Blergh, Sigrid winced. Her body tried to reject her command to pull off the covers and get on with the day. She tricked herself into sliding her legs out of the warm embrace of her comforter. Once she got both of her feet on the cold, wood floor...
JOTA_003_OUT_HUNTING_01_11_17_0816_W1018
OUT HUNTING
As far back as she could remember Jane had an affinity with the creatures of the air.
None more so than Nimrod, her pet Merlin. She had owned birds of prey since she was a child but the Merlin was...
“My life is flashing before my eyes,” I say, riffling through my calendar book. Angela’s sad, beatific face—the one she always wears at the end of our session—shines from the couch. “Same time next week?”
She nods, hands me a check. “Thanks again,...
“I have Canberra on the line, sir.”
Major General Frank Richards cleared his throat and straightened his tie as he glared at the red handset extended toward him. He had never needed to communicate with the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex...
Which lead us to our next subject,
Life.
Our life’s end does not have to be the end of us,
but it is the end of our turn. So, when and if we have to die,
make the end of your turn become the completion of an extraordinary life story.
Yet, if you...
I could feel the blood pressure in my veins; it dropped a notch after the dinging sound. The fasten seat belt sign went off, and the plane was now cruising at thirty-five thousand feet toward my new life.
I could barely wait to get there and meet...
Veronica had woken early and read her notes on the hotel strike while drinking green tea and eating a banana. Afterwards she switched on her computer and double-clicked the icon on her desktop titled “The Article”. The first page read: “Untitled...
Tess grumbled for the umpteenth time as she spun around in the parking lot to begin her search anew. She fumbled in her purse for her phone, pulling out the bright pink device and swiping at the screen in a ritualistic motion. The dial tone rang...
The Wall loomed over me.
The first time I had laid eyes on it, I was in awe of its vastness—an iconic monument, stretching to the horizon in either direction. As strong and secure as its sister up north. Ten feet wide by thirty feet high by 1,954...
“Shadow King”
Prologue
The little girl tossed restlessly, some of her unruly dark hair sticking to the thin patina of sweat on her forehead. Her head rolled on the pillow and the delicate point of her ear peeked out from under her tangled locks as...
Salvaging Copper
The house stood abandoned and half burnt at the fore of the apple orchard. The apple trees were in shambles, few were pruned. Many had broken limbs hanging down amongst the others and littering the once neat aisles between the...
A few weeks went on, and we have been doing great! Itzka has been having an absolute party, living with Kiyoshi and I. The house has livened up! With smiles and laughter, the place lit up like the fourth of July! Itzka has been a really big help,...
THE CORE
He spent his first few weeks as an Ambassador attending many meetings and parties. Ambassador X’s kind of meteoric rise could cause jealousy but he didn’t feel it. Everyone seemed genuinely enthusiastic about what he did on Pantoon.
“You’ve...
A Note from the Author
I met Dr. Linda Deltare during a birding festival at West Virginia’s New River Gorge in the spring of 2010. I was struck by the enthusiasm of this elegant, elderly lady who was following a constellation of plain old Starlings...