Wim Mertens - Close Cover

Tuesday's Tales - Ruthless

Welcome to Tuesday's Tales! This week's prompt is the word "ruthless". Eric and his sweetie are enjoying the post-holiday snow, and he has a surprise for her.

To read the rest of the stories by some fine authors, visit the Tuesday's Tales Web Site.

It snowed the second day of 2015. Eric and I holed up in our house, blind to the world with no internet or TV since cable had gone out – but that didn't stop him from surprising me. We had stoked the fire in the fireplace, and he brought out powder he tossed onto the flames to make them change color. The man always had something fun to do up his sleeve.

He had gone outside to shovel the snow from around the car and take it for a drive so it didn't freeze up. I had been roasting a leg of lamb, steaming asparagus spears, and making oyster stew when he walked in, stomping the snow from his boots.

"Is it cold out there?" I called from the kitchen. I couldn't see him in the living room from my vantage point by the stove.

"What do you think?" He laughed.

"I have hot cocoa ready for us. It'll warm you right up."

"Give me a few minutes to get out of these clothes. They're a tad wet."

I stirred the oyster stew while he rummaged in our bedroom. As usual, Eric made a lot of noise. I glanced out the kitchen windows. The snow floated down from a gray sky. Cars, the roads, the sidewalks, trees, bushes, and grass were covered in a blanket of white shimmering flakes. Seeing it made me want to put on the Christmas music again.

He came into the kitchen wearing his favorite pair of tattered eggshell-colored sweats and a long, thick cream sweater. If he fell into the snow, I'd never find him in all that white. Eric had a talent for blending into his surroundings that ceased the moment he opened his mouth.

I handed him a steaming mug of hot cocoa, and he used the mug to warm his cold hands.

"It's brisk out there. Would be a lot colder if wind was blowing."

"Want to sit in front of the fire? The stew can simmer on its own for awhile. The lamb and asparagus are almost ready."

"I'd love to, but first –" A wicked grin crossed his face. "I have a surprise for you."

"What kind of surprise?"

"A good one." He sat his mug on the counter and took me by the hand. He tugged, wanting me to leave the kitchen. He led me towards the bedroom. I imagined he wanted to get it on in the middle of the afternoon. Thankfully, I had turned on the electric blanket that morning. The bed would be toasty warm.

"Are you horny again?" I asked with a smirk.

"Of course I am. I'm always horny for you, but that's not the surprise."

"What is it?"

"You have to guess."

"Aw, c'mon. Have pity on me."

"Nope." He stuck out his lower lip in a fake pout.

"You're ruthless, you know that?"

"It's one of my best qualities." He said with a big grin.

"Is it a new sweater to make up for the ugly Christmas sweater my aunt gave me?"

"That one certainly was ugly, wasn't it? Purple reindeer on a red background? My eyes, my eyes!" He laughed. "No, it's not a sweater, but it will keep you warm."

"Is it bigger than a breadbox?"

"No. It fits inside a breadbox."

"You bought me sourdough?" I giggled.

"No, silly, although I know you love sourdough."

We stood outside the bedroom with its closed door. We never kept the doors closed in the house. Our cat Lucky scratched at the rug, wanting into his favorite room.

"Why's the door closed?" I asked.

"Take a guess what the surprise is, and I'll open the door."

"I haven't a clue. You bought me sex toys."

"Now why would I buy you sex toys when you get them free to review?"

I knitted my brows. He really had me in a quandary. "Hmmm… is it food?"

"No."

"Give me a hint."

"It's furry."

"You bought me a fur coat?"

"No. It's more fun than a fur coat. And I brought you two of them. I didn't buy them."

I heard shuffling from inside the room. Lucky was beside himself, wanting to get inside.

"What on earth do you have in there?" I asked.

"Well, since Lucky wants in so badly, I'll open the door." Before he could turn the knob, the most adorable, high-pitched wail came from the other side of that door. When I realized what it was, he swung the door open and grinned.

"Surprise! Do you like them?"

Sitting on the bed were the tiniest and most adorable long-haired black kittens I had ever seen. They tumbled upon each other, chewing on anything they could get into their mouths. The blanket. The box they came in. Each other. Lucky jumped on the bed, and they hissed, which sounded like air being let out of a balloon. He only looked at them, nosed their faces, meowed, and walked to his favorite spot on the bed. He normally went to sleep about this time, but he was too busy watching those kittens to bother to get some shut-eye.

I scooped one ball of fluff in my hands and cooed at it. A pair of crystal blue eyes stared back at me. I held it to my face and it bit my nose.

"You are ruthless, making me guess! And you had me going for awhile."

"I knew I could."

"They're adorable! How old are they?" I was beside myself. I had wanted some new life in the house for some time. Besides, our other cats needed playmates.

"Ten weeks. I guy at work's cat had kittens and he was giving them away. I couldn’t resist. We'd talked about adding to our menagerie, so I took full advantage."

"Good, you didn't go to a breeder. I like them home-grown or from a shelter."

"I was going to go to a shelter originally until Brian told me about the kittens. There were five in the litter and those two always played together so he wanted to give them away as a pair."

I threw my arms around Eric and gave him a bear hug so hard I could have lifted him off the ground. "I love you so much! They're wonderful. What are we going to name them?"

"How about Hannibal and Clarice?" He grinned.

"I don't think so."

"Leopold and Loeb?"

"Nope." I thought about it for a few seconds. "How about Scarlett and Rhett?"

"You name them whatever you want to name them. I got them for you."

"Oh, I don't know yet. Let's get to know them first, and then their names will naturally come to us."

"That sounds like a great idea. They must be starving. I bought cat food, a cat water fountain, and catnip."

"Oooh, catnip. Let's dope them up and then feed them."

"Probably should feed them first before they get stoned."

"True."

"What did you buy?"

"Purina. They probably want Thompson's gazelle in a can but no one sold that."

We took the two kittens to the kitchen and gave each of them their own new bowls filled with chicken and ocean whitefish in sauce. Of course, since we fed them, Lucky begged for his own bowl. He got an extra meal, and all of us were happy.

Tuesday's Tales - Champagne, Pine, And A Present

Welcome to Tuesday's Tales. This week's story is based on a picture prompt - pictured above. Champagne, pine, and a present. I'm limited to 300 words.

To read the rest of the stories by some fine authors, visit the Tuesday's Tales Web Site.

-----

Peppermint and pine scent

Candles lighting up the room.

Eric and I

Champagne

Presents

Under the Christmas tree

New Year's Eve

The two of us alone, by a roaring fire.

Drinking wassail.

Surrounded by gifts of love and thoughtfulness.

He steals a kiss.

I steal a nuzzle.

Promises of adventure and affection in 2015.

No resolutions.

Only a desire to live life to the fullest.

Let's make a toast.

New Acceptances for 2015

I'm doing the happy dance! My family saga/thriller novel "Secrets and Lies" has been accepted by Eldritch Press for publication. It will be divided into two books, and I shall receive a $1,000 advance. I'm very psyched. That makes two publications so far for 2015:

1. "Like A Breath Of Ocean Blue" - Best Lesbian Romance 2015 - Cleis Press - to be released in late winter. Here's where you may pre-order Best Lesbian Romance 2015.

2. "Secrets and Lies - family saga/thriller - Eldritch Press - release date undetermined, but coming soon.

I'll post more updates as I get them. I'm also waiting to hear about other submissions, so I'm on the edge of my seat. :)

Welcoming In 2015

I love this time of year. It's a time for baking, putting up the tree, getting out the menorah, and playing holiday music on the radio. I also play our traditional Christmas movies, which are the following:

Die Hard

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

Silent Night, Deadly Night

Black Christmas

We're No Angels

Various incarnations of A Christmas Carol

Dead End

I haven't been writing much lately, but I have taken an assessment of my year. All in all, it was a good one.

It's good to take a yearly assessment to see if you reached your goals, or achieved ones you hadn't planned on. As my readers know, I write both erotic romances and dark fiction. I either published or saw accepted six short stories this year – three romances and three dark ones. I also succeeded in getting my first short story accepted by Cleis Press. I've been trying to get into Cleis for years, and I finally succeeded. Here's a list:

Dreadful Dissonance – dark fiction

Asphodel – dark fiction

Infection – dark fiction (antho coming in 2015)

Longing – erotic romance

Sleep Well, My Love – erotic m/m romance

Like A Breath Of Ocean Blue – erotic lesbian romance (this is the one accepted by Cleis Press. Will be published in 2015.)

Three of my novels are currently sitting at either publishers or agents waiting for an acceptance. Two are erotic romances and one is a family saga/thriller.

I didn't get into all the anthologies I had wanted to get into, but I'm satisfied with how I did. My goals for 2015 are to get at least six short stories published (either horror or romance, doesn't matter as long as I have a minimum of six), find homes for those novels, do more radio shows, and self-publish my new book of erotic fairy tales. I've already started finding guests for the radio shows. Two I'm hoping to snag would be fantastic guests, but I'll keep their names under wraps for now. That list doesn't sound like much, but it's actually more than enough. 

So that was my 2014. Many publishers are closed for submissions for the season, and I'm taking full advantage. There are a couple of anthology calls due by the end of January so I'll try to whip us something for them. Look for more fiction from me in 2015. 

How did you do in 2014? Did you meet your goals? What about 2015? What are you goals for the coming year? Do you make goals or do you prefer to wing it?

Happy holidays, everyone, and have a fantastic New Year.

Tuesday's Tales - Dance

Welcome to Tuesday's Tales! This week's prompt is the word "dance". Eric and his sweetie are enjoying the Christmas season.

To read the rest of the stories by some fine authors, visit the Tuesday's Tales Web Site.

-----

I held up a plastic reindeer. "This one is Dancer. I wonder if Santa called him Dancer because he could dance?"

"In that case, why was that other one called Vixen?" Eric asked.

I smacked him on the arm, and he only laughed at me. We stood in the living room decorating the tree. I had spread open the drapes so we could see the snow falling outside. So festive. I placed the reindeer ornament on a branch of the blue spruce. We bought a real tree as we did every year, but this year we splurged on a blue spruce. It set us back $60 but we felt the expense was worth the Christmas cheer.

Most of the Christmas ornaments were mine. Eric's ornaments came from a tattered box he found in Walmart, and he wasn't emotionally attached to them. Mine were old, and they held special significance for me.

Eric held up a terra cotta ball with turquoise embedded in the clay. "Where did you get this one? It looks Southwestern."

"It is. I bought it in Tucson, Arizona the first time I went there."

"I'll take you to Tucson someday. Then you can buy more Christmas ornaments."

"We need to plan that trip." He handed me the ornament, which took a place of honor at eye level on the tree.

He held up an orange plastic ball with string tassels hanging from it. "What's this one?"

"It's Korean. I've had it since I was a child. My Korean pen pal sent it to me."

"You never told me you had a pen pal."

"Never came up in conversation. She sent me ginseng tea, and I sent her Hershey's chocolates. I got the better deal." I took the ornament and placed it on the tree. "This was one decoration she sent me. I have two others in the box somewhere. They aren't Christmas ornaments, but I use them that way."

"It's very pretty." He held up a ceramic Santa. "I know who this guy is."

"I love that ornament. It's hollow with a hole in the bottom. You stick a Christmas light in there and the tree lights it up. Here, like this." I took the ornament, positioned it directly above a twinkling light, and shoved the light home. "See? Instant lit up Santa."

He gave me a smirk when he held up a dark figure of a goat with its tongue hanging out. "So you have a Krampus ornament? Does your Christian mother know?"

"She'd never understand it, and I don't have the patience to explain it to her." I laughed.

"Oh, boy, now you sold me." He said as he held up a large plastic one with lights all over it. "A Klingon war bird? Do you have the others?"

"Yup. I have the Enterprise and a Romulan vessel." I took the Klingon ship and hung it from a branch. Then, I removed the light from the string directly below the ornament and plugged the ornament into the string. Instantly, the war bird's lights flashed at the corners and on the top.

"That is the coolest thing I've ever seen. Where did you find them?"

"At a Star Trek convention. I couldn’t pass them up."

"I don't blame you. I have the Enterprise, but not the whole set."

"They're great fun. Every time people see them I get comments."

"What about these guys?" He held up a small Siamese, a Persian, and a Tuxedo. "Is this the Crazy Cat Lady starter kit?"

"Now you're just being silly." I took the ornaments from him and scattered them about the branches. Then I pointed to an oblong box inside the larger box of lights and ornaments. "Hey, hand that box to me, please."

He held it up and his face lit up. "I love these kinds of lights. They've made a comeback recently."

"I know. Bubble lights are the best." I plugged in the bubble lights to the end of the string of twinkling lights. They immediately shined green, red, and blue. I positioned them on the sturdier branches so that they would be easily seen. "They'll take a few minutes to begin bubbling. My best friend's family had glass bubble lights on their tree when I was a kid, so when I saw them for sale about ten years ago I had to have them. These are plastic, but I like not breaking one every two seconds."

Eric pulled a small box from the larger one. "I remember these. This one is a dragon. They're very cool looking."

"They're replicas of carousel horses from the Smithsonian Institution. I have the zebra, dragon, and warrior horse. I've always wanted the cat, but I never got around to buying it."

"Well, in that case…" Eric dug into the box until he reached the bottom. He handed a gold and silver wrapped box to me. "Open this."

I was surprised. How did he hide this box with all my other ornaments, and I didn't see it? The box was the same size, shape, and weight as the dragon box. My heart skipped a beat. "You didn't."

He grinned. "I did."

I tore open the paper until I saw the box beneath. Inside I found an ornament of a white cat running with a fish in its mouth. "Where did you find this? I've had these since the '90s, and I've never seen them anywhere for sale."

"eBay is my friend." He said with a smile.

"And you knew I wanted it!" I wrapped my arms around Eric and held him tightly. "You always know exactly what I need."

"Well, I don't know if you need the cat ornament, but you sure wanted it."

I kissed him. "You're perfect for me. Thank you."

"I'd do anything to please you. You know that."

We finished decorating the tree and then sat down to a lamb and asparagus dinner. With the tree lit, "Silent Night" playing on Internet radio, and a delicious dinner, I couldn't have asked for a better holiday season. All thanks to Eric and his love for me.

Walking In The Air (The Snowman) - Instrumental

As played by George Winston on piano.