Editor’s Note

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for stopping by! As a writer myself, I love when literary magazines have unthemed and themed issues to spark creativity. The reason I chose “Health Scares” as a theme is because I thought there would be a lot for creatives to come up with. Maybe someone decides to write genre fiction, such as a horror/spooky story, a mystery, or a dystopian story about health, or maybe someone decides to write a poem or an essay or a hybrid piece about a health scare when it comes to mental health, disabilities, and/or chronic illnesses. As always, I am in awe over the immense talent in this community!

While health scares, in the true health sense, are not fun and well, scary, I think it’s important to shed light on health and health scares. I’ll even share a health scare of my own. In July/August 2024, I was in the hospital for a blood clot and had to get surgery. It was terrifying to say the least! As such, I know I can’t be the only one who has been scared by health, hence the theme! If someone were to predict the future and tell me that would happen, I wouldn’t believe it at all. But then again, since my own diagnosis, weird stuff has happened, and I want to spread awareness.

As always, if you feel like supporting FLARE, here’s how:

• Spread the word by sharing on social media and by word of mouth!
• Buy from our merch store! All merch is related to chronic illnesses, mental health, and disabilities, and all art designs were created by a disabled artist. ALL proceeds go toward paying contributors in the future. In fact, I’m planning on hosting FLARE‘s first-ever contest in 2026 where it’s free to submit, but winners get paid!
• Donate to our GoFundMe! ALL proceeds go toward paying contributors! We’re already at $237, but we want to raise as much as possible. Disabled creators deserve to get paid for what they love to do!

If you feel extra generous and want to support me, the editor-in-chief, who does everything for free—the website management, formatting, email correspondence, fundraising, social media management, etc., I have a Ko-Fi, but you absolutely do not have to! This is a passion project, but I’ve had people ask how they can support me!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading the issue!

Best,
Kelly Esparza
Editor-in-Chief of FLARE Magazine

Poetry

1. “Why I Left This Mess in the Kitchen” by Alex Shevrin Venet
2. “Idiopathic Hypersomnia w/ Long Sleep Time” by A. Riel Regan
3. “Bedsheets” by Bella Melardi
4. “They Name It Illness” by Carrie Farrar
5. “To the Woman Haunted by Seasonal Depression” by Chris Kads
6. “My life altered” by Jade Cox
7. “Sudden Severe” by John Masterson
8. “How to Bury Your Human Body: 101” by Katie Larson
9. “Our Night at the Anatomy Theatre” by Lillian Hochwender
10. “Death” by Makena Metz
11. “Ready for Pickup” by myles kuatepet
12. “My Body Is Not a Temple, But a Circus” by Leta Iris

Flash Fiction

1. “The Visitor” by Marie-Eve Bernier
2. “The Candy Problem” by N.V. Morris
3. “Perspective” by Tiff Bartel
4. “Bruise-Dark Cursive” by Raymond Brunell

Creative Nonfiction

1. “Jump Scare My Heart” by Dawn Levitt
2. “Five Emergency Room Visits, November 2024-August 2025” by Isobel Bradshaw
3. “No Leads” by Linnea Peterson

Hybrid/Experimental

1. “[the hospital room that i’m not in]” by A. Riel Regan

Art

1. “Of the Barb-Wire or Verbal” and “Fusion” by Sara Jorgensen
2. “Into the Unknown” by Sushmita Mamillapalli

---

Thanks for reading Special Issue 2: Health Scares!

We will start individual author/artist spotlights on Nov. 1st.