James Pyles's Blog, page 153

The President’s Ill-Fated Proposal

President Lincoln’s Secretary of State William Henry Seward stood at what was called the Temple of the God of Wind at Tulum gazing northeast over the waters toward the island of Corzumel. Mexican President Benito Juarez summarily dismissed Lincoln’s proposal for American freed slaves to be relocated to that small bit of land off the […]

Desperate Attack

“A child needs a grandparent, anybody’s grandparent, to grow a little more securely into an unfamiliar world.” –Charles and Ann Morse The elevator was rocketing downward so fast, Keisha thought she was going into free fall and grabbed the ornate wood and ivory safety bars that were attached halfway up the walls. Forcing panic and […]

Police Pursuit

Some people don’t believe in heroes, but they haven’t met my Grandpa. –Anonymous Keisha sat frozen in the pilot’s seat of the airship Graceful Delight as the image of her Grandpa, forty years younger than the day he died, stood like a living apparition just ten feet in front of her. “Did you hear me? […]

The Forest

The Beginning of the Saga of the Davidson Children Five children abruptly found themselves at night in a dark forest being drenched during a thunderstorm. “Mandy! What happened? Where’s Mom and Dad?” Thirteen-year-old Amanda Davidson felt panic rise her chest. Where were her brothers and sisters? What happened to their parents? How did they get […]

Aerial Encounter

“Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.” –Alex Haley Keisha guided, or so she thought, the ornately decorated airship “Graceful Delight” out of the gigantic hanger set upon a massive floating derrick just off of Alameda. However she was about to discover there’s a difference between reading and memorizing instructions, and […]

The Family I Never Knew Before

“What’s that, Grandpa?” “Just stuff for the tourists, Jimmy. Come along.” Above his Dad’s wishes, eleven-year-old Jimmy’s first meeting with his Grandpa included a visit to the Rez at Pine Ridge. Dad left home when he was sixteen, joined the Air Force, got married, had a son, and never looked back. But eventually it was […]

The Retreat

“You’re building a cabin here, Grandpa? Why?” “There’s nothing here, Cece. I’ll have that wreck up top demolished and put my cabin there.” The eleven-year-old still couldn’t understand. “But no electricity, plumbing, or wifi? Yikes.” “Solar will provide electricity, and the water and sewage lines run this far out. No wifi’s the point” “I’d die.” […]

The Adventure Begins!

“Every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers.” –Lewis Mumford Fifteen-year-old Keisha Davis sat on the concrete steps of the dilapidated warehouse with tears streaking her face. Her Grandpa’s journal was resting in her lap as she read the same paragraph over and over. “I’ll never forget the first time I […]

Rejection Newbie

Hi, James, [Story Title] was well received here, but we have decided it’s not quite what we’re looking for in the [name of publication/anthology]. Thanks for submitting it to us, and best of luck with finding a good market for it. [Name of Editor] Dear James, Thank you for sending us [Story Title]. We appreciate […]

A Face or a Mask?

Actors are so good at changing their faces, their voices, even their bodies as they leap from one role to the other, but you can never tell what’s really going on behind their eyes. What is a portrait? A photo? A drawing? It certainly isn’t an image of the soul. They say the eyes are […]