In a recent blog post, Dean Wesley Smith mentioned driving from Lincoln City, Oregon to Las Vegas, Nevada with a car full of marbles. Carefully packed to not “bang together.” I looked it up. It’s a little over 1,000 miles (1,610 km). And according to Google Maps, the quickest drive is 16 hours. Not that […]
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Needy Bitch: A Short Story
Better to have loved and lost… Just before dawn, the sun limped through the guest room curtains casting shadows of light across the room. Outside, a chorus of kookaburras and magpies greeted the day. Sam struggles to come to terms with losing her husband. His dog does too. Somehow, they have to find a way […]
We’re Busy Doing Nothing
Many of my friends are marooned at home, busy doing nothing. For them the world has ended, but for me nothing much has changed. I’m busy writing and publishing short stories. And submitting them to magazines (my Ellery Queen story will be out in a week or so). Researching and writing another non-fiction book. Planning […]
Product Price v Quality
Continuing the theme of choice, and gratitude, today I’m talking a bit more about choice. Only this time, more about things than people. Both in terms of price, v quality. And why it’s sometimes better to pay a bit more. I know times are tough for some people, and it’s going to get tougher. And […]
Life in the Security Directorate: A Short Story
She wants to blend in but she’s trained to stand out. A dark dingy office. With broken furniture. Genetic anomaly Eve needs black Earl Grey tea with a thin slice of lemon. In a vintage, rose-patterned bone china cup and saucer. And when she needs something, she always gets it. One way or another. “Life […]
Choosing to Make a Difference
This is a bit of a random post today, inspired by this cute photo. Which I unintentionally purchased in the middle of the night while I was packaging my short story Needy Bitch. Not using it, but don’t quite regret buying it. So, given everything else that’s going on, it seemed a good time to […]
Balancing the Book: A Short Story
Would you help a stranger? It’s a normal day. A hot Summer’s day. In a cold, airconditioned train. In an almost empty carriage. Ms Jones is irritable and exhausted. After a long day of hospital scans, she just wants a bit of peace and quiet. But the journal she finds, leaves her uneasy. Because what […]
My Trifecta of Thanks
There is a shed-load of things to be upset about at the moment, most of it we have no control over. But Toseland reminded me this morning there’s still a lot to be grateful for. So, it seemed more important to share my Trifecta of Thanks than what I had originally planned to write. This […]
Phoenix Child: A Modern Myth Short Story
Dying is just a new beginning. The scrap of land Asling’s bones lay beneath was unloved. Deeply rooted sunny dandelions dipped their heads in the light breeze. She had no monument, but someone had laid a rudimentary marker. Aiden’s long black coat soaked up the sunshine, but barely warmed his frozen heart. This was so […]
2020 Q2 Review
Here we are at the 2020 Q2 review already. It seems the paradox of this year is that it seems like no time, as well as centuries, have passed since the Q1 review. I didn’t really think the year’s early turbulence would have passed, and it hasn’t. In some places, it might be considered a […]
June 2020 Progress Report
June 2020 feels like a five-minute disaster movie sandwiched in between a bunch of other disaster movies in a century long disaster movie marathon. And yet nothing’s really happened. Though it’s been a little bit funny how wrong so many of those disaster movies and novels got it. Virtue May Jun Notes Pleasure: AdventurePlan and […]
Lady of the Looking Glass: A Short Story
Sometimes, seeing is believing. Jessica woke hot and sweaty. With a thumping headache. And dry, gritty eyes. Alone. In a strange room. With no idea how she got there. She feels ill. Confused. Uncertain. What does the beautiful boy with mesmerising blue eyes have to do with this? An uplifting story about falling in love […]
Times Are Tough and Getting Tougher
June has been another tough month under Covid restrictions has passed, even though they’re easing a bit. Even homebodies like me are starting to chafe at not being able to get out and about much anymore. On the one hand, people want to get back to normal. On the other, most recognise that under present […]
Is the Old or New Normal Better For You?
It’s been a while since we went into lockdown, and restrictions are finally easing. We can eat out, go shopping and send our kids to school. Politicians have “won” the war on Covid, and are now talking about economic recovery and “getting back to normal,” even though many of us don’t have a normal to […]
Ship in a Bottle: A Slightly Scary Short Story
Alone in space… Almost. Edith wasn’t looking for adventure. Didn’t want the glory. Just needed the money. She’s a kitchen hand. Doesn’t know what to do with an empty ship in deep space. No idea if she can get home. Or how to. “Ship in a Bottle” by Alexandria Blaelock, was free on this website […]
How to Choose Appropriate Makeup
So. I mentioned last time I’d intended to talk about appropriate makeup. And this is the post I’m going to do it in. It’s a clown free zone, so don’t be afraid to scroll down. While clothes and makeup seem very different, appropriate has a similar place when it comes to choosing what you wear. […]
Carlton the Human Hairpin
I have to start by saying this is not the post I set out to write, and if you’re not fond of clowns, you should immediately shut the page down and move on to something less frightening. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Now. I’ve written before about appropriateness in clothing and a little about […]
Shining Star: A Short Story
An author. An actor. An absolute mess! It’s a beautiful day at the movie studio. But author Jessica Mason thinks she might send her hero to Egypt. Then she meets him in the flesh of actor Jason Winter. He’s larger than life. And twice as attractive. She’s out of her depth. Can’t keep her story […]
A Feng Shui Garden
With the change in the seasons and the whole social isolation thing, we’ve been working in the garden. Weeding, mulching, pruning. And having done a bunch of Feng Shui research for a fiction project, I’ve discovered the possibility of a Feng Shui garden. It’s one of those forehead slapping “of course” moments. If you can […]
Long Weekend in the Snow: A Slightly Scary Short Story
Lies, Revenge and Black Magic. A beautiful cosy cottage in the mountains. Toasty warm inside beside the wood fire watching the snow fall outside. The perfect romantic getaway if ever there was one. City girl Jennifer waits for Justin to return with supplies. Alone. Cold. Hungry. A terrifying tale of love gone bad. Long Weekend […]
Henchmen
Who knew there was a reason henchmen (aka henchers) are called henchmen?
New! Short Story Sunday
I’ve started a new thing I’m calling Short Story Sunday. I’m releasing some of my older stories to celebrate my upcoming Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine debut. I’m a little bit nervous, and a little bit excited, and a little bit stressed, and a little bit proud. Because it marks a new phase in my writing […]
Kiss of Death: A Modern Myth Short Story
Life and death. But not as you know it. She saw Him in a dimly lit restaurant booth. Repellent, yet fascinating. Elbows on the table. Holding a glass of red wine. Watching her over the rim. When she looked again. He was gone. No sign He was ever there. She misses Him already. “Kiss of […]
May 2020 Progress Report
Sitting here, preparing to review May 2020, it just feels like a sucky month. And this is, of course, the point of a monthly review – there was always more that happened than you can remember. And it’s usually not as bad as you thought. Virtue Apr May Notes Pleasure: AdventurePlan and take an international […]
The Joy of Being
It seems to me there’s a lot of sh*t going on right now. We’re busy worrying about disease, job security, and how to make sure we don’t run out of what we see as necessary paper products. But what we’re forgetting, is that the only reason we can worry about those things, is that we […]