Even after a good night’s sleep, Kim’s resolution about the validity of her plan for the day ahead had not changed one little bit. Claire’s visit had actually strengthened her resolve not to leave without at least firing a few salvoes of her own. As she lay in bed that fateful Wednesday morning, she wondered how much she’d get for her home after paying off the mortgage. It was clear now that she was done with the newspaper industry. Of that she was certain. Proper Journalism was dead and just waiting to be buried and the current newspaper business model was on its last legs anyway. Unless you were an online scandal and gossip sheet there was little future in the industry.

There seems to be a national trend right now in the nation to remove all monuments and statues that were put up to honor the memory of the short lived “Confederate States of America” while in this piece, I will not express my personal views on the matter. I will say this, removing them will not remove the ghost the “American Civil War” Created. My hometown of Benton, Mississippi a small township located in a bend of the Big Black River, like many small towns and villages in Mississippi has its own monument to honor the fallen sons of the south.

Rivals
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Samuel Dunleavy and Nicholas Gubbins were friends and rivals. They had been since they were small boys. I had been a long time.

The truth is that it was this rivalry that had made them successful. What they lacked in basic intelligence they made up for with tenacity, and that was driven by they desire to outdo one another.

Wednesday came around far too soon for Kim.

It seemed that she had not stopped for more than an hour or two since Saturday when she arrived at her London home late on Tuesday evening. The only thing to greet her was her answering machine. It told her that there were twenty messages. The ‘time remaining’ counter said ‘0’. There could have been more but... She smiled for a moment. That was tiny compared to the absolute deluge that had been left on her mobile phone.

The problem with lying in bed doing nothing is it gives me too much time to think. To think about Christina, to think about my new job and to think about why Rick felt it necessary to try and nearly succeed in killing me.

A Deep Dive into the Back of the Closet --

The Forensic Accountant
Inspired by this Captioned Image
By Maryanne Peters

Prior Lives
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I regained consciousness with McLennan’s voice in my ear. I looked around his office to get my bearings and noticed the clock on the wall – 4:30 – I had apparently been asleep for well over an hour.

“Well I have to say that it was most interesting”, he said, flipping over some notes in his hand. “And I can tell you that I have reached some conclusions and some possible solutions to your problems.”

“Well, we made it,” said Brian as they walked into Terminal 5 at Heathrow a few minutes after 6pm that Saturday Evening.

Kim didn’t say much. She hadn’t had much time alone with Brian since he’d picked her up at her home some three hours earlier. For one thing, her lack of sleep the previous night didn’t help. She wasn’t looking forward to delaying getting to bed for another eight or nine hours especially after being in a crowded aircraft and suffering the horrendously uncomfortable seats.

Part Two. Harry is no longer who he once was. The "new and improved' Harry must track down all the pieces of the puzzle before time runs out for Susan. Can she get back to who "he" once was? Contains mature themes, descriptions of sex, and transformations of all sorts. Spoilers for all Dresden Novels

Chapter 2

Amos glared at me. He tried to retake control of the situation, but I was very determined. Carla was helping as well, and between us, we were able to keep control.

"If you feel the way about me that you claim, why don't you look at my memories?"

He stared at me for a moment. "Do they have Carlson in them?" He asked.

"Of course," I answered.

"Then I'm not interested," He told me.

Chapter 3

I had to do four days of fasting while taking these herbal pills; one, three times a day. The only thing I was allowed was water. I have been through quite a few therapies in my attempts to save my life and had some idea of what I was in for when I started. I tried to distract myself by reading through the rest of Liu's journals and warned May that I would probably become irritable. I would try and warn her when I was in a foul mood and then she needed to keep her distance.

Big
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Guys my size can never become girls. That is what I thought.

When I was little, I would cry myself to sleep wishing that I had been a girl, but then I would wake up and face the reality. I was male, just like my father and my two brothers.

Miss Judged

It’s a mistake to believe just in one god – there’s lots of them – Ahriman to Zeus – take your pick! . And it also means that people other than mere humans roam the world. Demi-gods for example. People of Power. And they have feelings. You annoy such people at risk. And with risk comes retribution, revenge and remarkable outcomes …………….. for Tim his self-centred attitude meant a risk of some big changes. And he thought it was just bad luck! Silly boy.

“Cat got your tongue Kim?” asked Brian as he dished up some food fresh off the Barbeque.

“N… No…” stuttered Kim.

“Welcome to our home. That’s Roberta or Bobby for short on the swing and Monica giving her younger sister a push.”

“But…”

“Oh,” remarked Brian.
“I guess that you are wondering about how I’m dressed?”

“Y… Yes I am.”

There seems to be some confusion as to how Mindful 2 got broken up and 'garbled'. This is chapter 12. I will post the last chapters shortly.

Part Three. A ‘Normal’ Life?

We have just started our weekly game show binge, another of her favourites. You may think that I sound henpecked but having her diverted means that I can think for myself for a while.

Of course, having just one pair of eyes, that means that I had to set up this remote method of writing. My computer is next to the settee and I have put a long lead on the keyboard so I can write while we sit with her concentrating on the screen. Now, back to the second day of my – I was going to say nightmare, but it is really just different…..