The ornery ramblings and occasional fiction of a former political science professor turned author
She was floating… no, that wasn’t quite right. Yes, she was floating, but in a boat… there was a tall, good-looking man (how did she know he was good looking? his back was to her… she just knew) at the helm. He braced himself as he brought the little boat around to head into a wave. He turned to her, smiled, and said…
Continue reading “Cats…”
I’ve written about this before, but the issue seems to have come around once again (truly, it’s never ending). There has been a huge kerfuffle in recent weeks and months over the “banning” of certain books. Yes, parents in some school districts have argued for the removal of certain books from the school library as not appropriate for the age group of the school (does anybody really think that third graders should be reading books more appropriate for middle-schoolers or high-schoolers? Yes, it’s happening in some school libraries). But in the end, that is not banning books. If you can go out and get the book from your local public library or pick it up off the “banned books” table at Barnes and Noble, the book is not banned. And if your small-town library doesn’t have a copy of the scandalous book you’re looking for… they’ll use interlibrary loan to get it from elsewhere for you.
Continue reading “Banning Books and People”
The old man glared at her. “You must treat this instrument like your child,” he growled.
“I will, Pop-pop. I will. I promise,” K’niethra told him.
“Hmph. This came on one of the first arkships with my father’s father. He hoped to start an orchestra… but it was not to be.” K’niethra thought she saw the shine of tears in the eyes of the crusty oldster. She laid a gentle hand over his where it rested on the neck of the graceful instrument.
Continue reading “Music”
Kyra shoved off the wall and staggered toward the overturned table, collapsing behind it. Around her she could feel the tavern pulsing as it tried to maintain the protective wards. She put her hand flat on the floor and fed as much power as she dared into the surrounding structure. This wasn’t the best way to reinforce the wards, nor would it last more than about a day, but this was an emergency.
Continue reading “A Laughing Llama?”
Sam stared down the hallway. Broken bits of light came in through the room on his left. He quickly glanced around the door frame and verified that the light was coming in through the now rotting wood nailed over the window. Dust motes danced in the fading light, but there was nothing else in the room. Sam returned his attention to the hallway stretching in front of him. He closed his eyes and brought up his memory of the outside of the house. This hallway should end about ten feet in front of him. But his gut told him it stretched out for an impossible distance.
Continue reading “Passages”