James Pyles's Blog, page 148

The Days of Noah

“What are you doing?” Helen poked her head into Glenn’s office. “Just programming the behavior of the irrigation system behind the house. The collectors have amassed enough rain water, and I want to test the valves before we plant.” “Well don’t forget you have to do the firmware upgrade for the chicken coop alarms.” He turned and […]

The Upside of the Downside

Three times before, eighteen-year-old Keisha Davis had been transported into an alternate universe. For her, only a year passed between each transition, but in the world where the Covington family had become her own, each leap put her twenty years into their future. Standing inside her Grandpa’s workshop located at the edge of her small, northern […]

Fallen Hero

Marine Corporeal Jeffrey DeYoung could barely hold back his tears as he accepted the folded American flag in honor of Cena. Five-hundred people were attending his funeral, all Marines in their dress blues. Cena had been raised to be a Marine since he was very young, and during his tours in Afghanistan, he’d saved thousands […]

Fierce Combat in Moose Valley

Stop! Don’t read this unless you’ve first read The Runaway Stuffed Rabbit and then The Battle for the Holy Grail Moose Milk Sam was dressed almost like a cowboy version of Batman without the cape and mask. The big, floppy hat, and flowing long coat made up the difference though. He was also heavily armed […]

Release

It had been nearly a century since the fall. He didn’t think he’d had a sense of time while his soul was being seared in its fiery crucible, but he had been aware of the passing of every day, every hour, and even the tiniest second of torture, shame, and regret. That it had taken […]

Living Memories

Samvel and Samuel had a lot more in common than just their names. Sitting together at a table outside a small Parisian cafe, the former sipped his coffee, and the latter put another cube of sugar into his steaming beverage. “I hear Israel is considering recognition of the Armenian deaths.” “I certainly hope so. Ours […]

Rusty and Me

The thieves took everything except the dog. Of course there was a good reason for it. The dog was armed. “What the hell were you thinking? Our stuff. They took all our stuff. What kind of watchdog are you, anyway?” The small, cigar smoking mutt in the body armor took another pull from his fifth […]

The Dragon’s Library

It was a dream come true. Somehow, along with all of the children, a library had been brought from her world into the dragon city in the trees. Nine-year-old Paris walked inside with a solemnness usually reserved for a holy place, like the synagogue her parents took her to in Prague when she was six. […]

Decision

“No, I don’t want you to try to heal it. I want the imp weak and helpless.” It had been several days since Dani and Paris found the tiny demon unconscious in a nearby wooded avenue. Thanks to Paris’s book and Dani’s tutoring, Mandy’s knowledge of how to use the local tree bark, roots, and other […]

What the Gull Saw

The news from Florence said, “After a three-year-long restoration, Renaissance master Piero della Francesca’s Resurrection can once again be admired in its original glory.” Yes, it had taken that long for the painting to be restored, but at the same time, it was also being copied. What was being admired at the civic museum in Sansepolcro, […]