Why a lady Lutheran minister helped an atheist physician die contentedly. That's all I'll tell you. Click the blue below to see why. Here it suffices to say that the story is short and free. Why read a summary when with little more effort you can read the whole thing? If you can't spare a moment more, you shouldn't be wasting time reading fiction anyway. Go back to work!"One can not judge a book by its cover." So we are told. But a cover is usually the only thing a reader has to base a judgment on. Smashwords tries to aid readers by providing summaries, one short, one long, for each book it distributes. For non-fiction this works well. But this, it seems to me, defeats the whole purpose of fiction. After all, one reads a story to find out what will happen. It’s the uncommon twists and turns that make a story interesting. But if a summary has told all this beforehand, what fun is to be had in the reading? Therefore, no summary of the present short story is given. It's short and it’s free! So read the whole thing and see if you like it. I ask you to do this because I think it is the best book judging method. To find fiction you like you must first read around enough to learn something of the style and stories of different authors. Then you can judge books, not by their cover, but by the your opinion of the writer. I'd like to help you do this. The present short story is one of several which I will make available free at Smashwords. Read a few (or all of them) and decide if you like them. It won't cost you a dime. If you like them, you can then purchase some of my not free (but still inexpensive) longer stories. All these stories are of one particular kind. To reflect this similarity all have the same cover picture, the Kitty & Rose shown above. So after you’ve read a few, you can, in fact, judge them by their cover. The common theme of the Kitty & Rose stories is human sexuality. This is not unusual. Most fiction concerns sex in one way or another; ranging from romances so sedate and demure an extraterrestrial could never know sex is at the root of everything described, to erotica so unrestricted even an extraterrestrial might blush. Kitty & Rose stories are in the middle of this range. All deal with human sexuality, but none do so explicitly. Rather, they are seemly. The dictionary gives three meanings for seemly: Attractive or agreeably fashioned; Decorous or conventionally proper; and Appropriate or suited to its purpose. With respect to appropriateness, seemly sex stories range from the humorous to the inspirational, but all concern human sexuality. So they are clearly appropriate. These stories are also seemly in the decorous and conventionally proper sense. For, while they treat sex candidly, they do not do so graphically. There is nothing pornographic nor erotic in any seemly sex story. Of course, different persons’ opinions about this may differ. A few consider frank pornography decorous. At the opposite extreme are those like the abbot of the monastery where the great biologist Gregor Mendel did his epochal research. This abbot thought Mendel’s studies were decidedly indecorous because they involved the sex of pea plants! Finally, there is the principal sense of seemly, attractive and agreeably fashioned. Like every author I exert my every effort and ability trying to make these stories seemly in this regard. But like every author, I must await your determination of the degree of my success. Since both of us will be pleased if you find them attractively seemly, I very much hope you do.Happy reading!BobbyBP.S. This is the twelfth free Kitty & Rose short story, uploaded March 1, 2017.a Views: 768
A new age dawns in the kingdom of Eileanan, but not without resistance. Now the Righ, Lachlan the Winged, overturns his dead brother's decrees against witchcraft. But sixteen years of hatred and superstition have cloaked Eileanan in darkness. And though he has won the power of the Lodestar, Lachlan's rule is challenged by a mere babe--and a civil war erupts.
The flame-haired twins--Iseult the Scarred Warrior and Isabeau the apprentice-witch--must go their separate ways. Iseult to fight side by side with her husband, Lachlan. Isabeau to the Cursed Towers, to master her powers and to find the family she has never known.
One woman battling for a new reign, one woman learning the old ways, their separate threads will twist and turn into a tale of mayhem, mystery, and magic. Views: 768
For the first time in months, I'm coming in from the darkness, away from my shadows, to find closure. He has tried to make me into a victim, but I didn't listen. I rarely do, anyway.Now, I'm going with the flames, because I can't do this alone.For the first time in months, I'm coming in from the darkness, away from my shadows, to find closure. He has tried to make me into a victim, but I didn't listen. I rarely do, anyway.Now, I'm going with the flames, because I can't do this alone.I'm going with the flames is a Fantasy short-story.It was inspired by the prompt of Goodreads user "Auntie J" in "Goodreads Friends with benefits". Views: 768
Short Stories and poems. Humor ,young adult, ghost, romance, and thriller, these range across various genres. Salt 'n Pepper provides tasty reading snacks when there is no time for a full meal.The short stories and poems in Salt 'n Pepper do not need a long description. Simply taste them and see. 'The Jenuine Junkyard Dog' is forty pages, the longest short story in the collection. Views: 767
People have been pouring into the city for months. Now it's surrounded by invading armies. Cadiz is the last holdout of an inevitable invasion. As queen, Sarah suspects the end is near, but then as all hope seems lost she encounters someone. Someone whose survival is more important than her city. Who is this person and how could they possibly get out of Cadiz?This is a short story, roughly 10 pages. It was created as an assignment for a college level creative writing course. Tris Caldwell, mother of three and a full time nurse, works in the Emergency room of the local hospital. A city in which the crimes are normally petty, at least those that the citizens know about. When the unthinkable happens, a shooting at one of the local elementary schools, Tris and her co-workers prepare for the worst. As the death toll rises, only one child is brought in along with the man responsible for killing several children. Views: 767
by J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (Editor) This second part of THE BOOK OF LOST TALES includes the tale of Beneren and Luthien, Turin and the Dragon, Necklace of the Dwarves, and the Fall of Gondolin. Each tale is followed by a commentary in the form of a short essay, together with the texts of associated poems, as well as information on names and vocabulary in the earliest Elvish languages. Views: 767
As you fully consider the state of the action at the end of "The Legend of the Slave King", you'll remember that Joan & Alban face the scorching sands of the desert & the misery's sorrow that grow there. Above all that, Darvanian soldiers are closing in & the water supply is waning. Now Alban & Joan need more divine help as each will be gruelingly tested — perhaps beyond their breaking points!As you fully consider the state of the action at the end of the first book of the series, "The Legend of the Slave King”, Joan and Alban must continue to face the scorching sands of the desert known as the Verdis GranSecas and the misery's sorrow that grows there. In the process of trying to get free of the desert, Alban has uncovered a plot by Decebal to use his slaver caravan as a front to smuggle odd weaponry to the Darvanian Empire. Now, above all that, Darvanian soldiers are closing in more and more and the water supply is waning as the newly formed caravan's goal to stop the war between two kingdoms. Easy task? Not even close! Now Alban and Joan need help from above more than ever as each will be respectively tested beyond their strength in their own grueling trial by faith! Will they understand the things God wants them to learn? Telling you the answers now would be a mistake. The more you completely contemplate it, that’s only something for you to realize in your next adventure. Besides, that's naturally only your decision now!This series is best read from book one and continued in succession:Book One: The Legend of the Slave King Book Two: The Hope of Eternal SpringsBook Three: The Road Back to Effulgia Views: 767
When Dan and his friends meet Cal in Sanctum their impression of the privileged New Hampshire College student is less than stellar. But Cal wasn't always the cold, sarcastic guy he is now. In this digital original story preceding the events of Sanctum, we meet Cal when he is experiencing college like any other kid with a group of close friends and a dad who piles on the pressure. Only, when the pressure starts getting to him and Cal accepts an invitation to meet a selective group of students and alumni known only as the Scarlets, the course of Cal's life changes forever. And the price of joining the Scarlets might be higher than he can pay.
With plenty of twists, turns, and thrills, The Scarlets is an exhilarating installment in the Asylum series that can stand on its own for new readers or provide a missing piece of the puzzle for series fans. Views: 766
A young physicist is dispatched to a remote Scottish estate to secretly decipher the fragments of a manuscript that may hold the key to restoring the solar storm ravaged 21st century. Once there he finds whispers of a reincarnated wizard, strange forces linked to an eerie laboratory said to be a gate to the Otherworld, and a girl. A classic science fiction novel of adventure and romance.A Summer in Amber is set thirty-six years after the first of a series of powerful solar storms destroys the world's electrical grid – shorting out computers, and making radio, TV and mobile phones impossible. Within hours the world was thrust back into the 19th century. Those who survived the ensuing chaos gradually adopted to this new reality. This story takes place in an England and Scotland that have adopted to this new world using an eclectic mix of old and new technology. Steam engines pull carriages over lines once used by high speed trains. Electricity is generated locally using solar panels and windmills. The streets are filled with bicycles dodging horse drawn drays and pedestrians dressed like Victorians to protect their skin from the greatly increased ultraviolet light reaching the ground due to the solar storms' disruption of the earth's upper atmosphere. A Summer in Amber might be described as a "mirror image" steampunk novel. Instead of 21st century technology in a 19th century society, Edwardian technology had been adopted by a post-apocalyptic, late 21st century one, making for an out of the ordinary steampunk story. There are, for example, no zombies. Morlocks, yes, but no zombies, nor airships and air pirates. The story's steampunkness comes from a mix of Edwardian and 21st century technology and from its old-fashioned narrative style – a reflection of my fondness for the Scottish stories of John Buchan, and Compton Mackenzie. (And the 1959 movie remake of the 39 Steps starring Kenneth More.) Along with adventure, romance plays its part as well in A Summer in Amber. The story has been described in one review as a "Regency romance". I'm not sure what constitutes a Regency romance, but falling in love with a rather fey girl is certainly part of what makes this summer in the highlands so unforgettable for Sandy Say – a summer he hopes to keep forever preserved in the amber of memory.Current version 3.3 18 Sept 2016I have two other novels available wherever fine ebooks are sold. Some Day Days, a rather experimental romance novel set in this same never-never England, but before the storms. The Bright Black Sea, a long, sweeping, space opera of mystery and adventure set in the Nine Star Nebula. Views: 766
Revenge has never been served so cold.
Joe Kurtz, former investigator and convicted felon, is on parole. But the years he spent in Attica didn't make his old haunts any safer. Back on the streets of Buffalo, he's already marked by a local Mafia don.
As if watching his back weren't enough work, Kurtz has also been hired by a gravely ill John Frears, whose daughter met a grisly fate at the hands of a murderer. Frears wants one thing before he dies: for Kurtz to find the fiend that the authorities couldn't. But the calculating killer--a master at changing identities--has a little unfinished business of his own. Dodging a contract on his head and tracking a serial killer on the loose, Kurtz plunges headfirst into the icy waters of revenge as both victim and avenger. Views: 766
Nothing could be more exciting than a night flight on Bill’s plane! But Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann, and Jack soon find themselves flying straight into a truly amazing adventure. What has happened to Bill? Who are the two strange pilots, and what is the secret treasure hidden in the lonely valley where the children land? Views: 766
My life has always been normal. Well you know what i mean by normal; shopping, chatting on my cell, hanging out with family and friends, reading great books, stuff like that. I am now an eighteen year old girl with a never ending supply of boredom. Nothing exciting or unusual has ever happened to me. That is until now."Do I scare you, Setiana?" His eyes are pinned to mine with the slightest hint of hurt and worry lingering in them."No, no. I just was startled, that's all," which I come to realize is the truth. I sense no fear as I take in every detail of his body and ever so beautiful golden eyes, just amazed with what I am seeing. He is very tall. I would have to guess close to seven feet tall. His skin is a light black color, and he is only wearing a shiny black bikini? Okay, why oh why did I have to look that way. As I examine his features more I come to realize he has a long reptilian tail. My eyes flow over his gorgeous, built body. Wow, he even has long beautiful nails. Well, more like claws not nails. I slowly look upwards to his wonderful smile, beautiful copper and gold colored eyes with no pupils at all, and amazing long black hair. His hair is so smooth looking. I bet it feels wonderfully soft. "I have never seen anyone like you before." He turns and talks in his language to someone in the cell directly across from ours. He finally fixes his eyes back onto mine. "What are you? Sorry. Is it rude of me to ask?" I hope I said that low enough that no one else could hear.He smiles, which in a way lifts my heart and spirit. His smile then turns into a small chuckle. "It is not rude to ask when you do not know. I am a Mongoelilien." His smile suddenly shifts into a seductive grin. "It makes me very joyous to see you smile as well, Beautiful." Views: 766
A stunning saga of courage and destiny in a legendary time of chaos and kings
He was born to greatness, the son of a druid bard and a princess of lost Atlantis. A trained warrior, blessed with the gifts of prophecy and song, he grew to manhood in a land ravaged by the brutal greed of petty chieftains and barbarian invaders.
MERLIN: Respected, feared and hated by many, he was to have a higher destiny. For it was he who prepared the way for the momentous event that would unite the Island of the Mighty—the coming of Arthur Pendragon, Lord of the Kingdom of Summer. Views: 765
A Rare Finds tale. Gilbert Solomon, a finder of rare objects, is hired to locate a prototype 50s-era robot. He soon finds it, but its owner won't give it up except in exchange for a rare issue of a men's magazine. When Gil finds a copy of the magazine, its owner likewise won't give it up except in trade, and so on and so on, the job threatening to become an endless chain of trades. 8400 words.A Rare Finds tale. Gilbert Solomon, a finder of rare objects, is hired to locate a prototype 50s-era robot. He soon finds it, but its current owner will let it go only in exchange for an equally rare item: one of the few surviving copies of a controversial men’s magazine. When Gil tracks down a copy of the magazine, its owner likewise insists on a trade. And so it goes, the job threatening to become a never-ending chain of trades, a job that winds up including everything from inept literary agents to nymphomaniac porn stars, from chocolate-cherry cheesecake to…kittens? Awww… 8,400 words Views: 765
Terry Charm comes from a long line of witches – so why can’t she cast any spells? Worse still, Princess Pea has asked Terry to help her Prince complete a task set by the Queen. The Goose that lays the Golden Eggs has to lay another one – oh, but it has to be a Silver Egg! Worse still, Sara Casam is determined to make sure Terry fails. And as everyone knows, Sara Casam is the lowest form of witch.Which Witch can’t do Magic? Terry Charm comes from a long line of witches – so how come she can’t cast any spells?How is she ever going to take on the role of the Queendom’s Witch, especially when her hocus pocus is, well, bogus?Worse still, Princess Pea has asked Terry to secretly help Prince Darius complete a task set by the Queen.She just needs to persuade the Goose that lays the Golden Eggs to lay another one – oh, but it has to be a Silver Egg!Worse still, Sara Casam is determined to make sure Terry fails. And as everyone knows, Sara Casam is the lowest form of witch. Views: 765
