The king’s memory

Holding tightly to the queen bee’s slim hand, the king led her to an alcove in the far wall, where his earth bed lay. It had been freshly raked, with pebbles artfully placed in designs around its rectangular perimeter.

Do Women Today Have Too Much to Do?

Aircraft pioneer, journalist and mother Fay Gillis Wells has an answer for you. I'm proud to say I guest blogged on Steve Moretti's wonderful site today.  Steve's blog is a "weekly exploration of overlooked history, music, art and the occasional nod to science that inspires fiction.". Check it out, and leave him some feedback if …

Roquita’s catch

Advisory: This excerpt from my work in progress contains mature, albeit biologically fictional themes.  Roquita the flower maiden crept through the forest after dawn with her mother’s catch bag slung over her shoulder. The precious glass vials clinked as she made her way towards the river and Jym the River Dweller. Her parents would be awake …

Pollination Day

The Flower King’s deputy Michael approached. “Sir, the lookout has spotted the entourage.” The King did not need Michael’s confirmation. He could sense it in his petals. She was close. The year since he had seen the Queen Bee had seemed the longest ever and he yearned for her. “Thank you, Michael. I see the …

Virtual Escape

Gavin pressed the arrow key on his keyboard, making the robed figure on the screen rotate and float to the right. He led the priest on a sweep of the perimeter of the hall. Where could it be? There had to be a key in this room somewhere. He knew the goblins were coming, and …

Nikon

  Alex dug in his pocket, trying to find the money for the coffee. It hadn’t been very good, but at least it had been warm. His camera knocked against the formica table as he leaned forward to search the back pocket of his black jeans. Cursing under his breath at his carelessness, he removed …

The ATM

Mark pushed his debit card in the slot and tapped his code into the keypad. He didn’t like these outdoor ATMs. They seemed especially dirty and prone to tampering. But it was noon, and the bank was closed for lunch. The glare of the sun made it difficult to read, and he paused a moment …

What they took

She was six years old when they’d performed the procedure that removed her ability to love. She’d forgotten most of the feelings she’d had for her father, they seemed inconsequential now. Grace realized without remorse that she hadn’t looked in the casket before they laid him into the ground. No matter. But now Jack was …

Prisoner

It had been so long since Adolfo had been brought to the floating prison, he barely remembered the revolutionary impulses that had led to his capture. He remembered the girl, though. She’d had the heart and tongue of a poet. They still made songs about her, he knew from the more recent inmates, who sang …

She Kept a Diary

Jeff felt under the pile of Lizabeth’s neatly folded shirts. Finding nothing he replaced them and closed the drawer, pulling out the one beneath it. Who needs an entire drawer of yoga pants? His search was again fruitless. Where the hell had she hidden it? He sat on the edge of the bed to think. …