A Day Called Zero

Posted Aug. 7, 2020
Revised Aug. 8, 2020

On the planet Zhor, as in most pre-modern societies, careers appealing to women can at first seem rather restricted. But in so complex a civilization as Zhor's, a capable woman -- if determined enough --may discover that some rather unique fields of endeavor lay open to her. Lady Caron thinks that she has found one that will suit her nicely.

This story is inspired by Ranbarth's novelette "The Lancer's Tale," available at Fictionmania.

Tammy spotted two figures trying to sneak up on Kat and Paul. She adjusts her scope and pulls the trigger. She drops one guy, and before he hits the ground, the other one falls as we.

Kat didn’t even hear the two guys sneaking up on her and Paul. She heard them drop as she looked behind her. She was glad, Tammy was an excellent sharpshooter.

“Thanks, Tammy.” Kat moves with Paul through the forest.

“Anytime, Kat.” Tammy had found a nice tree she could shoot from.

Laundromat
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Despite the fact that they were the only two people in the laundromat at that hour, she came over to use the machine next to his.

She was tall. Her hair was blonde, in a short bob with slight curls. She wore makeup despite her clothing being casual. She was looking at his load of laundry.

To our readers, I would like to introduce a new coauthor Cagivagurl. Do yourself a favor and check out her story page on FictionMania.

We were so impressed with her resume of stories we went out and actively recruited her to join our team. For our faithful readers you might be able to detect a more sensual leaning to this production.

We hope you enjoy this tale.
Marina and Monica

I Was Promoted from CFO to Secretary

New Forms
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I have to hand it to Caitlyn Jenner. She is not a person that I can agree with about much, but she certainly had the courage to transition later in life. It was her example that persuaded me to take the decision I had been putting off for years.

Father of the Bride
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

“Dad has every right to bring a partner to my wedding, having paid for all of this,” said Sonia, waving her hand around the reception area.  There were hours to go before the ceremony, but they had already been to the hairdresser and she wanted a final inspection of the facilities.

“Is there really cake?” I asked.

Raquiel

by Erisian

Light flickers across the café table's turquoise checkerboard and the cigarette's smoke curls upward, mixing with the scent of coffee and the coming rain. Voices bubble all around to fill the evening air with bursts of laughter and camaraderie, but to them I do not listen.

Instead I stare.

My gaze is fixed upon the plain white envelope resting upon the fake marble tabletop where it sits next to an ignored saucer and cup. Yet my eyes see past it to a place so very far away, beyond the reaches of this world. To a place whose name could best be translated as the Edge.

The Edge of all things.

Compelled
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Goat
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Rob and Maria Dunleavy had lived next to Dean Rusbatch for almost 10 years. Rob and Maria had achieved an ambition in setting up a milking goat farm on 20 acres at the bottom of Whistledown Valley, and further up the valley road Dean kept cattle. They lived with their two pre-school children in a small farmhouse that Rob had largely built with his own hands.

Kim finally left the hotel in what was for her, a rather odd mood. She wasn't sure what to do next. For someone who was generally so sure of herself this mood/feeling was becoming far too common to be good for her.

The weather wasn’t playing ball either. A brisk north easterly wind was bringing rain in off the North Sea. It was decidedly chilly and a far cry from the lovely sun of the previous day.

She was glad to get in her car and start the engine to warm up the interior. After a few minutes, she switched it off. Once again, she had no idea what to do next or where to go.

The heroine Mantra (Malibu Comics) suddenly finds that she's lost almost a week of time and has appeared in a place hundreds of miles from where she belongs. But if only things were so simple. In fact, the situation is much stranger than that, and potentially very dangerous.

Berlin 1945: A Story of Survival

A Short Story based on Historical People
By Maryanne Peters

It seems hard to believe with everything that happened afterwards, but in the 1920s and 1930s Germany was at the forefront of the battle for rights for homosexual and transsexual people.

The Berlin based sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld led a campaign throughout Europe with the formation of “The World League of Sexual Reform”. He toured America in 1931 with the Hearst newspaper chain dubbing him “the Einstein of Sex”. It was Hirschfeld who first outlined the full spectrum of sexual variations, by gender and orientation.

[Kim and Garth have just arrived at the factory in Kings Lynn]

“Hi Brian,” said Garth as he walked into his office. Kim followed on behind him.

Brian was in deep thought looking at some schematics. The drawings more than covered his desk.

“Oh, hello Garth.”

Then he saw Kim.

His face brightened up considerably.
“Hello there Kim.”

Then he wiped the smile from his face.

Prison Therapy
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I never shared a cell with Saus Solnick. I like to think that if we ever had, if we had talked this through, none of this would have happened. If I knew who he was, I never would have followed him on this path.

Chapter Three -- Truth and Consequences

The final chapter. Adele's trial comes to a shocking conclusion and her daughter's kidnappers make their demands known. Cassie is hot on the trail of the kidnappers but will she be too late, or will Adele pay the ransom and hope the girls are released unharmed.

Kim managed to get at least part of her mind working again. Simone was patiently waiting for an answer.

“Do… Do you really think that we would be good together?” said Kim in a very hesitant way.

Then Kim managed a small smile.

“And it is nothing to do with the fact that you want to move to Norwich? You said that very thing yourself?”

Simone smiled.

“I see the reporter side of you surfacing for the first time.”

The Poet
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

You may have heard of my Uncle Cyrus. He was a minor celebrity of sorts, a few years back. He wrote a small book about how men could charm women. It was a book based loosely on the assistance that he gave my cousin Chris in winning his lovely wife Roxy. It sold quite a few copies and Uncle Cyrus was interviewed on radio and local TV.