Enjoy part four of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Jessica (J.L.) Shively, who in our last episode introduced us to her tremendous flash fiction piece, "Bicycle," which was originally published in Issue 18 (Fall 2021) of Sky Island Journal.

J. L. Shively lives on a sparsely populated peninsula on the coast of Maine where she is continuing her search for old cemeteries and abandoned places while completing her collection of short horror stories.  She has a Master of Letters from Drew University where she studied creative writing and the psychological fascination of modern ruin.  You can follow her @entertheruin. She recently worked as a "Horror Writing Consultant" on a short film, Galaxsea: A Voyage into the Bioluminescent Night.  In her writing, Shively focuses on character-driven fiction and adventure stories that are thrilling or even speculative in nature.  She leverages the strength of a story’s capacity to showcase the humanity of horror and the power of terrific narrative. Shively is currently pursuing publication for her adult, climate fiction novel and although she has left the Cape behind, she continues to write of its beauty and its ghosts.  She can be contacted via email at  [email protected]

In this episode, she recalls her initial passion for storytelling, how place inspires her writing, and how "Bicycle" fits into a larger collection of fiction about New Jersey's Cape. She also discusses her photography project, Enter the Ruin, and provides promos for her completed novel manuscripts, for which she is seeking representation for publication.

Join us next week as we feature another one of our favorite pieces and writers from Sky Island Journal. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com