Cynthia Varady
Bio
Aspiring novelist and award-winning short story writer. Hangs at Twtich & Patreon with AllThatGlittersIsProse. Cynthia resides in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, son, & kitties. She/Her
Stories (38/0)
The Supreme Master, Ching Hai & Her Cult of Quan Yin
The Supreme Master, Ching Hai & Her Cult of Quan Yin Ching Hai, aka the Supreme Master, is a millionaire businesswoman behind a global chain of vegan restaurants called Loving Hut. According to the University of Oxford political science professor Patricia Thornton, the origin of Ching Hai's fortune is unknown, but I have an idea. More about that later.
By Cynthia Varady2 years ago in FYI
The Unsolved Murder of Miami-Dade County Jane Doe
On a balmy morning in September 1979, the residents of the Biscayne Gardens Apartments in Miami-Dade County, Florida, discovered a woman's body. The unidentified female lay in the apartment complex's parking lot near a dumpster at the edge of a wooded area bordering the site. For over forty years, the woman's identity has remained a mystery, and she is now known as the Miami-Dade County Jane Doe.
By Cynthia Varady2 years ago in Criminal
The Fifth Season Book Review
Where to even begin? I started this review many different ways, and none of them seemed to do The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin justice. How do I speak to something that is so far beyond my abilities as a writer? The world-building alone had me scraping my jaw off the floor from page one, not to mention the character development. That on its own is worthy of an essay on innovative thinking. Let's keep it simple, shall we?
By Cynthia Varady2 years ago in Education
The Killer Upstairs and other Babysitting Urban Legends
Urban legends inform our social beliefs. They convey how to act in public and help align our moral compasses. For teens, the message is clear: stay close to home, cars are a gateway to death and destruction, and girls are always a target, even while babysitting. Here are a few babysitting urban legends retold and unpacked for their hidden meanings.
By Cynthia Varady3 years ago in Horror
Poisoned Halloween Candy Urban Legend: Fact or Fiction?
Every Halloween, parents fret and search their children's candy haul for signs of tampering. The idea that some deranged neighbor has laced their little one's sweet treats with poison, razor blades, or needles frightens parents across the U.S. every Halloween. But has anyone ever handed out poisoned Halloween candy to random children?
By Cynthia Varady3 years ago in Criminal
- Top Story - October 2021
Halloween Urban Legends: Fact or Fiction?Top Story - October 2021
Halloween abounds with stories that raise the hair on the back of our necks, but how true are they? Are they all fiction, or is there just enough fact mixed in, duping us into believing these farfetched tales?
By Cynthia Varady3 years ago in Horror
The Unsolved Murder of Evelyn Hernandez
Seven months before Laci Peterson’s disappearance and murder, another pregnant woman went missing. Later, her torso washed up near the Embarcadero in San Francisco, California, under the Bay Bridge. The fetus was never found. While Laci Peterson’s case received worldwide coverage, Evelyn Hernandez, a legal immigrant from El Salvador, became lost in the press. The most horrible part of Evelyn Hernandez’s case is that she didn’t go missing alone. Her five-year-old son Alexis Geraldo Hernandez went missing alongside her. Who murdered Evelyn Hernandez, and what happened to Alexis?
By Cynthia Varady3 years ago in Criminal
The Strange Underground World of Produce Theft
While I browsed an article in the Atlantic about the Cannes Film Festival jewel heists, I ran across a link to a similar piece. “The Great Virginia Grape Heist” jumped off the page. What in the world is a grape heist? How exactly does that work? Intrigued, I read the article and dropped down a rabbit hole I didn’t know existed: the high-paying underworld of produce theft.
By Cynthia Varady3 years ago in Criminal
The Carter File
Molly slowly opened her large green eyes and blinked at the glowing red numbers on the bedside clock. 1:30 a.m. silently cut through the dark. Perfect. The meeting started in half an hour. That gave her more than enough time to grab a quick snack and check on the house before heading out. She stretched her long, lithe limbs, arched her back, and let out a satisfied sigh. Once on her feet, she stretched once more for good measure. The catnap had been a good one. The kind that left one feeling rejuvenated and clear-headed.
By Cynthia Varady3 years ago in Fiction
The Night Stalker
The Intruder On a hot August night in 1985, 13-year-old James Romero couldn’t sleep. Earlier that day, his family had driven home from a camping trip near the Mexican-American border to their home in Mission Vallejo, and he’d slept most of the way. Wide awake and unaware that there was a killer on the loose, James headed to the garage to work on his bike.
By Cynthia Varady3 years ago in Criminal