Jane Jago's Blog, page 47

Woodland Walkout

He said. If you argue I’ll leave you here
And I’ve got the map and the car
I looked in his eyes and I sat down
He left but he can’t go far
He crashed through the undergrowth in his boots
Angry as he could be
I looked at the ground and tried not to laugh
I’ve got the bloody car key

©️jane jago 2024

The Easter Egg Hunt – XXIV

Since Ben and Joss Beckett took over The Fair Maid and Falcon, they have had to deal with ghosts, gangsters and well dodgy goings-on. Despite that they have their own family of twin daughters and dogs, and a fabulous ‘found family’ of friends.

Once I was sure he’d gone I allowed myself to wilt against the hard wall of Ben’s chest.
“Sheesh that was weird.”
“It was. Who the heck was that?”
“I dunno. But I do know he’s a person to be reckoned with. The hardest of the hard at a guess. But he knelt d...

Dying to be Roman VI

Dying to be Roman  by Jane Jago and E.M. Swift-Hook is a whodunit set in an alternative modern day Britain where the Roman Empire still rules.

Annia Belonia Flavia was not at her place of work and it took a combination of Dai’s bardic charm and Julia’s patrician authority to learn her home address from her subadiuva, a woman who seemed either fiercely protective of her boss or frankly terrified of her. Dai found it hard to be sure which.
Flavia lived in a very posh apartment in one of the new t...

The Secret Life of ‘Nomes – Planting

Though the biggers never see it, there is much going on in their own backyard where the ‘nomes make their home…

It was getting towards spring and the gnomes watched with mild interest as the biggers came out of the brick place and started their annual frantic scrabble in the soil.
“Why’d they do that stuff?” Camille was watching a female bigger on her hands and knees in a puddle poking what looked like flower bulbs into holes is the cold sodden earth.
“Do what?”
“Kill flowers. I mean, surely the...

Bag Yourself a Free Read!

One for Sorrow – an impossible love story by Jane Jago

Two damaged souls in a steampunk world. Can Marta and Magpie discover the origins of the conspiracy that threatens them? Or will one of them wind up dead.  The story begins here:

It was an unremarkable chop house in an unremarkable street. The gas lamps hissed, the waitstaff hustled, and the ‘companions’ of both sexes cruised the room like hungry alligators. In the darkest corner, two people sat at a table eating pie and mash of the da...

Drabblings – Immortality

Telling an entire story in just one hundred words…

Valeria Dalca held up the vial.

“And this holds immortality?”

Cahaya shook her head.

“Not immortality. You can still die from illness or accident. It just reverses and prevents the degeneration of natural ageing.”

Dalca made a dismissive gesture.

“Immortality in effect. But is humanity ready for it?”

“Of course. It’ll make people value life more as it is no longer ephemeral. It will make them consider how they treat the plan...

Moonbeam Farquhar Metheringham IV – Reflections Upon Travel

Moonbeam Farquhar Metheringham IV takes time from his immensely important life to proffer profound advice to those who still struggle on the aspirational slopes of authorhood…

Dear Reader Who Writes,

It is one, Moonbeam Farquhar Metheringham IV, breathlessly excited and a teensy bit fearful. One pens this missive to one’s faithful followers from the departure lounge at London Heathrow. One sits in the relative safety of the business class lounge, managing to avoid the eyes of the various s...

August

August for the children is a small eternity
The time when school goes out to play
And weeks so seem to stretch away
And endless dreaming fills each day
And summer’s path’s a golden way.

August for the farmer is the time to gather in
To combine harvest wheat and rye
To cut them down and pile them high
To stack the bales and let them dry
Until the last has been set by.

August for the worker is the time to holiday
To pack the bags and pack the car
To make a journey near or far
To see new sights, drink i...

The Easter Egg Hunt – XXIII

Since Ben and Joss Beckett took over The Fair Maid and Falcon, they have had to deal with ghosts, gangsters and well dodgy goings-on. Despite that they have their own family of twin daughters and dogs, and a fabulous ‘found family’ of friends.

The rain was almost over the edge of what’s credible as it threw itself at the ground in cold sheets. Stan and Ollie got up from where the wet stuff was bouncing in on them and shepherded the staffies inside. Ollie poked his head out of the open door an...

Dying to be Roman V

Dying to be Roman  by Jane Jago and E.M. Swift-Hook is a whodunit set in an alternative modern day Britain where the Roman Empire still rules.

Interview over, Julia felt the need of a fortifying drink. Being unfamiliar with the city, she let Dai lead the way towards the taberna where his team awaited him. Julia followed, carefully not speaking to allow this proud and prickly man time to absorb what the Tribune had to say.
They were walking along a little-used alleyway between two warehouses whe...