Kaufman and Kristoff make a great writing team. By the way, the cover is wonderful for YA SCFI-FANTASY
Dancing with Baby
She fills the sink till the bubbles rise
She washes the dishes and she sighs
Just like her dreams, the bubbles pop
and disappear,
till she is left
with only her fears
Baby is pulling at her knee
She picks him up, and twirls him, weeeeee…
The radio is playing its musical fantasy
Vibrating the air
And in the kitchen, there
She dances with baby on her hip
And because she loves
The laughter on his sweet face
She makes herself content to wait
For the dreams she knows she needs
To make her life complete
And so, she dances with baby on her hip
They twirl around and around
Speaking words that make no sound
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The Cave
They were ten and twelve, scrawny arms and gamboling legs. Best friends on this late spring day. The rains had come and gone, washing away the remnants of winter’s debris. They race along the ridge, chasing winds that whisper secrets only they can hear. They follow those whispers deep into the woods, lured from an often trod path.
For who can resist the wind?
“Hey,” calls out the eldest, his ginger hair curling from beneath his baseball cap, “What”s this?”
The youngest, to prove his mettle, leaps over the narrowest part of the crevice, “Aw, probably just a cave.”
“It looks old. And deep,” Ginger says, his interest piqued, though he stands back, eyes narrowed.
The younger one, his hair blowing stick straight, black as a raven’s wing, says,” Could be Indian bones inside,” his brown eyes wide with challenge.
The gauntlet thrown, Ginger puffs out his chest, though his heart kicks up, “Let’s go to the edge of the cave, just to see?”
Raven grins, “You go first, I’ll stick close.”
Ginger lowers his legs over the crevice, than slips down until his feet touch spongy earth. Shale from the outcropping falls in behind him. He takes a step and then another. The decline drops suddenly, sharply. “Oh, oh,” Ginger cries out. The Oh’s echo up and up. Shale and stone slide in behind him, clattering and echoing.
“Hey, you okay?” Black has scurried back from the crevice, legs and arms careening in a crab-like fashion. He stands on hard earth, pacing, pacing.
Black calls out again and again; his voice, only his voice echoes back. They’d been warned not to leave the path. He had only followed.
The sun falls behind the trees; threads of purple trace their tops. Black picks his way through the shadows; the menacing trees.
The wind chases him, pushing him sideways, slapping at his head, twisting his black hair.
And the echoes, insistent, the echoes are inside his head.
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The Romance Shelves: March Roars in with Big Names!
Romance is in the air with the coming of Spring!
By Cathy Maxwell
Historical Romance reigns this spring with books by legendary authors. Let’s jump right into it—
A new release by the wonderful Lisa Kleypas is always reason to celebrate. DEVIL’S DAUGHTER is a redemption tale and let me raise my hand, I am a sucker for those stories. It is Book #5 of the Ravenal’s series, however don’t be deterred from jumping right in. It easily stands alone. So, story—widow Phoebe wants nothing to do with bad boy West Ravenal because of his wicked reputation and old grudges her late husband harbored. In contrast, West wants everything to do with her. Sparks fly, and so will the pages once you start reading. Kleypas is a smart, smart writer.
Julia Anne Long is back with a new historical romance. Her characters come alive in your mind because she is just that good. In LADY DERRING TAKES A LOVER…
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The Short Story: Need, Limits, and Theme #amwritng
After reading your post, I went back to my story and gave it a once over. Such great information in this post. Loved it.
When writing a short story, it helps to know how it will end. I suggest you put together a broad outline of your intended story arc. I’m a retired bookkeeper, so I have a mathematical approach to this. Divide your story arc into quarters, so you have the important events in place at the right time.
Assume you have a 4000 word limit for your short story.
You have less than three paragraphs before a prospective editor sets your work aside. If those paragraphs don’t grab her, she won’t buy your story. Pay attention: you absolutely must have a good opening paragraph.
The first 250 words are the setup and hook. The next 750 words takes your character out of their comfortable existence and launches them into “the situation” –will they succeed or not?
The next 2,500 words detail how the protagonist arrives at a resolution.
The final 500 words…
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The Dark Side of the Moon
Karen Dowdall has written a jaw dropping short story. Here’s hoping she turns it into a novel.
https://mythsofthemirror.com/2019/03/01/march-speculative-fiction-prompt/
They are gone. All of them. I am alone on this planet. A planet now little more than a dustbin of old dreams of what could have been. They didn’t heed the warnings of what was to come without change.
Perhaps, it would have happened anyway. The change in the atmosphere was a warning, dismissed as fake news, until it wasn’t. The storms grew more violent, the sea raged over embankments, sea levels rose exponentially, displacing millions of families and communities around the planet. Fierce and deadly land wars began, food shortages were everywhere. All signs that something terrible was about to happen.
It started slowly at first. The air began to lose oxygen gas, nitrogen gas, and argon gas. It was replaced with greenhouse gases released from fossil fuels: nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane. The Atmosphere, Biosphere, and the Geosphere showed overwhelming signs that complete degeneration would…
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In the Night Wood by Dale Bailey
For those who love a true “Once Upon a Time” tale.
A FOREST. A BOOK. A MISSING GIRL.
Charles Hayden has been fascinated by a strange Victorian fairy tale, In the Night Wood, since he was a child. When his wife, Erin – a descendant of the author – inherits her ancestor’s house, the couple decide to make it their home. Still mourning the recent death of their daughter, they leave America behind, seeking a new beginning in the English countryside.
But Hollow House, filled with secrets and surrounded by an ancient oak forest, is a place where the past seems very much alive. Isolated among the trees, Charles and Erin begin to feel themselves haunted – by echoes of the stories in the house’s library, by sightings of their daughter, and by something else, as old and dark as the forest around them.
A compelling and atmospheric gothic thriller, In the Night Wood reveals the chilling power of myth…
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A Psychological Thriller
“Twisty and powerful, ingenious and moving, The Woman in the Window is a smart, sophisticated novel of psychological suspense that recalls the best of Hitchcock.” ~Amazon review. This novel is now on my TBR list. I’ve read excerpts and it looks good. Also, soon to be a movie.
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Unraveling the mind of the Trump Supporter
A recent review paper published in the Journal of Social and Political Psychology by Professor Thomas Pettigrew of UC Santa Cruz cites 5 traits Trump supporters have in common.
1 Authoritarianism: A rigid hierarchical view of society. This trait is triggered by fear of outsiders and by exaggerated threats to gain allegiance.
2 Social Dominance Orientation: (SDO Syndrome). This refers to those who prefer a hierarchy of high status to low status. Those with SDO Syndrome are typically dominant and driven by self-interest.
3 Prejudice: “Dog Whistles” are codes that appeal to those who are subject to bigotry. Bullying and slandering typically incite this syndrome.
4 Lack of Inter-group Contact: A division of zip-codes and isolation of whites are a strong predictor of the lack of true and meaningful interaction with minorities and immigrants.
5 Relative Deprivation: A skewed perception of what one is entitled to whether of economical or social status.
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Deep and Heartrending,wonderful in every respect.
Delia Owens has crafted a novel with incredible details and a protagonist who will capture your heart.
When six year old Kya is abandoned first by her mother and then her father, she is left to fend for herself in a hobbled together shack built by long deceased relatives. Taught to be aware of strangers and the civilized world beyond the Marshlands and the coast of North Carolina, Kya grows up isolated from human contact. Her friends are the denizens of the Marsh and ocean. Gulls, fireflies and every sort of animal and insect become known to her. Kya learns to fish, steer a flat bottom boat, take care of the engine and dig for mussels which she sells to a kind old colored man named Jumpin’ who runs the wharf.
Kya comes to be known as The Marsh Girl. She is gossiped about and humiliated by the towns folk.
Her one friend is a young boy named, Tate. He is as attracted to the Marsh and ocean has he is to Kya. Eventually, he teaches Kya to read. He gives her science books and poetry. But time passes and Tate must leave her to go to college. Kya feels abandoned again, and her love for Tate breaks her heart. Several years pass, Kya is now a young woman and is preyed upon by the neighboring town’s football star and playboy, Chase. He lures Kya, who is desperate for human contact, into a sexual relationship with promises of marriage. But Kya learns he has married someone else. She breaks off all contact, but he refuses to let her go. One day he attempts to rape her. Beaten and bloodied, she fights back and runs.
Yet, Kya knows he will not stop, that he will keep coming after her. She knows she can’t live in fear waiting for his next attack.
Months later, Chase is found dead from a sixty foot fall from a fire tower within the Marsh. There are no prints or anything to actually connect Kya. In fact, she has an alibi confirmed by numerous people. Still, Kya is accused and arrested. The trial is portrayed in great detail. (No spoilers here!)
This is a wonder of a novel, crafted beautifully. I loved, loved this novel and highly recommend it for New Adults and Adults.
Kathy Lauren Miller 