Maybe Tomorrow

October 16, 2009

Excerpt from “Transition” by Bill Kirton

Filed under: Authors, Excerpts — Tags: , , , — fergus @ 1:11 pm
Transition by Bill Kirton
Transition by Bill Kirton

Way back at the start of the century, the role-playing sites had been a revelation. People had thrown themselves into them, become slaves. masters, warlords – even poets, God help them. They’d fallen in love, married, indulged in sexual gymnastics totally incompatible with their physical condition and levels of attractiveness. And many of them had been broken when they found that the magic and freedoms they enjoyed in their virtual worlds just refused to transfer to their everyday routines.

But evolution got faster: the servers got bigger, the online experiences became even more realistic and the headsets, with their visual and olfactory sophistication, transported wearers into a virtuality which moved closer and closer to the real.

For Jez, it still wasn’t fast enough. It struck home one day in May. After breakfast he’d put on his headset and logged in to AD, which is what everyone now called Alternative Dimension. There, he was Gabriel, master of Glentyre. He harnessed his unicorn, rode it through the lava flow, left it tied up outside the Sistine Chapel while he ducked inside to fuck a wolf he’d met the previous evening in Chicago. It wasn’t special but the wolf was grateful. On the way back to his ranch on the plateau, he stopped briefly to release a tree elf from a rock in which she’d been locked by a guy with one silver wing sticking out of his forehead. She was grateful, too. The day had started well.

When he got home, his neighbour Gerry, a homosexual giraffe whose aspirations to be a DJ had so far been wrecked by the fact that he had no microphone or deck, was outside, doing his Tai Chi.

‘Hey Gerry,’ said Gabriel.

The giraffe ignored him as he moved his neck slowly from one side of his garden to the other. Gabriel stepped back as it hovered over him and, yet again, plummeted off his footpath to the floor of the ravine six thousand feet below. He always did that. It was so tedious. He got up, dusted his jacket down and flew back up. For maybe the hundredth time, he sighed at the predictability of AD and made a mental note to move the path away from the edge.

Inside the house, Derek, his stone gargoyle, was sweeping and dusting as usual. His welcome greeting sounded hollow.

‘Good morning, master. What is your pleasure?’

In the early days, before voice activation, Gabriel had smiled as he saw the words come up on the screen. Then the boredom had set in and he’d given him various answers.

‘World domination.’

‘Sex with a mushroom.’

‘Peanut butter with nipples.’

‘Tongueless cunnilingus.’

Derek had no sense of humour. His reply never varied.

‘The master has excellent taste.’

Bill Kirton.

Web: http://www.bill-kirton.co.uk/
Twitter @carver22

October 1, 2009

Excerpt from “The Gardener” by Fergus Neff

Filed under: Authors, Excerpts, Stories — Tags: , , , — fergus @ 7:48 am

Taku

Taku from The Gardener by Fergus Neff

Taku from "The Gardener" - Illustration; Keith O'Connor

The man crossed the room, stood before Argarrai and spoke with a soft engaging voice, conveying more than direct translation.

“My name is Taku.” he said.

He looked out the window to where the lights of a ship could be seen slowly ascending through the atmosphere from the nearby space port. Argarrai had spent most of his professional life there.

“When I was young, I was like you, I viewed things the same way and my life was not unlike yours. I felt curiosity burning inside whenever I looked into the night sky. Interstellar travel was well established when I was born. My people had escaped gravity to explore our local space. Eventually reaching beyond our physical limits to travel intergalactic distances, using different scales of time and life. Ship after ship went into the darkness in search of universal answers. We found other civilisations, new materials and technologies but the simple questions remained.”

He paused.

“I would battle with what I was, what my world was, what my people were and simply, why?”

He looked at his hands as if first noticing them, glanced briefly at Argarrai and returned his gaze
to the stars.

“It was a long time ago”

The words “long time” were emphasised. The stranger was intriguing but there was something
odd, something that made Argarrai uncomfortable, he was too familiar.

“Who are you?”

The words rasped. Argarrai’s chest rose and fell rapidly, the sweat on his brow glistened as
breathing became more difficult. His toes were outlined, involuntarily clenching and unclenching
against the sheets.

“I have little time for new friends or flippant conversation.”

His eyes glistened with amusement; even on his death bed a little sarcasm could be served. His mind was clear and curious. This was how he had always felt! A sense of deep frustration at his place in the universe. A successful professional life and overcoming personal tragedy to raise his daughter Sen, were universally trivial – it was all constrained within a painfully minimal context and had little to do with the surrounding world, the planet he grew up on, the solar system, the galactic arm, deep space and the expanding universe beyond. In short – what was the bloody point?

Taku smiled kindly, apparently sensing Argarrai’s thoughts. He leaned further forward,
chuckling.

“Yes, you are just like me”

“You know that it is your time to die and you desperately want answers. For that you must live
much, much longer. You must look into the night sky and see more than stars.”

–

Maybe Tomorrow: @mayb2morrow

Fergus Neff: @chillyspoon

Illustration of Taku for The Gardener by Keith O’Connor – Aug 2009.

September 23, 2009

Excerpt from “Deathless” by Carole Gill

Filed under: Excerpts — Tags: , , , — fergus @ 11:57 am

The following is an excerpt from “Deathless” by Carole Gill.

“It is the year 2299.

Death has ceased to exist.

There are almost no births—over seventy percent of the population is sterile. A genetic outcome of past history.
There is no disease of any kind.
The eco wars of two hundred years ago caused society to virtually breakdown.
Disease killed three billion people, approximately half of earth’s population.
Those who survived faced great hardship.
Extraterrestrials, already familiar with ancient earth exploration, developed colonies here.
They became the Guardians.
Astute scholars of ancient biblical history—they began to re-establish God Centers for the betterment of humankind.
Eventually they withdrew themselves.
More recently, human-alien hybrid Guardians have taken their place.

My treatise on our history.
I am a scholar and documenter, employed at the Center for Archeological Studies in Zone 29.
I am at my place of work when two Guardians come into see me.
They inform me that my son Corsco 123 has requested a life termination.
Such requests are rare.
We ride to the Great Hall in their flytram. There is little or no conversation.
I have been to the Great Hall previously–once when my birth provider and I married and once to hand over the infant for education and treatment. Treatment consisting of cyclic vaccination therapy. Preventative medicine thus enabling immortality.

I am handed over to two different Guardians. They are from the Office of Termination.
The door is opened and I am asked to sit at a desk. Facing me is a familiar slogan:
The all loving spirit of God comforts us all.
A motto—but never something I questioned. For I have always been an obedient citizen. A willing participant in the world I knew to be mine.

My name is Arbin 157. I am 157 years old.
“You have been informed?”
“Yes, I was told my son seeks termination.”
“That’s quite true. How do you feel about that?”
“I should like to speak with him!”
One of the Guardians cuts me off.
“It will not be necessary. His termination was approved and he’s already been euthanized.”
His words hit me hard. I stutter.
“But surely I should have had an opportunity to speak with him.”
“No. The procedure was carried out yesterday. His remains are in transport.”
I didn’t speak for some time. But only squirmed under their watchful gaze—glancing up every so often at the slogan.
I couldn’t understand his action. Our world was perfect—every desire catered for. We knew neither sickness nor death. No war had been fought within living memory.
Finally, I managed to speak.
“What reasons did he give?”
“He said he was ready. That was all he said.””

September 7, 2009

Paradise Lost-Not! by Fiona Linday

Filed under: Authors, Stories — Tags: , , , , — fergus @ 12:01 pm

Story:

I’d like to say my story is on the light side, not the dark. But it all depends on what you believe. On holiday in exotic Asia the Jones family get it all sorted. For them the outcome of the greatest act of God is very good. But unfortunately for others, this story is not so pretty.

Author:

I live in the beautiful Vale of Belvoir and work with children and youths. For many years I’ve told and retold stories but took up the challenge of recording them a few years ago. That’s when I embarked on an online Certificate in Creative Writing at Lancaster University. I was a member of Melton’s Writers Club before joining The Association of Christian Writers, who meet in Southwell. I wanted to create fiction for youth in a voice that reflects their value systems but adds in hope to their many issues. I have had the success of publication on the web at www.therecusant.org.uk under prose, a short piece called ‘Off the Beaten Track’. This story raises awareness of the plight of teens suffering abuse in Eastern Europe and won a short story first prize with ‘The Fosseway Writers’.

After the experiences of volunteering in a day hospice and child bereavement centre I have written a teen novel. This adventure tells of a youth, John, who with his father goes to Greece to avoid the sensitive issue of his mum dying. Their story tells a hopeful journey adapting to life without her, with a lot of help from their friends. It’s called, ‘Get Over It!’ published by Onwards and Upwards in September 2009. It can be bought, on offer, at Waterstones and is available on Amazon, too. I hope it will give empathy to those families going through similar tough times.

I can be viewed in a short story listed in an Anthology at www.lulu.com – purchase books, under ‘The Critters Bar Anthology 2009’ see pgs 24-28, ‘Megs Diary’ or hear audio at http://www.crittersbar.com/

This is similar in content to Paradise Lost-Not! telling of another epic final journey.

September 3, 2009

“Maybe Tomorrow” edited by Brian L. Porter

Filed under: Editors, General — Tags: , , — fergus @ 7:18 pm

‘Maybe Tomorrow’ and it’s sister volume ‘Another Time, Another Place’ were compiled and edited by Mythica Publishing’s Mystery/Thriller Consultant Editor, Brian L Porter, author of the much acclaimed Preditors & Editors ‘Best Thriller of 2008 Award Winner, ‘A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper’. ‘A Study in Red, and it’s recently released sequel ‘Legacy of The Ripper’  (Double Dragon Publishing) are both under contract to Thunderball Films of Los Angeles for movie adaptation and ‘A Study in Red’ is currently in the development stage, in collaboration with Masterplan Films (UK). Porter’s short story collection ‘The Voice of Anton Bouchard’ was released in 2009 by Mythica Publishing, and the same publisher will soon be releasing his vampire Thriller ‘Kiss of Life’.  Brian’s novel ‘Glastonbury’ will also soon be released by 4RV Publishing.

Brian L Porter’s works are the recipients of a number of awards both for their literary content and their wonderful cover designs and the trailer for ‘A Study in Red’ also received a ‘Best Trailer’ Award from The New Covey Cover Awards.

***

A Study in Red

A Study in Red

A Study in Red

A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper by Brian L Porter tells the story of Robert Cavendish, a modern day psychiatrist who is bequeathed a strange set of papers which purport to be the journal of the long-dead infamous Whitechapel Murderer whose crimes gripped the hearts and minds and instilled terror on the streets of Victorian London. As he begins to read the journal, Robert becomes convinced of it’s authenticity and finds that the words of the Ripper have a strange and compelling effect on him. Unable to cast the pages aside he finds himself being drawn into the dark and sinister world of the killer until he is unable to distinguish what is fact and what is fantasy. In short, Robert Cavendish begins to feel as though he is being taken over in some way by the soul of the long-dead Ripper. What happens as he progresses through the journal will disturb and shock the reader as the close dividing line between sanity and madness is explored to the full.

A Study in Red can be found at Amazon in the USA and the UK.

Legacy of the Ripper

Legacy of the Ripper

Legacy of The Ripper

Jack Thomas Reid, nephew of Robert Cavendish who first appeared in A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper languishes in the secure Ravenswood Psychiatric Hospital, sentenced to confinement ‘at Her Majesty’s Pleasure’ for a series of apparent ‘Jack the Ripper’ copycat killings in the picturesque English coastal resort of Brighton. Jack’s defence at his trial, that he is a descendant of Jack the Ripper and that the crimes were conducted by an unknown ‘mystery man’ and that Jack was drugged and made to appear as the killer was regarded as so preposterous and unbelievable that his sentence was never in doubt. When one of the policemen who conducted the original investigation into the murders begins to doubt the truth of the case against Reid, Sergeant Carl Wright and Ripperologist Alice Nickels begin an investigation into his story. What they find is told through the voice of Doctor Ruth Truman, Jack’s psychiatrist at Ravenswood, and through a series of events that take place as far afield as the beautiful island of Malta and in Warsaw, Poland. Slowly but surely and with the help of Wright’s boss Inspector Mike Holland, the link between the events that shocked and terrorised Whitechapel over a century ago, and their link with the case of Jack Thomas Reid and the ‘Legacy of Jack the Ripper’ is revealed.

Legacy of the Ripper is available from Amazon in the USA and the UK.

The Voice of Anton Bouchard

The Voice of Anton Bouchard

The Voice of Anton Bouchard

As the city of Paris swelters in the grip of a summer heat wave, a serial killer dubbed “The Butcher Beast” stalks the dark streets of the great metropolis, dispatching his victims with increasing brutality and savagery. Author Brian L. Porter goes deep into the mind of multiple murderer Anton Bouchard, revealing the thoughts and the events that have shaped the life of that most heinous of society’s misfits, the serial killer! This definitive collection of tales from the pen of the author includes a second tale of multiple murder in “Breathing to Death,” and also takes the reader beneath the ocean, beyond the stars, and deep into the cellars of an English country mansion. Finally, we are treated to a four chapter preview of Porter’s latest novel Under Mexican Skies. A truly remarkable journey through the mind of an extremely talented author!

‘The Voice of Anton Bouchard’ is available from Amazon.com.

Kiss of Life

Kiss of Life

Kiss of Life

Investigative journalist Alan Dexter is beset by a recurring nightmare, in which the woman he met and fell in love with a year previously in Romania, appears to him as a vampire, calling to him in the depths of night. Convinced that the dream is a plea for help from the beautiful Christina Radaluc, Dexter tries to contact her through her employer at the Romanian News Agency, only to hear that she has been missing for two months. He enlists the help of his long-time friend and fellow journalist Karen Bailey, and the two intrepid journalists board a flight to Bucharest, and begin a dramatic and at times terrifying search for the woman of his dreams. As they journey into the mountains of remote and legendary Transylvania Dexter and Karen must face not only the perils of a Romanian winter, but the terrifying and brutal reality that slowly unravels as they learn the truth surrounding the sudden disappearance of Christina.

Details of all of Brian L Porter’s works can be found at www.freewebs.com/brianlp

September 1, 2009

Transition by Bill Kirton

Filed under: Authors, Stories — Tags: , , — fergus @ 7:51 pm

Story:

Everything’s so much better in the virtual world, so when the alienation of normal reality begins to scare him, Jez (or Gabriel, master of Glentyre, as he is in the online world of Alternative Dimension) decides to make the transition permanent. The consequences are not as he’d have wished.

Author Bio:

Before taking early retirement to become a full-time writer, Bill was a lecturer in French at the University of Aberdeen.

His radio plays have been broadcast by the BBC and on the Australian BC. He’s published three crime novels, Material Evidence, Rough Justice and The Darkness. and three of his short stories were selected for the CWA’s annual anthologies in 1999, 2005 and 2007. He’s written children’s stories and sci-fi but his main output is crime/mystery. His first two novels have also appeared in paperback editions in the USA (in 2008 and 2009) as part of a series called ‘Bloody Brits’. A historical crime novel, The Figurehead, set in Aberdeen in 1840 is due for publication by Virtual Tales in the USA later this year.

Bill has also written and performed in revues at the Edinburgh Festival; written, directed and acted in stage and radio plays; and presented TV programmes. He’s been visiting artist at an American University on four different occasions, directing, giving classes on creative writing and translating three plays by Molière for public performance, one of which, a verse translation of Sganarelle, won a BCLA prize.

He was one of the Royal Literary Fund’s first Writing Fellows in Scotland with spells at the Robert Gordon University, the University of Dundee and St Andrews. He also co-wrote Just Write, a book aimed at helping students with their academic writing, which was published in 2006.

His website is www.bill-kirton.co.uk and his blog’s at http://livingwritingandotherstuff.blogspot.com/

August 18, 2009

The Gardener by Fergus Neff

Filed under: Authors, Stories — Tags: , , , , , — fergus @ 8:20 pm

Story:

Argarrai is a retired space port manager. His successful life has been marred by the suspicious death of his wife and their younger daughter. Visited on his death bed by a stranger, he is given an intimidating proposition – to accept the responsibility of becoming the caretaker, the Gardener, for a universe – in reward all his questions will be answered…  but at what cost?

Author Bio:

Fergus Neff was born in 1975 and grew up in the small town of Greystones on the east coast of Ireland. He now lives in a suburb of Dublin with his partner where he works as a software developer and entrepreneur.  Fergus has been a story teller for over fifteen years but as a song-writing musician. He has released a small amount of electronic music in the form of “The Void Which Binds” EP (Chilly Recordings 2007) and mainly writes and plays guitar based music with his band “The Credits”.

In early 2009 he started writing fiction, with “The Gardener” being the first of a themed series of science-fiction short stories to be published. Fergus is also working on his first children’s book that he is hoping to release in 2010.

His other passions include sports cars, horses and his blog – blogisonfire.com – that covers myriad topics in the fields of music, business, writing and technology.

Follow Fergus on Twitter: @chillyspoon

August 10, 2009

Life by Sheila Deeth

Filed under: Authors, Stories — Tags: , , , , , — fergus @ 11:50 am

Story:

Being one of the first to walk on an alien planet isn’t quite living up to Jen’s high expectations. But when she looks for someone with time to talk to her, the consequences might be more than anyone expects.

Author Bio:

Sheila Deeth grew up in the UK and has a Bachelors and Masters in mathematics from Cambridge University, England. She moved to the States with her husband and sons in 1996 and recently became a US citizen. She describes herself as an English American, a Catholic Protestant, a mathematician who can’t add up, and a writer who can’t spell.

Sheila started telling stories before she learned to talk, but only her mother and brother could understand. In school she spun tales to keep students quiet when teachers had to step out. Then the teachers threatened to record her stories on a reel-to-reel tape-recorder; Sheila decided the pen was less frightening than the microphone and learned to write instead.

On discovering that mathematicians get full marks for doing things right, and writers only get partial credit, Sheila chose to study mathematics at college. Of course, college mathematicians never get full marks. Afterwards she became a computer programmer, writing programs instead of stories. Then she took a job as a quality assurance engineer and was paid to make programs break.

Meanwhile Sheila told stories to her sons, to chess club, to Sunday school classes… and eventually, when her job was outsourced, even to the computer. Of course, this computer has spell-check and grammar-check, so it makes a useful listener. The internet lets her send stories to publishers, and publishers occasionally print them, thus fulfilling Sheila’s life-long dream of being listened to by more than just family and friends, without using a microphone.


August 8, 2009

Journey to Nowhere by Fran Lewis

Filed under: Authors, Stories — Tags: , , , , , — fergus @ 10:17 am

Journey to Nowhere by Fran Lewis

Story:

JourneyToNowhere

Imagine coming home from work and realizing that your entire life is about to change. Imagine your wife and kids leaving with a total stranger and you had no warning as to why and where they are going? Imagine searching for them and finding yourself transported into different places, different times and yet the same date. Journey to Nowhere will take you into an entire different dimension of time and you will see things in a different way.

Author Bio:

Born in the South Bronx, I grew up with people from many ethnic backgrounds. I learned to play and work with children in my school that came from other countries and different places.
I was always overweight as a child and got picked on a lot by the other children in my class and even my teachers. I found it hard to do many of the sporting activities that my sister and cousins could do. I learned at an early age that kids can be mean and I promised myself that I would never retaliate or do mean things to other kids in return.

When I decided to write my short stories I realized that I had a lot to say about my youth and in both of my books I tell about a ten year old girl named Bertha who learns to deal with real life issues kids face today at home and in school.

As an educator I the New York City Public Schools for over 36 years, I realized just how unique and precious our children are. I was the reading and writing staff developer in my school and the dean. I loved the children and had the respect of my fellow teachers and parents.

Teaching children to read was really very rewarding and introducing them to writing and creating their own stories was exciting for the students.

I love reading different kinds of books in many different genres. I have started reviewing books of new authors and those that are more established. I love giving them great reviews and saying wonderful things about their writing.

As a new member of Who’s Who of Cambridge’s Executives, Professionals and Educators I have been fortunate to meet many educators and authors throughout the world. I enjoy reviewing books for authors upon request, as well as reviewing books for ijustfinished.com, manic readers and Bookpleasures.com.

August 7, 2009

Deathless by Carole Gill

Filed under: Authors, Stories — Tags: , , , , , — fergus @ 6:07 pm

Deathless by Carole Gill

Story:

Represents "Deathless" by Carole Gill

Representing "Deathless" by Carole Gill

It is the year 2299. The Guardians – a hybrid species of aliens and humans guide mankind in a God-centered society. There is no death. Human citizens are vaccinated against old age and disease at birth. Requests for life termination are few. Albin 157 is told that his son has requested termination…

Author Bio:
Born in Manhattan, resident in the U.K. through marriage—Carole is fully ensconced in a life of domestic bliss—interrupted periodically by two lunatic Parson Russell Terriers. The dogs and her husband are however completely house broken.

Carole wrote her first story (science fiction) at age eight—some utter nonsense about Martians coming to take earth’s children back with them. Her teacher thought she was a genius which only confirmed what her parents thought. Carole however knew the truth. No genius she—not then not ever!

Her schooling was erratic but always interesting.

“I have dropped out of such a variety of schools, that it has given me a well-rounded education!”

Her proof:

She attended nursing school, art school, two universities, secretarial school and acting school. Secretarial school was at least completed! She has worked as: a receptionist, a hotel reservationist, a waitress, a sales girl/lady, a medical secretary and an executive secretary. Now because of her completely understanding and angelic husband she is writing full-time.

Some years ago she was selected by North West Playwrights of England for further development, but found she preferred writing novels and short stories. Thus far she has written two novels—neither in her preferred genre of supernatural fiction. Currently she is writing a dark-themed sci fi novel.

She hopes to write two novels a year and has already begun to overwork herself in preparation!

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