Andrea’s flash fiction, Banshee, published by Jersey Devil Press

Andrea: I'm super excited to finally have a piece accepted by Jersey Devil Press.

My flash fiction, Banshee, was published in Issue #132 April 2026 on May 17, 2026.

The Editor’s Note on this issue strikes a chord with me. Laura Garrison says “This combination of unexpected proportions and angles infuses the space with a slight uncanniness, a sense of being someplace that is an imperfect imitation of reality.”

Folklore, Mythology and Horror tend to be the subjects I write about and try sometimes to apply to modern life. I visualize it as an Otherhere, some place (or places really) that is near our reality but not quite right and perhaps unsettling.

In this short piece, a banshee is a singer in an indie rock band. I mean what could be more fitting?

“Woman,” by Enrique Meseguer.

A little background on the evolution of my story, Banshee:

I’ve been submitting to Jersey Devil Press since 2013. I had submitted 6 other pieces before getting Banshee accepted there.

I have been submitting and working on Banshee since 2014 and have submitted it 15 times with the 15th time being the charm as well as multiple revisions. It's a flash fiction piece although it's on the shorter side, being under 500 words (487 words).

It used to be a much shorter piece hovering under 300 words for a long time as recently as May 2025. By submitting and re-reading, I found a way in to expand the protagonist's story. And this last revision was the one that succeeded.

I write this to let you know and remind myself to never give up. The road is long but the "finished" piece is worth it.

(I put "finished" in quotes because who knows if anything is ever truly finished. :)

Additional note:

With the acceleration of people using AI to write and obtain writing prizes, it is all the more pressing to support and read actual human created stories. It saddens (and perplexes) me that anyone would discard revising and even the creation of their stories, poems, etc. in favor of AI writing /revising something for them. What is the point of writing if you’re not the one doing it? Where is the joy of completion if you did not complete it? Weird.

I’m so thrilled to be in this issue with these amazing writers. The extraordinary cover art for this issue is “Woman,” by Enrique Meseguer.

Thank you Jersey Devil Press for accepting my little story.

Archive copy for posterity.

A giraffe person. :)

Andrea is reading at LIC Arts Open Poetry Festival, Sunday, May 17th noon to 2pm

I’m reading this Sunday, May 17th at the LIC Arts Open 13 - Poetry Festival from 12 to 2pm along with other poets.

The Poetry Festival will be curated by Queens Poet Laureate, 2015-2019, Academy of American Poets Fellow, Maria Lisella.

It will be held at The Local NY located at 13-02 44th Avenue in Long Island City (Queens, baby). It’s free!

I will be reading my poem Rape Kits.

I am so excited! Or are those nerves? I can never tell the difference.

Directions for those in need from the Local NY website. (Mark is my GPS because I’m directionally distraught)

E/M/G Subways – Get off at Court Sq- 23rd St subway stop. Exit the train and follow signs in the subway for 44th Drive/21st St NE Corner. You will exit outside of Palace Chicken restaurant. Cross the street in front of you but then head to your right heading north on 21st St. You should see the beautiful Manhattan skyline at your left. You will take the second left which will be 44th Avenue (so first you will cross 44th Road, then take your next left on 44th Avenue). There’s a new gray building on the corner where you turn onto 44th Avenue. Walk approximately 150 feet down 44th Avenue and you’ll see our entrance with an awning about halfway down the block on the left. 

7 Subway – get off at the stop Court Sq. Exit the train and walk down the stairs. After the turnstile, turn right and go down the stairs. Walk down the stairs (the Court Square diner will be on your left) and at the bottom of the stairs continue straight ahead on 45th Road, walking away from the train tracks. Take your first right on 21 Street. Pass 45th Ave, 44th Drive and 44th Road. Take your fourth left on 44th Avenue (in our neighborhood the street names sometimes use the same number so keep your eyes peeled for AVENUE, not road, not drive). There’s a new gray building on the corner where you turn onto 44th Avenue. Walk approximately 150 feet down 44th Avenue and you’ll see our entrance with an awning about halfway down the block on the left.

Hope to see you there!

Andrea

Please check out https://www.endthebacklog.org/ and the important work they do.

First Floor Walk Up Reading at One and One LES - Monday Jan 12th

Andrea is reading this Monday, January 12th at 7pm at the First Floor Walk Up event.

Andrea: I hope to read a scary story or two (as if we don’t have enough of those these days). One of the pieces More that I hope to read was submitted to the first NYC Midnight Scary Story Contest and I made it past the first round. I’ve submitted to these contests before but never made it past the first round. They supply great feedback and inspiration so it’s worth checking out. Wish me luck for the next rounds.

Details below:

First Floor Walk Up Presents Bi-Weekly Readings of

Poetry and Prose at

One and One

76 E. 1st St. @ 1st Ave

F Train to 2nd Ave Station

FREE

Monday, January 12th, 7 PM

DIDI CHAMPAGNE

Didi Champagne has performed on NYC stages for close to 40 years, playing with her band at CBGB’s, The Bitter End and many more downtown legendary clubs. She also has a few albums of original music. She has read poetry with JD Rage at ABC No Rio, Cornelia Street Café, Gargoyle Mechanique and countless other venues  She has found inspiration from attending art exhibitions and is planning a show of her artwork soon. Her new book of poetry and art, Life of a Kalamata, is available upon request. Her work is a reflection of her past, present and future. It is fresh and modern and hopes to inspire those around her. Peace, love and music. 

RON KOLM 

Ron Kolm is a contributing editor of Sensitive Skin. His books include A Change in the Weather, Divine Comedy, Suburban Ambush, Swimming in the Shallow End, Welcome to the Barbecue, The Bookstore Book: A Memoir and The Verities of Love. He's had work in Maintenant, The Silver-Tongued Devil anthology, Public Illumination Magazine and The Café Review. Ron’s papers are archived in the NYU Library.

JONATHAN BERGER 

Wayne Kral has been doing readings in the East Village for hundreds of years. Jonathan Berger has not been reciting as long as all that, but still, this is not his first rodeo. Watch Jonathan Berger bust the metaphorical bronco with literal words! jonberger.com

ANDREA DEANGELIS 

Andrea DeAngelis is at times a poet, writer, shutterbug and musician living in New York City. Her writing has recently appeared in Rawhead Journal, Molotov Cocktail and Carmina Magazine. Andrea also sings and plays guitar in the indie rock band MAKAR (www.makarmusic.com)  who are currently recording their fourth album, Exit Earth. She tries not to disturb her neighbors by putting her guitar amp in the closet. 

JENNIFER BLOWDRYER 

Jennifer Megan Baring-Gould Waters became Jennifer Blowdryer after her first punk band, the Blowdryers (1978, SF) was a good handle to use for her first book Modern English: A Photo-Illustrated Trendy Slang Dictionary, and later for readers of her New York Press column (1988 – 2010). She’s authored books including a novel called The Laziest Secretary in the World White Trash Debutante, and has been too widely anthologyized to mention. Her most recent book is True Blue: Essays on NYC and her last album is She’s Got The Weirdness (2021).  Her EP Sometimes I Travel Just to Get Away is on I Tunes, and her new book is Music A - Z

Hope to see you there! Will record and get it up on the site eventually if you can’t make it.

NPR Tiny Desk Contest 2023

We submitted our song Rock ‘n Roll Sailor to the 2023 NPR Tiny Desk Contest.

Our entry isn’t up there yet because we were kind of last minute this time round. But it’s on YouTube.

It’s a brand new song we wrote that we were still in the process of learning while preparing our entry. This video is the only place you can hear our new song.

But it was so much fun! We’re excited to throw our hat in the ring. We’re even more excited to record this song for our new album.

Please wish us luck. Cheers!

Andrea's short story Mara published in Bowery Gothic

Andrea’s piece Mara was published in Bowery Gothic on September 1st in their Summer Ghosts Edition VII.

Andrea: This story was inspired by the original nightmare known as Mara and other names in Time Life’s The Enchanted World’s Night Creatures fable. These were books I inherited from my Welsh grandfather. He had such a wonderful odd library, inspiration galore.

Here is a recent article from Atlas Obscura:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/original-nightmare-demon-suffocation-night-terror

I enjoy telling stories from the perspective of the monsters and having the monsters win.

The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli, 1781. JOHN HENRY FUSELI

Please check out the entire issue!

Archived Copy

A little about Bowery Gothic

Inspired by a reading series at a haunted bar on the Bowery, Bowery Gothic is a literary journal seeking to publish the highest quality literature and art. We look for stories—both real and imagined—that exist in that liminal space: between the seen and unseen; between entertainment and fear. We are excited by work that stands at the threshold and looks into the unknown. We are excited by the sublimity of terror.

We are not interested in gore, violence, or perversion. Instead, send us literary work that transcends genre, that scares us and makes us think: Damn, that was fresh. We are drawn to literature that conjures up tales told by our favorite writers—from Henry James to Kelly Link; Shirley Jackson to Octavia E. Butler—stories that entice, amaze, terrify.

I'm Glad Music Video

Our music video for I’m Glad is here!

This song is about the moms. Mark lost his mom and I lost mine all too recently.

My mom, Margaret DeAngelis, underwent brain surgery to remove a congenital cyst growing and pressing on her brain 22 odd years ago. After the surgery she was better overnight, it was amazing. This song was about how relieved we were she was ok. She had about 15-16 good years but then the damage from the cyst caused her supranuclear palsy and we finally lost her on June 13, 2021.

Mark’s mom, Nancy Purnell, passed away from lung cancer in October 2018. She was an artist and art teacher up until the end of her life. You can read about one of her posthumously shows here.

Filmed on the rooftop of our building. This song is from our latest album Fancy Hercules.

Fancy Hercules arriving November 19, 2021!!

The wait is over, Fancy Hercules will be out and about November 19, 2021.

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooo!

Presale links should be up later this week. But here is some slowmo karate tomfoolery in the meantime

MAKAR’S TINY DESK CONTEST 2020 ENTRY FOR NPR

A little late to post this since we’re busy working away on our third album, Fancy Hercules.

But here is for your viewing pleasure – MAKAR®’s entry for NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest.

They haven’t announced the winner yet so there’s still a shot.

Nice eyebrows work, Mark.