A young man discovers a genie hidden in an old piece of furniture and takes the opportunity to wish for his deepest, darkest secret, but he may not be ready to accept the consequences of his wishful thinking.

Part 1 of An Aria for Cami is now available exclusively on Amazon Kindle, published as The Holly and the Ivy. The first few chapters remain posted here as a sampler. All proceeds from sales of this book on Amazon will benefit BCTS.

Voices woke the spirit up.

Daisy in Love
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

It was hard coming out to my parents as a sissy, but it is just something that had to be done. I just did not want them to have expectations for me that would lead to disappointment. I mean if they are going to be disappointed, then let’s get it all done up front – right?

My mother could hardly have been surprised. She always said that I was delicate. I like that word. It seems to describe a petal or a piece of fine bone China. It makes me feel good to use it. Delicate.

I have a wide grin on my face as I gaze at the other three women, all of whom are dressed identically to me in sparkly blue mini-dresses and high-heeled shoes (or, in my case, boots). The crowd is screaming with excitement, loud enough to bring my whole body out in goosebumps as we step forward onto the stage and raise our microphones to our mouths… before my phone rings, bringing me crashing back to reality. With a sigh, I pause the DVD and grab my phone from the coffee table, taking several deep breaths and trying to clear my throat before answering.

CH01: Meeting the family

Jill's ditziness inadvertently provides Greg with a path across the chasm from boyhood to girlhood. 

Beverly arrives home to discover the family she thought was out of her life, has no resurfaced but not for the reasons she suspected.

The Vanilla Cake Club Part 4
By Sabrina G. Langton

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Authors Note: A little more background to the club, a little more about the wife. Wendy meets someone that changes the direction of the story. I hope YOU like it...

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Central Village, Phoenix, Arizona
October 20, 2016
Morning

“Remember I want the rent on the first of the month, no delays or you're out,” the man said, handing over the keys.

In the Duchy of Joth, a Tenant wakes in the night... his visitor has an urgent request.

A Winter Mission

A Tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

This short story will form the prologue to 'Return to Anmar'. Planning is well under way but it may be a while before any further chapters are published.

Miss Taken
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

The girl behind the counter had taken pity on him and placed a glass of water on the counter near the corner. He came in drawn by the smell of freshly roasted coffee, but he could not afford one. He had just enough for the ticket home, or so he hoped. Or a ticket part way and then dodge the conductor. Either way it was a failure to go back there. He would be marked when he walked down the street.

Nikki let out a long sigh as she was woken by the sound outside her flat. She'd lived in or near the centre of London for her whole life, so she was used to the sound of pedestrians, of traffic, of businesses and of the countless other sounds generated by the nearly nine million residents of the vast city. What she was not used to, however, was the sound of silence.

It had been exactly one month to the day since the Prime Minister had addressed the nation, saying the words that Nikki and countless others had dreaded to hear.

Bev is forced to remain as much as possible away from Earth until things calm down. Then family events return to haunt her.

Wait, did my wife just divorce me?

She doesn’t want to lose the one she loves. How far can a person go to preserve their relationship?

“Okay,” Sophie sighed into her phone as she laid in bed. “Thanks for letting me know. Stay safe.”

“Will do,” the receptionist said as she ended the call, leaving Sophie to groan with frustration as she stared at the ceiling. It had been over two weeks since she’d last had a shift from the airline, and while she was certain she wasn’t being persecuted (unlike when her first book had been published), it came as little to comfort to her- much like the knowledge that while she wasn’t going anywhere, nobody else was either.

Summerfield High School:
Shay braces herself as her father drives right into the flagpole at her high school. She looks over towards him, as several security officers at her high school come running out and over to the truck.

“Are you alright, Ms.?” Security Officer Wallace looks at the young girl on the passenger side of the truck.

“I’m okay, I think my father hit his head on the windshield.” Shay looks over toward security officer Wallace.