Novus {pilot issue} by Lillian Reid

NOVUS PILOT ISSUE

spring SKIN green

ORCHID

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

& SHORT FICTION BY

COLLEEN STINCHCOMBE

LILIAN REID PHOTOGRAPHY LILLIANREID.COM PORTLAND

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NOVUS LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Thank you for taking a moment to open this magazine! This is the pilot issue of my digital magazine NOVUS, an art, lifestyle and literary rag.

inspired and motivated every day.

I would like to proceed first off with a call for submissions. I want to see your best work and hope to fit as much amazing content as I can into each issue.

NOVUS issues will be themed, usually in the form of a specific color, and it will be a quarterly publication for the time being.

So, after a life changing decision and a big move up to Oregon, NOVUS was born.

Advertising space is available to I will publish what I love. I will share those interested, just email us stories, poems, art, photography, at novus.staff@gmail.com for ad illustrations, rants, cartoons, and specs. whatever else comes my way that I adore. Profit and profit sharing Thank you for stopping by! with contributors will come down the line, first to get some peepers on the pages. LCR NOVUS started as a way to keep me distracted on days when I was feeling down at my creative killing magazine job in Arizona - it was a way to dream big and keep me Editor -in- Chief / Publisher

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CONTENTS

NOVUS

P. 07 P. 15 P. 27 P. 35 P. 43

GREEN ORCHID SPRING SKIN HOT PALOR OLIVE & WHITE UNIFORM MORAL ATTENTION

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES ISSUE #1 YELLOW

• Photo and art submissions please send 4 - 6 lo-res / 72 dpi images or a link to your online portfolio to the email below. If chosen, we will email you to request hi-res files. Please take into consideration how images or art will flow as a 4 to 8 page layout • Written work should be sent in .doc format, maximum of 2,000 words. • If you are emailing us a question please write “question” in the subject line to get a more speedy response.

Deadline May 30, 2014 novus.staff@gmail.com

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I SS U E 0 1

Y E L LO W S U B M I SS I O N

DEADLINE M AY 3 0 2 0 1 4

green Orchid PHOTOS / COOPER REID

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MODEL / GREEN ORCHID

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spring SKIN PHOTOS / LILLIAN REID MODEL / RACHEL B. LOCATION / PORTLAND

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HOT palor PHOTOS / LILLIAN REID MODEL / JUSTINE ROSE LOCATION / ARIZONA

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JULIE

SCHUBERT Weaver . Photographer . Eco Printer

tremblinginsidethecocoon.wordpress.com

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OLIVE & white PHOTOS / LILLIAN REID MODEL / PERLA LOCATION / ARIZONA

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UNIFORM

MORAL

ATTENTION BY COLLEEN STINCHCOMBE

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You and George are moving to California but not for Annie. Annie is living in San Diego. She posts pictures

of herself leaning into men at clubs on Facebook and the beach just ll you need is

makes her look more beautiful. You

sex,

money,

are moving to Tahoe. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stand

and cars. You.

the Tucson sun anymore, all heat and

All those other

no winter. You need a place where

crazy fuckers,

the weather feels less ironic. George

they play with

is dreaming of snowboarding and

fire and love

you are dreaming of flannel blankets

and they get

and fireplaces and an excuse to be

burned, like with Annie. Annie, whose

cold forever.

birthday card you never gave her is tucked inside your copy of The Great

No. CORRECTION: You think of snow

Gatsby as a reminder that this is what

babes taking off their long johns and

love gets you. Annie, who has moved

crawling into your fire-lit room. You

to California after sleeping in your

let them stay until morning because

bed for her last three weeks in town.

walking home in the cold night is cruel,

Annie, who watched football like

even for you. You think of chains on

a frat boy but had a face like Miss

the tires of your GT-R. You think of the

America. You have stopped drinking

stocks youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll trade on chilly mornings,

Budweiser. It tastes too much like

the cash you can bring in if you can

celebratory sex, and you miss her.

figure out how to refocus. You try not

to think of the coastal route you could

woman and you being a man and

take to SoCal.

the ways in which your bodies could meet each other.

Your buddies from work have set up a going away party. Jasmine, who you

Next to George, Jasmine is your

call your bro ‘cause she’s been dating

closest friend. You wonder sometimes

some guy for the last ten years (so you

what would have been different if

can’t hit on her), is going to be there.

you could have solved Annie’s body

Normally the only time you see her is at

for X, too.

work, or when you and George invite her to brunch the days her boyfriend

When you and George get to the

works in the morning. Jasmine, to you, is

party, which is at Johnny’s house,

a case study in gender politics. You know

George goes out back to smoke

she has great tits and a curvaceous ass

weed. Johnny: new kid at work who

but you don’t put your arm around

is so awkward that it makes you want

her waist the way you would with

to puke but his house is convenient.

other girls. You know her body like

Your coworkers come up and hug you

people memorize math equations:

and make chit chat about Cali and

they don’t fumble in your stomach or

snowboarding. “Where you gonna fist

pump your blood faster. With Jasmine

pump out there in nowheresville?” They

you talk about politics and Gatsby

ask. Ha-ha.

and parenting techniques for children you don’t want. George tries to talk

You move into the kitchen where a

to her about cars. She tries to talk

breakfast bar opens up into the living

to him about reading. With Jasmine

room. The bar is covered in bottles of

you don’t think about her being a

booze and soda. You grab a plastic

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cup and pour yourself Captain and

or grilled onions. Some of them have

knock-off Coke. As you grab some ice

decidedly become fuckable. You

out of the freezer, you think of Annie

think: goodbye sex is great sex. Annie

and how she only ever liked ice when it

had taught you that. Jasmine sees

was crushed.

George come in from outside and runs up to hug him. They start to chat.

When you turn around Jasmine is

You spot one of the hostesses, looking

waving at you from the wall in the living

much less demure than usual, and go

room. She is wearing a tight black dress

to talk to her.

that makes her not look like herself. You move through the sweaty bodies.

These are the things you are sure

Jasmine wraps her arms around your

about. Then the images blur, and there

neck and yells “Adam!” You smile and

are girls and girls and shots and girls,

say hi and say, “So you’ve already

but no bedrooms, no quiet hallways.

started drinking, huh?” and she yells

You think you hear George telling you

back, “Don’t judge me!” and laughs.

to leave but you don’t. All of these people here to say goodbye to you. It is

The girls from work are dressed up

late, or early, and someone yells at you

and out of their work clothes, the stupid

that Jasmine needs you, and they take

black polo, the long black apron. You’re

you outside where Jasmine is leaned

usually working Saturday nights, and

against the garage door. Her shoes are

so you never see them like this. They

next to her, her feet straight out ahead,

are wearing dark makeup and have

and her neck seems to be unable to

curled their hair. Some girls you don’t

keep her head from lolling back and

recognize, as if they’ve painted on new

forth. It is cold, and the chill makes you

faces. They don’t smell like French fries

feel more sober than you are.

“Whoa, chick, what’s wrong?” you say, and Jasmine holds up the phone in her right hand. Now you can see she is crying.

“He’s not answering his fucking phone,” she says. “He’s supposed to pick me up.”

You like her boyfriend, Nick. You remember you made a joke about his last name being Carraway when you met him and he got it and he laughed. You don’t hang out but you’ve seen the kind of force field that Nick’s body language puts around Jasmine, the kind that says I’ve got you, so you say, “It probably died or something. Let’s just get you a cab.” You sometimes wonder if it would be too weird to ask Nick what it’s like, if you ever miss a fresh body and no baggage. How you trust a person for that long. “I’m cold,” she says, so you tell her to go back inside. “No, too loud. Too loud.” She is shivering.

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“Well, here. You can sit in my car,”

George is fucking around saying that

you say. You start to feel cold, too.

he needs to capture the “memories”

You walk down the road a little bit

and now you have a panoramic view

where your car is parked on the side

of your living room and one picture of

of the street. You remember the way

you and Annie. You’re both looking at

that Annie had screamed when she

George like he’s an idiot, and Annie

first saw it, BMW Z4, and you lit up. A

is leaned against you. You can’t see

sleek silver, she’d always wanted a car

it, but she was wearing the thin gold

where people could look at you and

chain you’d given to her, a circle

just know. You’d shown her the speed

with an “A” engraved. She wore it

of it, 0 to 100, on a long stretch of road

with everything.

in Tucson when the traffic was gone. Jasmine has leaned her seat back You help Jasmine in the passenger

and her eyes are closed but she is

seat, put her shoes on the ﬂoor, and

not still. Her black dress has slid high

get in the driver’s side. You pull out

up her legs. When she turns on her

your phone and call the cab, though

side, her tits come close to falling out

you can’t remember the address and

of her dress. You haven’t seen her

have to give him the cross streets.

like this. You want to tell her about Annie and the birthday card in your

On the background of your phone

Gatsby book and explain that love

is a picture of you and Annie that

is an egregious thing. You want to

you keep meaning to delete but

say: statistically your car will let you

haven’t. It’s from the last week she

down less often than a relationship.

lived with you, before she moved to

You want to say: money can buy you

SoCal. You’re both on the couch and

experiences and service and cars.

You think: why would I only want to fuck one girl when I could fuck ten?

You want to say all of these things and have Jasmine beat you up over it, to tell you there is more to you than that. You want another drink, afraid your buzz is fading. You want to get mad at her instead of yourself. But Jasmine is out, and tomorrow you leave for California. Jasmine looks like the girls whose clothes you take off so easily. You try to think of the math equation of her body, the one that lets you see it without wanting to touch it. And then you think: why? You think of how stupid it is for Jasmine to think you give two shits about anything else. You think of how stupid you are for giving a fuck about Annie. Annie Annie Annie. You remember asking Annie to stay. You remember waiting for her to ask you to go with her. You think of the one time she answered your Skype call and how easy it was for her to look away.

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You reach your left hand over and

You lift your body up and try to move

put it on Jasmine’s hip. Her body is

onto Annie’s seat. It’s awkward, your

warm and you think of how badly you

body too large for this maneuver. You

want to be close to it. She turns herself

fit your knees, barely, on either side of

onto her back and your hand slips onto

her hips. You lean your head down and

her lower stomach. You move closer

lay it on her chest. She is moving, still

to the edge of the car seat, up until

asleep, trying to get comfortable. You

the clutch blocks your way. You move

think about Nick, Jasmine’s boyfriend,

your right hand and put it at her collar

this guy who has stuck around for ten

bone. You wish you could see yourself

years. You wonder if he has ever laid his

the way that she does. You think: let’s

head there, like you. You kiss her neck,

trade places. Jasmine can be aimless

soft. And then, you’re not sure why –

for a while and you can have your

yes you are, you just hate yourself for it

shit together. You reach your right

– you reach your hand down and put

hand and run it across her cheek, to

it in Jasmine’s underwear. You put your

her collarbone. You think about how

fingers inside her.

you’d never been able to think of Jasmine as sexy. You slide it over her

It is only a moment, and you feel her

chest, cupping one of her tits. Your

tense up, her loose body suddenly

side is hurting from the awkward angle

stiff. You look up at her face, Jasmine,

that it takes to balance on your seat.

and her eyes are wide and staring at

All you really want is to be her skeleton.

you and she is so full of fear. You take

You think if you get close enough you

your hand out, quick, you open the

can disappear inside of her, hide from

door and get out of the car. You start

everything, from Annie and George

walking down the street, there are

and winter Tahoe and warm Arizona.

lights coming up behind you. You put

your hand to your head. You can smell

last of your unpacked shit into Hefty

her there, and you want to fucking

bags and wait for the moving truck to

puke. You hear Jasmine get out of the

save you.

car and her footsteps are quick. You turn around to look at her but she is

In the first picture Annie posted

waving at the cab you have called.

when she moved she is smiling. Her

She doesn’t have her shoes, and she’s

skin is a little more tan and the ﬂash

having trouble standing. You think

from the camera whitens her pupils.

of helping her, and then you want to

She’s wearing the dress she wore the

puke again.

first night you went out together, a purple-black skin hugging killer, and

She gets in the cab, and you walk

already she has taken off the gold

back to your car. You drive home. You

necklace and wrapped some surfer’s

scream. You think of Jasmine telling

arm around her neck instead.

Nick. You think of her not telling Nick. You don’t know which is worse.

When George climbs into the moving truck you climb in next to him. He says,

When you wake up it is Sunday.

Dude, who’s going to drive the BMW?

Early. Before you move – your back still

But all you can think about are Jasmine’s

sunk into the mattress, none of your

shoes in the passenger side and how

muscles alert -- you feel angry. You

many bad things you had easily driven

think of all girls who would have gone

yourself to.

home with you why did you fall over Jasmine? You think of Gatsby floating

Colleen graduated from Arizona State

in his pool. You get up and throw the

University with her B.A. in Creative Writing

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PHOTO / COOPER REID MODEL / GREEN ORCHID

FIN