This is a true account of events that occurred a few years ago when I was dating Mark; a wonderful man that I'd met at a mutual friend's wedding in Sydney. When we met I was twenty-four, a single girl from Adelaide. I had recently graduated from University and was in my first year of teaching. Mark was thirty-two, tall, handsome, well educated, intelligent,...
A woman appears on camera. "Hi. My name's Sappho (nickname: Crew Cut) and I'm a researcher for TV-Dyke, a cable TV station in my home town. Management has been keen to have a new 'reality' gameshow in the line up for next year, so I've been given the job of testing the format and scouting locations. The show is called "Race Around the World" and is based o...
EDUCATING LOUISE Six months after laying her sister to rest, Louise makes a startling discovery about Cathy's brief and torrid affair with one of Sigrid's friends. The night they both discover that the world is a much smaller place there is a tectonic shift in their relationship as passion ignites, but then fate deals a mutual friend a cruel blow. Sex. It'...
A swim. I was really looking forward to a swim. The day was hot and sultry with no sign of a breeze, and the next cool change seemed to be days off. It had been a hot, steamy Sydney summer, the past month been made hotter and steamier for me because it had been the month of the gay and lesbian Mardi Gras. In March each year, the city throbs to a queer beat,...
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE (June 2004) Heather wasn't superstitious but did believe happenings came in threes. Good happenings and bad happenings, that was. As she put distance between herself and as many Sydneysiders as possible, she reckoned she'd had her share of bad for now. Surely she had. Wasn't breaking up with Ingrid, getting a terminal prognosis on the c...
I sat down in my Music Theory class Monday morning after my long weekend of rekindling with Dom. It felt so great to be back together with her! She had captured the feeling perfectly when she told me it felt like she was breathing again, as if she were holding it for an eternity and she finally took a full gulp of air. James came in and the more risque turn...
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (March 2004) In Heather's opinion Albany was a beautiful city packed with all sorts of awesome, spectacular sights. Yet the breath-taking views were nothing compared to the current one. None of the world's marvels and wonders compared to the sight she was feasting her eyes on. No, not only her eyes; she was feasting in other ways, too....
Author's note: This is the first of an occasional series I'm planning, exploring the theme of women who work in the sex industry. Let me know what you think of it. And, please, not put-downs about escorts as victims. I've deliberately tried to create a character who is making her own way.) The other day I got a call from someone new. She told me that my nam...
Flight Attendance Part 2 - Lay Over “Due to a minor technical issue, we regret to inform you that this plane will be grounded for at least seven hours in Singapore while a full check is made, and if necessary a new plane allocated for the onward flight to Sydney.” This announcement was made after we had successfully landed in Singapore, before disembarkati...
This is my entry for the "In a Sunburned Country" writers' challenge. This is the first time I have entered one of the contests, so I can only hope not to make a royal mess of it. The most Aussie thing I know is cricket, so it is the focal point of the story. For those not familiar with the sport (basically everyone not from a handful of former British colon...