James Pyles's Blog, page 97
January 16, 2019
Lepers: A Short Story Review
I became aware of author Keyan Bowes‘s short story Lepers when I received it as part of the latest newsletter from Mysterion Magazine. Since I’m interested in having at least one of my short stories published by that periodical, I thought it might be a good idea to see what they think is acceptable fare. […]
January 15, 2019
The Minor Goddess
“Well, it’s about damn time.” She was more provocative than beautiful, though her piercing brown eyes, dark chestnut-colored hair, and burgundy-painted lips were definitely alluring. She was leaning over her tucked in legs, the skirt of her short, deep, Prussian blue dress hiked up, revealing ample, pale-skinned thighs and just a little more besides…and she […]
Birth of a Science Fiction Horror Story
I’m currently creating a story for an open submissions at Zombie Pirate Publishing called “Full Metal Horror 2,” a sequel to last year’s anthology, which by the way is doing fabulously, both in seller’s rank and reviews at Amazon. Anyway, I’m creating the tale more or less from scratch (it is very, very loosely based […]
Quoting: Feel Secure In Your Value
A king arose in the middle of the night and fixed the wick of a lamp to prevent it from extinguishing. His subjects asked him, “Why did you not ask us to do it?” “I was the king when I arose, and I was still the king when I went back to sleep,” he replied. […]
January 14, 2019
Quoting: Reassess Your Value
Low self-image usually forms at an early age. A person might have had excessively critical parents or teachers, failed to get along well with other children, or received low marks in school. Though this attitude was formed long ago, the only reason it lasts in the present is because a person now keeps repeating it […]
January 13, 2019
Quoting: Get Up and Continue
There is a very serious mistake that many people make when they think about the perfection of the great scholars and righteous people of the past. They focus solely on the end result of all the years these great people spent working on themselves and overlook the conflicts they had to overcome. The impression is […]
January 12, 2019
The Last Invader
Twenty-seven-year-old Alicia Vasquez rapidly manipulated the keyboard in front of her at the cybercafé in Mumbai, not far from Mahim Bay. She’d left Ranbir at a local cinema watching that superhero movie while she arranged for the two of them to join the next Chadar Trek. The fellow who’d died of a heart attack a […]
Quoting: Don’t Identify with your Possessions
When your property or possessions sustain some damage or loss, work on yourself to accept the Almighty’s judgment with love. Realize you were born without any belongings, and you will eventually leave the world without belongings. You need not identify with your possessions since they are not an integral part of you. Sources: Raishis Chochmah […]
January 11, 2019
Out of the Ashes of Avalon
I’m aware of the name Marion Zimmer Bradley because, if you read science fiction and fantasy at all, that name comes up quite a bit. That said, to the best of my knowledge, I don’t believe I’ve read any of her works, including her arguably best known novel The Mists of Avalon. Although rumors of […]
Update on the “World War Four” Anthology
Remember a few days ago when I announced that one of my short stories was going to be published in Zombie Pirate Publishing’s anthology World War Four? The accompanying graphic stated that there would be a “Special Guest” author’s work included in the project. Late yesterday (in my time zone), Adam and Sam at ZPP posted […]
