New cover

Touch the Pig - Update

TOUCH THE PIG is currently at 9400 words.  Ran into Mallory's dad, again.  He is being difficult.  He has really gone downhill since I last saw him.  I'm not sure if he would survive if Mallory were to leave him.  And I think that she is already mentally packing her bags.

TOUCH THE PIG has reached 7700 words so far.  Mallory's dad walked in on me yesterday.  Up until his arrival, I didn't even know he was in the story.  I wonder who else I will meet on my journey to complete this work of fiction.

Excerpt from HIDDEN MAGIC

            After the meal, Alena and Perrin stepped outside.  The moon’s silvery orb loomed close.  It seemed as if one could almost reach up and touch it.  The brilliant lady of the night sky both illuminated and cast ghostly shadows.  They walked on the forest trail where they had ridden only an hour earlier.  Alena could not remember when she had seen a night so brilliantly lit.  Suddenly, she caught a fleeting glimpse of movement--almost like shadow merging with shadow.  She halted, grabbed Perrin’s arm and motioned for silence.

            Perrin looked where Alena pointed but saw nothing.  He waited, and then decided that it was only the imagination of the young girl standing beside him.  He was about to continue walking when he saw it, too.  A shadow separated from a clump of trees and then merged with more shadow.  “What do you think it is?” he whispered.

            Alena only shook her head.  There was no doubt now that they had seen something.  Even though the night was warm, she was covered with goose bumps.  She was almost certain that the shadow had been as large as a horse.  Could they have just seen a unicorn?

            They stood there silent for what seemed an eternity.  Alena finally whispered, “I think it’s gone.”

            Perrin nodded and whispered in return, “I think so, too.  We should probably get back to the inn.” 

            When they turned to retrace their steps, Alena gasped; Perrin froze in silence.  On the trail leading back to the inn stood an apparition.  Silvery white was the ghostly stallion that stood before them, almost within reach.  Even though they could view the trees and the trail through the silvery vision, they instinctively knew that it was real.  It was smaller than most horses Alena was accustomed to, but if it had been a horse, it would have been the most beautiful she had ever beheld.  But a horse it was not.  In the center of its forehead was a single white horn.  Gazing into the horn, Alena saw a night sky filled with stars--the most brilliant stars she had ever seen.  A tear escaped from one eye of the beast and fell to the ground.  It turned and galloped into the forest as silent as mist.

            Perrin was shaking as if he were chilled to the very bone.  Alena realized that she was crying.  She had been moved to tears by the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.  She placed her hand in Perrin’s and started back toward the inn.  “It was real wasn’t it?” she asked.

“It was real,” Perrin assured her.  “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”

Excerpt from A TIME FOR TEARS

Sarah Michaels was just about to pour her first cup of coffee of the day when her phone rang.  She ran into her bedroom to retrieve the phone from her nightstand.  The name on the screen was Dave Stevens, her former boss.  Her first instinct was to ignore the call until after she had had her coffee.  But she knew that the persistent bastard would keep dialing until she gave up and answered.  So she hit the Talk button.  “Morning, Dave.  I haven’t had my coffee yet so this had better be good.”

“Hello, Sarah.  I need you to come down to the museum ASAP.”

“Dave, in case you have forgotten, I don’t work for you anymore.  Plus you know that I don’t do ‘ASAP.’  And you know how irritable I can be before I’ve had my coffee.”

“Okay.  Please come down to the museum right after you’ve had your coffee.  It’s an emergency.”

“Dave, I’m retired.  I’m sure that you don’t have any emergency that you can’t handle without me.”

“Sarah, I wouldn’t have bothered you if I thought anyone else could handle this.  Please, Sarah.”

Excerpt from GRAVITY

My best friend was a physicist and I was having an affair with his wife.

I had been friends with Steve since high school.  His interests had always turned toward physics and mine toward building things.  It was a perfect combination; he would dream up strange little gadgets and I would build them for him.

After high school, he moved to Atlanta to attend University of Georgia (how ‘bout them dawgs!) while I stayed home and went to work in a machine shop.  Since Atlanta was only about 70 miles away, I would still see him once or twice a month when he would come up to visit his parents.  We kept in close touch throughout his years at the university.  Between the beers we drank and the gadgets he would have me build and the long talks about—well just about everything, the subject of girls rarely came up.

     I guess that’s why I was so surprised when I first met Joanna.

Excerpt from KEEPING THE BALANCE:

Nurse Naughty leaned over and whispered, her erotic breath brushing Walt’s ear, “No bullshit.  The three of us are D-E-A-D.”

Walt took a big drink of the bourbon; the bottle was almost empty, now.  “Okay, you win, you’ve scared me.  Go ahead and have your laugh.”

Walt held the near-empty bottle out for the doctor to take.  Dr. Good shook his head.  “No, you finish it.  A little alcohol is good for the soul.  And it can’t do your body any harm--that’s for sure,” he chuckled.

“But I don’t feel dead,” Walt protested.

“Got ya!”

Walt clutched his chest.  “Thank God!  I was actually beginning to believe that I was dead!”

My current stories

I've been writing fiction since grade school.  Fortunately for the world, my earlier efforts no longer exist.  But now, I have completed 3 short stories and 1 novella and I have published them through Amazon's KDP service.  They are only available for Kindle (and compatible) readers at present, but if I get enough interest, I may publish some print copies later.

The Stories:

KEEPING THE BALANCE (Fantasy, Ghost)
After you die, do you go immediately to Heaven or Hell?  Is there such a thing as Purgatory?
A very unusual doctor and his extremely sexy nurse are on hand to assist Bartholomew Walter Perry in his transition from Life to Afterlife.  Walt is neither in Heaven nor Hell and the good doctor gives him advice on how he can avoid both.

GRAVITY (Science Fiction)
The device twists time and space, but it can also twist the minds of those who perceive it.  Was the inventor already mad before designing his machine or did the machine drive him mad?  When he asked a friend to build the device, could he have possibly known that his friend would fall in love with his wife?  Which is more deadly, a device that can steal a man's soul or an affair with your best friend's wife?

A TIME FOR TEARS (Science Fiction, Time Travel)
The Persistence Gateway allowed museums to collect artifacts from the past in a way no one had ever imagined.  Even though the utmost care was exercised to prevent collecting anything that could possibly cause a paradox (and destroy the universe as we know it), the alarms were signaling disaster.  Although retired, Sarah Michaels makes one more journey into the past.  Only she has any hope of preventing the end of the world.


The Novella:

HIDDEN MAGIC (Fantasy, Magic)
In a land where magic exists (especially among the aristocracy) young Alena has been asked to marry the young man who is probably destined to be king someday.  Well, "asked" is putting it mildly.  The request is almost an order.  Baldric, who made that request, will stop at nothing to see that his son is seated upon that throne.
Alena decides to run away and follow a quest that becomes a great adventure.  She and her traveling companion, Perrin, discover a means that they might thwart Baldric's plans.  Alena also discovers an unsuspected magical talent that is most powerful.
--Though written to be enjoyed by anyone who loves fantasy, I would not hesitate to recommend this novella to young adult readers.  There are no sexual references or explicit language in the story as none were necessary to the plot and I will not will not include any just to "spice up" a story.--


Coming Soon:

TOUCH THE PIG (Science Fiction)
The colonists on Mars all get together every two years (plus a little) to celebrate Conjunction.  During Conjunction, the ship from Earth arrives with necessities and luxuries.  During one such celebration, four children discover an ancient alien artifact that is destined to change their lives.