Francis Rosa | Discover and Engage Today

Tornadoes Can’t Hurt Us on Wednesdays

Close-up of a cluster of dandelion seed heads with some on the verge of dispersing and others still intact, surrounded by green foliage.

Soon to be published online in Flora Fiction Literary Magazine. (Stay Tuned!)

Set in Green Bay, this is a work of post-apocalyptic science fiction grounded in society’s relationship to nature and the man-made world we have built around it.

Cryptidpedia

Book cover of 'Cryptpedia' featuring illustrations of mysterious and mythical creatures, including a gorilla, phoenix, reptilian monster, dragon, alien, giant insect, fish, demon, Bat-like creature, and dinosaur, with a central photo of a polar bear.

Cryptidpedia is a fun children’s encyclopedia that is available to purchase on Etsy.

If you’re into cool stuff like UFOs, Bigfoot, and lake monsters, this book is for you!

The book was written, edited, and professionally published my me and my twin brother Lucas Rosa, at the age of 17

I’ll Leave You a Phantom

A foggy forest with tall, thin trees, some with sparse branches, and a bluish haze that obscures the background.

Originally published as an “Online Exclusive” in Grub Street Literary Magazine. May 2026.

Grub Street is an award-winning journal out of Towson University in Maryland and has been around since the 1950s.

Borrowing its title from a verse of My Chemical Romance’s “Black Parade”, this is a classic New England horror story inspired by the works of Stephen King, Rod Serling, and by trips visiting my sister in Vermont’s Mad River Valley.

Landfall

View of a breakout from a rocky shoreline into the ocean with a long pier or jetty extending into the water, under a partly cloudy blue sky with a few seagulls flying overhead.

Originally published in print by Kelp Journal, a journal based out of coastal California and known for its oceanic themes. July 13, 2025.

I’ve made it available online here (click above) for all to enjoy!

This story of faith centers on the perspective of a Catholic priest along Texas’ Coastal Bend. It came about from my experiences volunteering with disaster relief efforts in Rockport, Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. It was of course heavily influenced by my Roman Catholic background.

Sticks and Stones

Landscape of rolling green hills with purple heather flowers in the foreground and mountains in the background under a light sky.

Originally published online in the Marathon Literary Review run by Arcadia University’s MFA students. September 23, 2024.

Here is a tale of spies, intrigue, and the consequences of new modes of warfare in a modern world.

I first wrote this story (set in an unspecified near-future) only months before the emergence of Covid. The Pandemic quickly turned this story far more relevant than I could have ever feared.

Shepherds Quake

A black and white photograph of a barren landscape with burned trees and debris scattered across the ground, with a cloudy sky overhead.

Originally published online in the Furious Gazelle for Christmas. December 20, 2023.

This is a work of historical fiction, following an English soldier during the famous WWI Christmas Truce that occurred along the Western Front in 1914.

The first complete draft was finished right after attending a mass late on Christmas Eve, one in which the priest coincidentally sermonized about the exact event I’d been writing my story on.

The Glass Slumber

Five futuristic cryogenic chambers with humans inside in a high-tech lab setting.

Originally published in a digital volume of the Hidden Peak Review. Spring 2023.

This is an independent magazine that describes itself as “At the confluence of Charles Simic and Ray Bradbury” Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury happens to be my favorite writer of all time!

Set in the cornfields of Iowa, this is a haunting work of science fiction exploring the high-tech concept of cryonics, alongside themes of loss, fear, and death.

The Gulch at the End of the World

Green mountain hills under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds.

Originally published both online and in print by The Helix Literary Magazine, based out of Central Connecticut State College. Fall 2022.

“The Gulch at the End of the World” is a work of Contemporary American Literature examining the real-life Hawaii False Missile Alert Incident of 2018 through the perspective of a fictional farmer.

This story was inspired by my brief but memorable experience as a work-trade farmer in the valleys of Hawaii’s Big Island. It was originally written as my final project for an Advanced Fiction class at Wheaton College with the wonderful English Professor Deyonne Bryant.

The Aquanaut

A large ocean wave curling with white foam and spray against a cloudy sky.

Originally published online in the museum of americana as part of their Americana Stories Web Feature Series. December 6, 2022.

“The Aquanaut” is a work of science fiction inspired by my lifelong fascination with NASA’s space race and moonshot, as well as my love of deep-sea exploration and novelist Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

This was my first short story ever accepted into a literary magazine.

Constellation Kingdom

Night sky with the Milky Way galaxy and a lightning bolt in the distance.

First published in the Big Bend Literary Magazine both online and in print for their “Dark Skies” issue. Fall 2021.

Nominated for Best of the Net

This is a work of creative non-fiction inspired by the natural beauty of the Big Bend Region of West Texas, and by my time there volunteering with the non-profit School of Constructive Arts.

Photography by Tony Dewry

Poetry: “For What It’s Worth” and “Oz”

Statue of Liberty with New York City skyline in the background, seen from across the water on a clear day.

These two poems were originally published in the Spring 2018 issue of Rushlight, Wheaton College’s student literary magazine, amongst the oldest in the nation, active since 1855.

They were created during my Advanced Poetry class taught by the wonderful Professor Kent Shaw. The poems directly touch on issues of culture and politics in America during an increasingly turbulent period.

The poems may have helped to win me Wheaton College’s Annual Helen Meyers Tate Memorial Prize for Original Verse in my senior year at Wheaton.

Poetry: “The Firmament”

A sky filled with fluffy, pinkish-white clouds against a blue background.

“The Firmament” was originally published in the Fall 2017 issue of Rushlight, Wheaton College’s student literary magazine, amongst the oldest in the nation, active since 1855.

This was one of the first literary works of mine ever accepted for publication on any level. This poem is full of world-building creativity as it explores the voyages of aeronauts journeying through a fantastical imaginative skyscape.