Khalik sat for a moment, then bounced out of his seat, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll invite him for tomorrow! Tell Maryam to cook the best dishes and find something to wear.” Lyra rolled her eyes. “He said next week. If you invite him tomorrow, he’ll think you’re too stupid to understand time. Besides, he’s …
The older woman peered at her over her glasses. “There are two things I wanted to discuss with you. The first is Christos. The subject, the true subject, of his term assignment has been brought to my attention. I’ve told him to change it or fail and be subject to disciplinary action. I will not …
A writing exercise around changing points of view within a scene. Marian looked around proudly. Her future daughter-in-law had done a wonderful job as always. The private function room at one of London’s top hotels was comfortably full of people chatting, laughing and enjoying the wonderful catering. It was a perfect engagement party. She turned …
A sequel of sorts to Unsettling Revelations Part 1 and Part 2. My Dearest Sebastian I do apologise for my delay in replying and for the bad news I’m afraid I must convey. I cannot invite you to town for the winter as we are not there. Well, when I say ‘we’, I mean ‘I’, …
“Lyra, where are you? Come here, we have a visitor.” Lyra looked up from her book and wondered if she could get away with snuffing the lamps in her room and pretending to be asleep. Khalik sounded drunk, again, and the friends he brought home were distasteful even when sober. Her door rattled, then bounced …
She was going to be late for class. Psyche saved the essay she’d been writing, stuffed her laptop in her bag, and grabbed the latest issue of Chic Obsession magazine from the coffee table as she ran. It had Eros’ latest photo shoot in there and she wanted to sit and drool over the glorious …
My dearest Mabel I simply had to put pen to page and fulfil my promise to you. Yes, dear friend, I have news to report, Lord Tristain has proposed! But not to me. No, he had to go down on one knee, in the middle of the Duchess of Southerton’s ball and beg for the …
As was tradition, Mila walked the boundaries of the family land on Midsummer’s Day. She’d never been quite sure which set she was meant to walk; the original, stretching several miles to encompass what were now three neighbouring farms and an artists’ retreat, or the current, which involved a quick turn around a generous back …
Cressida woke to golden sunlight and scrambled to dress. After days of grey, she would finally have the light she needed to paint. She left her room, still fastening her cloak against the likely outdoor chill as she walked down the corridor. Slipping out of the university’s sleeping quarters, she hurried down the colonnade to …
I'm starting a new round of One Day at a Thyme and drew 'swamp' as the location for my cottage. Yes, I live in a swamp, don't knock it till you've tried it. My cottage is set on a comfortably-sized hillock/island in the middle of the Everwhere Swamp on the eastern edge of Wayfair, which …
The DNA of Stories 