James Pyles's Blog, page 133

The Proposal

Fear drenched Simon Clark like the sweat that covered his body. The wooded path made it look like a morning in early Spring, but the reality of the brutal August heat and the hazy smoke of a dozen wildfires across the west belied the scenery. “I can’t do this. It’s too hard.” He wasn’t muttering […]

Stopping the Fire

Noa hoped the authorities would think the fire was caused by a lightning strike long enough for her to get away. She knew the machine was experimental, and Professor Klein finally admitted it would be a one-way trip when he taught her how to use the device. Her physics professor at Cambridge confessed his covert […]

Fairy Dust

He had let the garden go after she died. Erin was six when she was hit and killed in a crosswalk. She believed fairies sprinkled magic dust on the plants to make them grow. After Jared and Paulette divorced, it had been just the two of them. Now he was alone in the backyard at […]

Is Jeff Sessions Trying to Establish an American State Religion?

Originally posted on Morning Meditations:
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. I just found out that “Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday announced the Department of Justice’s creation of a ‘religious liberty task force’ to ‘help the department fully implement our religious guidance'” over at CNN. Actually, someone I know from my Powered by Robots sister…

The WorldCon 76 Incident: The Consequences of Twitter

After I wrote The WorldCon 76 Incident: This Never Happened to Me on Twitter Before (and yes, I posted links on twitter and Facebook), I thought it was over. True, I did get one response from a very nice person saying (basically) that I was overreacting and people on twitter were just trying to be […]

The Red High Heels

George looked admiringly at the shoes on his wife’s delicate feet. This was the finest shoe store in Hong Kong. “What do you think?” She turned her ankle, modeling the heels. “They look lovely. Another wedding gift, Edith?” He smiled at her as only a newlywed can. “Would you?” She clapped her hands and laughed. […]

Dark Carnival

“Oneida, I wish you wouldn’t torture yourself this way. Come back with me.” Del held out long, skeletal fingers toward the diaphanous waif that he loved with all his heart, that is, if he still had one. “Just a few more minutes. I like to hear their laughter.” “We have laughter, too. It just takes […]

Meg: A Story of Deep Terror – Book Review

A few days ago, I came across something about a movie due in theaters in a few weeks called The Meg starring Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, and Rainn Wilson. It’s based on a 1997 novel written by Steve Alten called Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror. Yes, it’s about a shark, but an extinct species […]

Star Wars: The Last Jedi – A DVD Review

I finally got around to seeing Star Wars: The Last Jedi on DVD. I checked it out from my local public library because, if I ended up hating the film, I could say that I didn’t waste a penny on it, or give up my hard-earned bucks to Disney. I have to admit that I […]

The Street Children’s Mother

Mamadou, Karla, and Bonte were trapped in the alley by the policeman. “I’ll give you little street rats what you deserve,” he said, unzipping his trousers. Mamadou was nine, the oldest, and Bonte was eight. The boys got in front of five-year-old Karla, for though man would abuse them all, he would start with her. […]