Now there was a distinct down side to folk saying ‘She’s Harriet, Gladys and Pete’s lass. Gladys as has the Dragon at Bearthwaite.

Yippee-ki-yay! αλογάκι!

To help Erica get over the trauma of the prosecution hearings, Susan invites her to a 'posh nosh' at a top class restaurant. There the pair unexpectedly encounter the judges and Hans, the boy Erica fancies but thinks she cannot have because of her HIV condition. The stress of the encounter causes Erica to have a near relapse.

“Hello, Helen, come in. I take it you’ve heard the news and have come to congratulate us?”

Erica finally talks to Hans and explains why she appeared to snub his advances.

The Visund must depart for its next port of call. Maralin has returned to join the farewells before the Norse ship travels the short distance to Ferenis - and another heroes' welcome. Their host, however, has a surprise for some of them.

The Voyage of the Visund

A tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

38 - Another Day, Another Country

Part 13

Janet asked him who he was playing with at present and he related the story of my old band and its’ current woes. Janet said “I know the guys you are talking about, the young one has always been a pain in the butt.”

I was very surprised when I got a call from Philip. He invited me to be his date for the premiere of his sister’s new action movie. I had not expected him to invite me, his old high school girlfriend. Admittedly that was only a couple of year ago but I had dumped him with some very harsh words. Not that he wasn’t a macho jerk fixated on martial arts but, anyway, there was no need for me to be THAT cruel to him. Actually he was a rather pathetic figure always in the shadow of his older, gorgeous and popular sister Anne. Well, Anne really enjoyed putting him down. Partly from guilt but mostly because I’d never been to a big Hollywood premiere I accepted.

After a traumatising prosecution hearing, Susan decides Erica needs a 'pick-me-up'. She takes her to a high class restaurant and a long comforting chat but a surprise awaits both diners.

Cora wakes-up early and stare up at the ceiling in her hotel room. She couldn’t believe she was in New York. She went to the address that Katie gave her and met a charming young woman. She found out that the young woman happened to be Rachel’s roommate and that she had
just recently heard from her. According to the information she received, Rachel was due back later today.

Chapter 3

August 30^th, 2021

9 AM

Colonel Johnson sat behind his desk and happily read through the orders he’d gotten from above. The wrecked plane was no longer considered a secret. He was somewhat surprised that the orders came through as quickly as they did, but he wasn’t going to complain about it.

He quickly called Mike and filled him in. As soon as he got off the phone, he knew Mike was going to be making some calls to see if he could figure out anything new.

It is a Gift

My fingers were poised over the keyboard as I looked at the screen in disbelief. That damned computer was doing it to me again. I swear that I will throw it away and go back to one that only runs with the original Word. That, at least, did not have auto-fill algorithms.

A beautiful transgendered adolescent takes a job in an up market nightclub; discovers that parading her lingerie is an experience as arousing as it is embarrassing. Set in the fictional town of Chamberlain.



Book 13: In A Spin     "In A Spin" Part 2

Erica completes her witness for the prosecution but she still faces the ordeal of interrogation by the defence.

Mouse was enjoying the drive back to New York. She woke up early and checked out before she had to. She could have extended her stay, but there were other things she wanted to do. A smile appears on her face as she thinks about the men she played against at the other casino.
They couldn’t believe a little ole girl like her could beat them. She walked away from that game with close to forty thousand dollars.

Graphic created by Patricia Marie Allen from photos on Pixabay.com

Authors note: This story first appeared in the “One Dozen Roses” anthology and has been edited to be read as a standalone.
You can read it in the anthology here.

I’ve been asked just how I came to choose the name Rose. The story of my name goes back to my childhood. I was eight at the time. It was in just after the second gulf war. I blame the whole thing on Susan. Susan was the girl who lived in our basement apartment. Her father had been called up in the National Guard and was in Iraq for a year. They decided to give up living in their house and rent it out to cover the mortgage payment. The rent on the apartment we had in the basement fit the budget imposed by his Guard pay which didn’t even come close to his regular pay. The apartment had been grandma’s before she died. It’s just two bedrooms, a bathroom and a sitting room with an efficiency kitchen and the rent helps us with the mortgage, since dad left. As part of the deal, Susan’s mom watched me while my mom was at work.

Pas de Deux A novel by Bronwen Welsh A Sequel to 'Antonette's Story' Copyright 2021

Chapter 14   A farewell to Kate

Part 11

She showed us the sheaf of papers and I saw that I could sing most of them already as I had heard them and even sung along with a few off the radio. She then told us that she would organise a take-out to be delivered at midday.