My journal of big words and pretty pictures
When my purchase offer was accepted, I called my mother and told her that I had reclaimed our family home. When I told her that I was planning to live there after it was refurbished, she laughed. She never understood my obsession with the old place. Later, while we sat at her retro Formica kitchen table and sipped … Continue reading Reminiscing
When I hung up the phone, my hands were shaking. I don’t know if it was from fear, or excitement, or maybe a little of both. My childhood home, nestled in the bucolic pastures of East Tennessee, was finally for sale. A friend still living in the area called to give me the news. Without … Continue reading Family secrets
A possible sequel to this story... “Ooo… you’re the beneficiary of a vast fortune.” Colin held up a letter, waving it with a grand flourish. “Nigerian?” Gatta kept filling in the Saturday crossword in the Times. “No, Hurin,” he said, folding the paper and making as if to tear it in half. “What?” She tossed … Continue reading Uppity women
The story so far… Agatha was waiting when the sergeant knocked on her door. He barely recognized the woman standing at the threshold. “Are you ready?” Calen took Agatha’s satchel. Agatha checked her apron pocket for her ever-present string of beads. ‘I am,” she said. “Let’s make Rája wish the spirits kept him in the … Continue reading Meeting of the minds
The story so far... King Rája languished in a hammock lashed between two stanchions buried deep into the sand. Attendants held fans over the royal, shielding him and his wizard from the harsh coastal sun. The necromancer was divining signs in the bloody bones of a sacrificial goat. “The portents are pointing to your reign … Continue reading As the spirits move you
The story so far... The King’s sergeant-of-arms, Calen, half dragging and half carrying Maud, burst through the tent entry, swearing at the sentry to leave them. Maud fell into the pile of cushions, trying to cradle her left arm, her hand wrapped in what looked like a bloody rag. She screamed in pain when she … Continue reading Voices carry
Thin spiral notebook 