Yearly Archives: 2012

SITS Day

Posted on by February 25, 2020

Happy SITS day to me

Happy SITS day to me…

Ahem. Today is a happy dance day for me. But I need to start on a sad note. Our ninety year old neighbor has died. I came across his daughter-in-law cleaning out his house today. She said he went peacefully in his sleep. I was saddened by his death, but I was also so very glad that he was surrounded by family on the day it happened. He got up for breakfast, spoke briefly with everyone, went back to bed, and just never got up again. I’m glad I got to know him, if only very briefly.… Read the rest

Count of Three

Posted on by February 25, 2020

On the count of three go vote for Lance Burson and Cameron Garriepy in the America’s Next Author Contest. They are two spectacular writers coming into their true careers, and their stories will amaze you. One… Two… Three…

____________________

This week, Trifecta wants us to add 33 words to “on the count of three”. I want you to follow those links above and vote for two of the most amazing authors I know. I may throw my hand into this contest (I’m feeling intimidated and like I don’t have anything, and I hate competing, so I may let the anxiety win this round, we’ll see) but these two already have, and they so ROCK.… Read the rest

Eleven

Posted on by February 25, 2020

Dear Scott,

Thirteen years ago, I knew by the end of our first date that I would marry you. That certainty rendered me speechless. At the beginning of the evening,

I did not believe in true love

I did not believe in love at first sight

I did not believe in having children

and I did not believe in trusting people you barely knew.

And four hours later, I not only believed all of those things, I embraced them.

I had my standards set so high that I had never actually dated. At all. Because dating was a great way to get hurt.… Read the rest

Happy Anniversary Redux

Posted on by October 12, 2012

I don’t repost a lot here on Jester Queen. In fact, this will be a first time ever. In honor of my eleventh anniversary tomorrow, here is what I wrote about the tenth anniversary last year.

 

Last modified on GMT. 0 comments. Top.

… Read the rest

Death at the Cosplay Ball

Posted on by February 25, 2020

If you’re planning to watch Sam tonight, the ballet starts at 7PM central over at  http://www.frazerumc.org/media/live/

_______________________________________________________________

Death stalked the convention, scythe at its side. There were other grim reapers, but they were laughing men and women who roamed among the other costumed characters posing for pictures and drinking at the bar. Death didn’t pose, didn’t laugh.  It walked in a straight line from the glassed in foyer to the auditorium.

Everyplace Death passed, people shrank away. Though none of them saw it, they all felt the cold pall that settled in its wake. In the auditorium, it strode down the center aisle, leaving waves of nausea.… Read the rest

Human Anatomy

Posted on by February 25, 2020

Ellie hunched over her closed anatomy textbook. She recited the six essential digestive processes. Her roommate, Darla returned from the shower, wrapped in a bathrobe.  “Why are you working in the dark?”

Ellie looked at the ceiling. “Light’s on,” she said. “Ingestion, Propulsion, Secretion.”

“Your lamp’s off.” Darla pointed to the darkened shade above a hollow ceramic base.

“Yeah. It’s my grandfather’s birthday. Mechanical and chemical digestion.” Ellie drummed her fingers.

“I thought your grandfather was dead.” Darla fished in her own desk and produced a text identical to the one Ellie was studying. “Here’s to a new way of life.”… Read the rest

Fix You

Posted on by February 25, 2020

Sam Part I,

Sam Part II,

Beauty and the Beast

Sam Part III

Sam Part IV

______________________________________

Chris Martin’s voice permeated the studio, singing a lullaby straight to my son. “I will try to fix you. Lights will guide you home.”  Sam’s part hadn’t even started yet, but I was already dabbing my cheeks.

The danseur playing the lieutenant general sat to one side in a chair. His ballerina wife threw herself forward in grief. And then the youth ballet corps rose up and pantomimed flying, flashlights aloft, bringing an imaginary man home to a family he didn’t know.… Read the rest

Blood and Violence

Posted on by February 25, 2020

Poor Scott.  He’s my sounding board for all my story ideas. He has to be prepared at the drop of a hat to answer questions about presidential elections, random animal behaviors, and everything else that pops into my head. I can Google this shit. But I don’t. At least, not until after I ask him.

Because here’s the thing about Scott. He is a repository of facts. If he hadn’t gone into history, he’d have made a damned fine librarian, because he is also an expert in knowing what questions to ask.

And usually, when I ask him these things, I’m in a spurt of idea generation.… Read the rest

On the cutting room floor

Posted on by July 12, 2023

Kallum breezed into the kitchen and grabbed an apple. “Hey, babe.” He kissed the top of his wife’s head. She had on her bathrobe, and a folded towel sat beside her coffee. “Newspaper attack you on the way to the tub?”

“Hey.” Jeanette looked up from her crossword puzzle and pushed her reading glasses up her nose. She didn’t answer the question.

“You look distracted.”

“I need a seven letter word that means samurai suicide. I’m trying to fit harakiri, but it’s too long and doesn’t start with ‘s’.”

“Try ‘Seppuku’.” Kallum crunched into the apple.

“Ugh. Of course.” She looked back down and started writing.… Read the rest

Learning Curve

Posted on by February 25, 2020

When Caroline was three, she hated swings and couldn’t dangle from monkey bars. She knew her colors, but she couldn’t recite them reliably. She loved the slide at the local park, but if she didn’t walk to the top by exactly the same route every time, she sat down and cried. She adored other children, but if a group of them came too close, she put her hands over her ears and cowered. And ‘too close’ was typically about a car’s length away.

In the bathroom, she never washed her hands without a fight. The preschool director used to accompany her and talk her gently through the process multiple times a day.… Read the rest