We were still in bed, enjoying the New York Times crossword and some hot coffee, when my phone buzzed to life on the nightstand, then began playing the ringtone dedicated to all of my piano students - 'Ode to Joy' from Beethoven's Ninth. There weren't many of those students - or their parents - that I was very interested in talking to at 9:30 on a Sunday mor...
"Character," Kristin said. "The most important part of any piece of fiction. If you start writing with only a plot in mind, you will struggle with your characters. However, if you start with your characters, they will create your plot for you." The writing workshop was nearly full. Kristin Morris had had eleven books on the romantic bestseller list. Her cur...
February 2000 It was a busy night at The Haunt. Cara was having trouble remembering all the orders from all the tables she had to cover. After already having worked three months, she was used to the normal hustle and bustle that ensued during the normal weekday and had even adapted to handling the rowdy groups on weekends. But she had yet to get accustomed...
It started as typical summer Saturday in suburbia. Most of the neighbors were outside doing work in the yard. We were gardening, mowing the grass, or performing some other chore. Through the day we chatted back and forth and as evening approached some of the guys and gals working in the front yards began spending more time talking and less time working. Of...
It was a rainy day, clouds covered the sunny sky and thunder rolled in the distance. She pulled into the parking lot and parked in her normal spot. She finished her smoke and got out. She walked to the doors and unlocked them as the thunder crackled loudly making her jump. She got into the store and locked the doors as lightning flashed. She looked as her no...
Two weeks without professor Case. How am I going to get by, Rebecca was thinking as she was driving back to her small hometown and back to her family. As she pulls into the driveway that she was so familiar with, but this time it felt a little different, she had gone away a young lady not sure what to except and now she was coming back a woman that was so ad...
Introduction When I wrote my last story, I promised my next one would be a detective story of some kind. Sorry. I lied. Maybe not really a lie, so much. More like I tried to do it, but the story just kept going nowhere. Then I was out for drinks a month or so back and heard a guy telling his story. It started the way this one starts, and it got me to thinki...
Chapter 3 Thursday Given the circumstances, I could be forgiven for the late start in the morning. The sun was well-up when I dragged on some cutoffs and a t-shirt (same cutoffs, fresh shirt). There were a couple of breakfast burritos left, but the hash browns were history. The coffee pot was empty, and I decided that just wouldn't do. While waiting for th...
Dear reader, this is a slow, long burn, but hopefully it will lend enough interest to keep you reading. I intend for this to be Chapter 1 of 5 or so... * * * * * A New Job * * * * * Losing your management job at 35 is bad, but it's even worse when you lose it because your father-in-law owns the company, so when your wife files for divorce you get the doubl...
Kristin woke late the next morning and Mark had already left for work. Almost immediately she began to think about the permission she now had and what she would do with it. She wanted attention and she wanted it bad. She took a long shower, taking special care to groom herself well. She got a brand new razor and using the lavender body gel, began to shave he...