett. The new mother, Fiona, lost her first child, and is having mysterious trouble with the second one.

Fiona appeared with the warmed bottle. Her carpet slippers had slid silently over the carpet and Christine was taken by surprise. Fiona handed Christine the bottle. “You do it, you feed her. She likes you.” Christine tested the milk on her arm before she maneuvered the rubber nipple into Scarlett’s mouth. The baby sucked once and began to cry again, her face scrunched into a knot of anguish. She squirmed like a wet cat as her tiny fists flailed against Christine’s face.

The Baby is a short story published in Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles’ 2021 anthology entitled Avenging Angelenos.

© Avril Adams, 2022

Photo credit: Francesco de Tommaso via Unsplash.com

Independence Day

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Ava makes a bargain to dispose of a gangster’s enemy, in exchange for a new life.

It was the 4th of July, the country’s Independence Day. It was Ava’s, too. Although, unlike the nation, Ava was still unsure of what it meant to be free. On the vanity she set the lipstick, “Crimson Dynamo”, and the Colt automatic. Ava hadn’t handled either of these for the five years she’d been jailed at Tehachapi State Prison, but she hadn’t lost her touch with the only things a girl like her really needed.

Independence Day is a short story published in Sister in Crime/Los Angeles’ 2017 anthology entitled Last Resort.

© Avril Adams, 2022

Photo credit: Fabian Fauth via Unsplash.com

 

A Halloween Masque

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Bridget is reluctant to attend this year’s high school Halloween dance. Her boyfriend died on that night in a car accident the previous year.

Bridget drove a mile down the gravel road that ran parallel to the highway. She had almost forgotten about it as the shortcut to Cromwell. Bridget’s mother never took that road anymore, since the accident, but Bridget was in a hurry. When they curved around the first bend Bridget’s headlights illuminated a massive, twisted oak tree, its branches extending far across the road. There was a long, deep gash in the trunk of the tree where Victor’s car had veered into it that night last year on his way to the Junior Halloween dance. Bridget saw something moving in the brush beside the tree.

A Halloween Masque is a short story published in Kings River Life magazine. It was the third place winner in KRL’s 2014 Halloween Mystery Short Story contest.

© Avril Adams, 2022

Photo credit: Szabo Janos via Unsplash.com

A Wedding in Little Tokyo

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Under the stress of living as a Japanese woman in Los Angeles just before the start of World War II, there is a mysterious encounter with supernatural forces.  This story uses magical realism to weave a story that incorporates the myths and traditions of ancient Japan into the fabric of everyday life.

As the light danced through the trees it moved toward her with apparent purpose and direction. Suddenly Miraku heard another burst of barks which roused the kit puppy. Pushing a snout through the pine branches, there appeared a snow white fox, a kitsune. Miraku counted five fluffy white tails arched over the vixen’s back and another four carried closer to the ground. Her eyes expressed quickness beyond the cunning of an ordinary fox. Miraku knew she was face-to-face with a vixen of great age and wisdom, capable of wondrous, magical feats. As the fox gazed cautiously at her, Miraku sensed a delicate sensitivity in the kitsune which gave the aspect of a lovely human courtesan. The fox bared her teeth when she spoke and the guard hairs around her nostrils moved together as a field of poppies traced by the wind.

A Wedding in Little Tokyo is a short story published in Discover Nikkei magazine. It was a finalist in the magazine’s first annual “Imagine Little Tokyo” short story contest in 2014.

© Avril Adams, 2022

Photo credit: Ken Hilton via Unsplash.com

The Lowriders

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This urban tale of racial tensions is set in Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles prior to World War II. It was inspired by a visit to the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, where vehicles capture the zeitgeist of Southern California’s car culture.

Salvador Bernstein stepped in front of the bathroom mirror. It would be his final check of his appearance before taking the long concrete staircase that wound down to La Palma Avenue from his home on the hilltop overlooking Chavez Ravine. His dark brown hair, long on top, clipped above the ears, gleamed from the oil he’d raked through it. Tonight he wanted to impress the other fellows and especially the girls with his white tie and lavender shirt, and the black calf-length coat that squared and widened his shoulders so that he could pass for a man of twenty-five years and not a child approaching seventeen.

The Lowriders is a short story published in Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles’ 2013 anthology entitled Last Exit to Murder.

© Avril Adams, 2022

Photo credit: Jacob Hodgson via Unsplash.com