Dear Shoeblossom: I met Mariah when she came to rent a room from me some time last year. Mariah is an engaging auburn haired court reporter, with a lovely figure, though somewhat petite. Although I told her she could call me Emmeline, she insisted on calling me Mrs. Kipps. Mariah's a quiet woman, and I was somewhat startled when I accidentally opened one o...
Susan had long forgiven me for laughing my ass off at her self-inflicted predicament in Portland and even let me record her account of the events. But now she was wound up like a top and spinning wildly. "I really do think I'm becoming a lesbian," Susan said. "Or maybe a lesbian of convenience. And it's all your fault. I never felt any attraction to women b...
Vol. 1: A Season to Remember I own a small construction company in the South West. At the time it was big enough that I didn't get out and do much of the building myself any more, but not really big enough to hiring any office help either. Once my crews were out for the day I didn't usually see anyone in the office until three or four when the crews would s...
The distance between Suez and Aden is precisely thirteen hundred and ten miles, and the regulations of the company allow the steamers one hundred and thirty-eight hours in which to traverse it. The Mongolia, thanks to the vigorous exertions of the engineer, seemed likely, so rapid was her speed, to reach her destination considerably within that time. The g...
Ashran felt the smooth wood of the ritual pole pressed against his naked bum furrow, his hands tied firmly up and behind him. He would be quite unable to go anywhere for the rest of the morning. The Market Square had already begun to fill with townspeople as the eight Archons had entered, spectators anxious to see the first preparations of the day. The two...
I was seated on my favorite stool in the bar at the Marriot. I saw him coming as he entered the bar with blood in his eye. He saw me and headed right toward me. He was obviously pissed. A fleeting thought probably the blond from last night's husband. I said," shit," as I stood up taking two quick steps toward him I strait armed him with an open palm to his...
"Max, I'm going for a coffee want me to bring you one?" Ed Martin, aka the bondsman, asked as he walked toward the door of our small office. "No thanks Ed," I replied. "The coffee from my Mr. Coffee is fine with me. I'm not really a big fan of designer coffee. Too many years of bad coffee." I replied. "Yeah, you haven't been out long enough to develop a ta...
I got into a bit of a creative slump in December. I felt like nothing I wrote was any good. To get out of the slump, I read my favorite books and tried to imagine additional stories set in their worlds. It came to naught, until I re-read Over_Red's story "Dream Drive", which he published on this very site. I managed to conjure up a character and sent him on...
Monday evening, September 25, 2028 I drove home from the airport with one hand on the steering wheel. Addie had a death grip on my right hand with both of hers. I didn't complain. I couldn't stop glancing over at my wife, just thankful that she was home. To put it bluntly, God, I was relieved! After we got home, Addie read a couple of stories to Katie and...
Book 5 – Major Events Chapter 1 – New Arrangements Nancy stood beside Dave's desk holding her iPad so Dave could see the display. She pointed at a dark green crescent of heavy rain in the southern Gulf of Mexico flecked with red and orange showing strong cells, "It's called Tropical Storm Bebe. It formed last night from a strong tropical depression just of...