Mathilde Alanic: Shine! (part fifty)

Mathilde Alanic Shine! (part fifty)                         “No,” she begged him. “Don’t give yourself pain. Don’t think of it anymore.” “I harmed you. I troubled your life. I stole your peace…you can’t know how remorse has weighed on me.” “But never mind… Forget, all of […]

TV Culture: Mr. Prosecutor (poem)

Posted by ractrose on 29 Jul 2021 in Art, Poems

      Mr. Prosecutor   The witness/killer weeps He is surprised…bushwhacked by a tactic “Mother doesn’t care.” Mother, he tells the doctor, is just outside in her rose garden Often since Papa died I find her staring at the fountain He calls to her from the patio, apologizes, she has gone upstairs “She’s having […]

Marjorie Bowen: The Sword Decides! (part thirty)

Posted by ractrose on 28 Jul 2021 in Fiction, Novels

Marjorie Bowen The Sword Decides! (part thirty)                   The cavalcade divided among a stand of pine; the master of hounds belayed his whip, and let the dogs run. Andreas, intent, listening, eyeing every clearing from which game might burst, looked aside at last… The man nearest him […]

The Bog (part three)

Short Stories The Bog (part three)                   “There’s a twenty percent chance of a thunderstorm tonight. So you wanna go back to your car. You don’t wanna be out here in your tent. Out in the open.” “No…” “If you get stuck, get away from your tent, […]

The Totem-Maker: The Citadel (part five)

Posted by ractrose on 26 Jul 2021 in Fiction, Novels

The Totem-Maker Chapter Ten The Citadel (part five)           I cantered on for some time, Cuerpha in the mood for this run, our way sloping downwards. My totem had been seeking me, for the sensible thought came that I ought to seek it. And with these words I addressed it: I […]

My Blog Week: July 18 to July 24

Posted by ractrose on 25 Jul 2021 in The Latest

All the Latest from Torsade!                               A Word on the Week   The Habitat Island               This was a watershed week…though not in the sense the western states would like.  East of the Mississippi we’ve […]

The Bog (part two)

Short Stories The Bog (part two)                     But one might fairly say that with the Free Lander, he shared eighty percent of his genes. “So if I start choking after a while, just ignore it.” He barked out another of his bitter laughs, and talked himself […]

Mathilde Alanic: Shine! (part forty-nine)

Mathilde Alanic Shine! (part forty-nine)                         “The man who is lying at Kervenno was gassed. He would have been retired from the service,” explained M. Le Goël. “But if it were M. Conan,” said Annie, “his wife and son must be with him.” “Well, […]

Marjorie Bowen: The Sword Decides! (part twenty-nine)

Posted by ractrose on 21 Jul 2021 in Fiction, Novels

Marjorie Bowen The Sword Decides! (part twenty-nine)                   Affected by this humour, Andreas put his back to them and leaned on the railing. Below was the palace square, where to the people Cabane had declared Giovanna. Konrad, on the verge of a remark come late to him, […]

The Bog (part one)

Short Stories The Bog (part one)                     “You’re confined to this place. You, and one relative. Spouse, kid, sibling.” The speaker prompted. He spotted examples in the crowd, and pointed. And each of those he pointed to, three or four among a group of reporters, off-duty […]