…then you won’t want to miss Read Short Fiction’s newest feature, Travis Oltmann’s tension-filled adventure “The Earth Provides.”

What stuck with me after reading “The Earth Provides” was its vivid rendering of the seamy side of humanity. The desolation and despair of lands—and people—in turmoil is palpable thanks to the story’s sharp visuals, and the stakes seem to get higher with each new paragraph. What’s particularly done well is the fire motif; the volcano, in particular, is a symbol of all the things in his life that are on the verge of eruption. The meting out of the details of Kevin’s tragic home situation is done perfectly—we’re given just enough to understand why he is in such a terrible place, to feel his pain. A lesser writer would have, perhaps, filled this with flashbacks or sentiment, achieving the opposite effect. This is a stunning portrait of a man who is caught between two worlds—and both are fraught with danger.

Read it here: http://www.readshortfiction.com/2014/01/the-earth-provides-by-travis-oltmann/