Saying Hello to Mom

Bears, it seems, are taught a social etiquette when dealing with Two-Leggers.

A kind of Ursine “Don’t talk to Strangers” me thinks.

This affable matron – and my apologies for not noticing this during filming (filming??? Oh, how 20th century, Joseph!) – is, we suspect, the mother of the lads offered in the past few videos.

The good news is she’s healthy and happy.

The less good news is her sons (and perhaps a daughter I didn’t notice at the time) told her about the good chow at Chez Carrabis.

And she didn’t even leave a tip.

Bummer.

 

Sonia Pipkin’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ in WordCrafter Press’ Midnight Roost Anthology

I asked fellow Midnight Roost anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so will be appearing here for the next week or so.

Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to Midnight Roost (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).

Let’s start with a Hallowe’en-themed introduction to the anthology as a whole:

Sonia’s contribution is Once Upon a Time. Here’s the opening:

Once upon a time, in a magical forest, woodland creatures lived in peaceful co-existence, and not one human was the wiser. The sky was the perfect shade of azure blue, trees with full leafy crowns filled every corner, and the creatures lacked for nothing since the forest provided it all. Within this land, bears were friends with foxes who were friends with squirrels who were friends with birds, and not one drop of blood had ever been spilt on the soil in the enchanted land until that day.

How the story came about:
I wrote this short story while I was attending Western Colorado University, during a short forms course. I love the idea of combining a fairytale with unexpected horror and that was my inspiration.
Continue reading “Sonia Pipkin’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ in WordCrafter Press’ Midnight Roost Anthology”

Michaele Jordan’s ‘Afterwards’ in WordCrafter Press’ Midnight Roost Anthology

I asked fellow Midnight Roost anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so will be appearing here for the next week or so.

Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to Midnight Roost (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).

Let’s start with a Hallowe’en-themed introduction to the anthology as a whole:

Michaela’s contribution is Afterwards. Here’s the opening:

“And you had the light?”
“Huh?” Brad stared, wondering what the officer was saying (and struggling to focus his eyes). Light? The light at the end of the tunnel? Was he near death? He felt fine.
“The light, Sir,” repeated the officer. “You had the green?”
Oh, the traffic light! “Yeah, sure. Of course.” Of course he had the light. He’d He’d have stopped if the light had been red, wouldn’t he? Obviously, he would have. He twisted his neck, trying to see past the EMT lifting him into the ambulance. He failed. “Put me down, you guys. I don’t need an ambulance. I’m fine.”

How the story came about:
I’m afraid I can’t tell you how this story came about. I just don’t remember. I got an idea somewhere or other, and I wrote it down. That happens to me a lot.

(fascinating how that happens to authors. more often than most readers would suspect, me thinks)

About Michaele Jordan:
Michaele Jordan was born in Los Angeles, bred in the Midwest, educated in Liberal Arts at Bard College and in computers at Southern Ohio College. She has worked at a kennel and a Hebrew School, AT&T and a church. She’s a bit odd. In her spare time she writes, supervised by a long-suffering husband and a couple of domineering cats.
Her credits include her period occult thriller, Mirror Maze, and a previous novel serialized in Jim Baen’s Universe, Blade Light. You will find her short stories floating around the ether-including Wizard in F&SF, Message of War in Infinite Science Fiction, and Farewell, my Miko in Visions. The Once and Future Cake is just one of her numerous stories in Buzzy Mag (Check out their website!). Horror fans might also enjoy her Blossom series in The Crimson Pact anthologies.
Her website is undergoing extensive reconstruction, but just grab your hard hat, and come on in.

Paul Kane’s ‘The White Lady’ in WordCrafter Press’ Midnight Roost Anthology

I asked fellow Midnight Roost anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so will be appearing here for the next week or so.

Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to Midnight Roost (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).

Let’s start with a Hallowe’en-themed introduction to the anthology as a whole:

Paul’s contribution is The White Lady. Here’s the opening:

It had been a stroke of luck to find The White Lady.
The White Lady in a whiteout. A sudden blizzard that had appeared out of nowhere, forcing him off the road. Behind him, at his back in the rear-view mirror, practically chasing him. Visibility had dropped to nothing, conditions treacherous even after he slowed down, something he’d been reluctant to do. Which explained why he’d skidded and ended up veering sideways into that ditch. Why he’d had to eventually abandon the BMW, its tyres spinning uselessly like Wile E. Coyote’s legs off the side of a cliff. Everyone knew that those kinds of cars were hopeless in the snow, but then there wasn’t supposed to be any snow, was there?

Continue reading “Paul Kane’s ‘The White Lady’ in WordCrafter Press’ Midnight Roost Anthology”

The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery) – Chapter 26

Yes, brand new. I know it is. So there. Phphttt!

Enjoy.

The Alibi – Chapter 26

 
Jensen hurried to Bates’s sonar station. “What is it?”

Bates put an incoming signal on speakers. “Hear that?”

Jensen looked at the speakers. “It’s what we heard before, right? Or something similar? This sounds more like some kind of church organ or calliope. Some kind of music. This is from in the water?

Bates turned volume down. “You’re close regarding instrumentation. Don’t know if it’s music. What you’re hearing are what musicians call voices. Like in an orchestra, each separate violin is a voice within the strings, each trumpet is a voice within the brass.” She adjusted some sliders on her boards. “Here they are with more separation.”

Jensen’s eyes went wide. “My god, how many voices is that?”

“Sherlock separated close to a thousand ranging from infra- to utra-sound.”

“Whoever’s doing this has some incredible sonoscopic equipment. Better than ours?”

Bates made more adjustments. “Listen again. What do you notice?”

Jensen shrugged.

Bates handed her a second set of earphones. “Now listen. What do you hear?”

Jensen closed her eyes, focused, and a moment later removed the headphones. “Can’t be. You bullshitting me?”

Bates put the signal on speakers. “Breathing. And organic, not machine-made. Sherlock scanned for AI telltales and came up with none.” She flipped some switches and a monitor showed eight waveforms, two across and four down. “Notice anything else?”

“There all the same note? Frequency? Pitch?”

“Close enough and only becuase Sherlock’s showing it that way. Those voices – that chorus – is probably the most powerful LRAD in existence. Except it produces a much tighter and more concentrated phonic beam. It’s an acoustic laser.Imagine a sound so concentrated it can explode things, like a soprano shattering a wine glass, except this could explode water. Lots of water. Sonoluminescence on overdrive, on steroids, like nobody’s ever imagined before.”

“Origin?”

“There’s the rub. It’s coming in from about three-hundred miles out. At the shelf break.”

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