Author: ireneallison12

Editor Picks, General Fiction, Humour, Latest News, Short Fiction

Week 501: Rage! Rage! Rage! Five Rave-Worthy Tales; Short Books Long on Story

ireneallison12

Rage!!!

But before I explode, I want to thank David Henson for his post last week (and I think he should return with more in the future). Guest posting is not going to be a one off, so who knows, maybe you will be invited to do the same. Now on with the show, as it is.

*****

Everyday I count my blessings then give Heaven the Finger. I took accounting in school (for one semester) and learned the credit/debit system, which I use to total my physical blessings versus the “other stuff” in my existence. The other stuff is made up mostly of new conditions/diseases they give you and charge your insurance for at doctors, ophthalmologists, dentists and Medieval Barbers.

Continue reading “Week 501: Rage! Rage! Rage! Five Rave-Worthy Tales; Short Books Long on Story” →
Short Fiction

Literally Reruns-The Devil You Don’t Know by Dave Henson

ireneallison12

Dealing with The Fallen One is one of the oldest story ideas in the book, and yet it still can be fresh. Longtime site friend and contributor, David Henson proves that with a doozy of a new angle in his The Devil You Don’t Know.

Continue reading “Literally Reruns-The Devil You Don’t Know by Dave Henson” →
All Stories, Editor Picks, General Fiction, Short Fiction

Week 498: Not So Instant Karma; Two Special Announcements and the Week That Is

ireneallison12

The Wheel Grinds Patiently

In 1968, at the age of nine, I allowed a classmate we will call “Louise Haas” (not her real name, but close) to get a lecture for something I did. The offense was cussing. It was recess and I had told someone to “eat shit” or something of that third-gradely nature, unaware that the playground monitor was in earshot.

Continue reading “Week 498: Not So Instant Karma; Two Special Announcements and the Week That Is” →
Literally Reruns, Short Fiction

Literally Reruns – 4 Bars by Hugh Cron

ireneallison12

One of the great benefits of the rerun feature is that it can keep a story alive. We often have a story as a rerun more than once–with a year or so between minimum. Such is the way it is with Four Bars by Hugh Cron. It is one of his very best and it is extremely intricate and personal and always worth visiting.

Continue reading “Literally Reruns – 4 Bars by Hugh Cron” →
All Stories, Editor Picks, General Fiction, Latest News, Short Fiction

Week 496: End of Days Jobs

ireneallison12

Walter Orthmann died at age one-hundred-two this month. He holds the known world record for most years working for one employer. Mr. Orthmann labored at a Brazilian textile plant from 1938 to 2022; from age sixteen to an even hundred. Eighty four years.

Continue reading “Week 496: End of Days Jobs” →
Short Fiction

The Great God Pan By Arthur Machen/Auld

ireneallison12

Published in 1894, Arthur Machen’s novella The Great God Pan was declared immoral by many reviewers of the time. It has survived and was partially responsible for the idea of hidden dimensions behind reality. A world of monsters. HP Lovecraft was a colleague of Machen’s and they shared the same interest in that notion, which continues to influence modern day writers such as Stephen King.

Continue reading “The Great God Pan By Arthur Machen/Auld” →
All Stories, Editor Picks, General Fiction, Short Fiction

Week 494: Mendacity; Come Home Rutherford B. Hayes; Cool Stories to Beat the Heat; Health Tonics

ireneallison12

Mendacity and RBH

Ostriches do not stick their heads in the sand to avoid the Awful Truth. That mendacity has been around since Roman times and should be purged from the metaphor store. Only people behave that way, and when an animal does the same, you can rest assured that she/he is only mocking you.

Continue reading “Week 494: Mendacity; Come Home Rutherford B. Hayes; Cool Stories to Beat the Heat; Health Tonics” →
All Stories, Editor Picks, Short Fiction

Week 492: Parental Wisdom; August Reading; Food and Fodder

ireneallison12

Parental Guidance

There’s one bit of advice that my late father gave me when I was too young to scrutinize advice, yet it remains something I’ve neither forgotten nor defied: “Don’t eat canned stewed tomatoes.”

Continue reading “Week 492: Parental Wisdom; August Reading; Food and Fodder” →
Fantasy, Humour, Short Fiction

It Had to Be Ewe by Leila Allison

ireneallison12

-1-

Beezer and Barkevious claim to be brothers. That’s unlikely in the physical sense–Beezer is a British Bulldog and Barkevious is a Scottish Terrier; but nowadays you can be anything you want to be until you try to buy life insurance. Then again, since they are talking Dogs who live in the make-believe realm of Saragun Springs, such a claim remains possible. Regardless, the boys were wandering the realm’s countryside sniffing for rancid stuff to roll in when they saw Conrad the Blackface Ram headed their way.

Continue reading “It Had to Be Ewe by Leila Allison” →