Six Sentence Sunday

From "Water Wheel" in Storm Moon's Devout anthology:

 Rhys' long fingers dug into the ground, and Leo imagined them pressing against flesh instead of dirt. He jumped when his long-forgotten philosophy book slid from his lap to the floor. A smile quirked one corner of his mouth. God certainly had ways of reminding him.

 He'd suffered from the ordinary temptations, and the hot blood of youth had cooled in its time. He was no decadent, as was the Spanish Pope, to sire sons into his fifties in defiance of his vows.

Fictional Pets

Pets came up today in a discussion and I got to thinking about how seldom I write them.

Showdown at Yellowstone River has a couple of Dogs. The T muse, here Matt Court, always likes dogs.

Edward Kilsby, (another T muse) in Curse of the Pharoah's Manicurists has a pack of foxhounds and enjoys their company. He also has two horses, Oscar and Jamilla. Oscar is his horse, a temperamental stallion and Jamilla is a more placid mare. Charlie can hand

Ruvane Delkroy, in "For Love of Etarin" has a kitkin. These are domestic felines that remain kittenish their whole lives. We joke that it's the brains of the outfit, but there is some evidence that Furball may be sentient. 

I have a gunslinger who has a riding bird in Adventuresses.

There was talk of a sequel to Shell-shocked and a tripod kitten for the boys.

That's it. Most of my novel characters don't have pets of any sort.


In the Eight Thrones 'verse, James Ligatos does not allow pets. He's a cynophobe, terrified of dogs. He's also semi-observantly Jewish, so typical household pets are not allowed in his home.

David would have an obnoxious floofy cat, and spoil it rotten. And lecture it about bad behavior. Instead he collects replicas of David statues and Mapplethorpe prints. 

Tanis would have a habitrail with a couple of rats and Steven would indulge her. She'd teach them tricks and Steven would jokingly complain the wheel keeps him up nights.

 Valerio might have a doberman, who looks utterly fierce, and can be, but really thinks he's a big lap dog. Because a doberman is a working breed and needs a lot of activity to be happy, he and Val would go for runs every day along the river front

Nick understand he IS a pet and wouldn't want one.

My Sexy Saturday: Sexy Today

This week’s theme is Sexy Today. We all have our idea of sexy and it means so much more than it did fifty years ago. Sexy can be any age and many are saying that being in your 50s is the new 40s because people live longer, love longer and enjoy a quality of life longer like no other time before. This week is all about being sexy today no matter what your age.


From "Showdown at Yellowstone River."

Buy link

Your Seven Sexy Paragraphs:

He broached the subject that had been preying on his mind since he'd met her. It loomed ever larger as the days passed and their wedding date drew no nearer. “Surprised some young man isn't trying his best to make you happy.” He stroked her hair. “I'm not sure what you see in an old man like me.”

Paz stared into the fire so long that Matt checked her face to see if she was asleep. “I'm not young, Matt. There was a young man, once. A long time ago.” Her low voice sounded sad. He'd heard her happy and aroused and coldly furious and irritated, but never sad.

“Dead?” he asked, kissing her neck.

She nodded. “Gunned down six months after we married. He was a shop clerk, in the wrong place at the wrong time during a hold-up. Out around Carson City, there aren't many ways for a young widow woman to live that don't entail selling yourself to one old rich man or a dozen less rich ones. I didn't like my choices, so I quit being a woman.”

“And you don't mind this old man looking out for you?”

She looked up at him. “Not a bit. If you don't mind a cantankerous old woman with guns sharing your bed.”

“Not a lick.” He tipped her mouth in closer and brushed his lips over it. “In fact, I love her.” He swallowed and added, “I asked you once, in too much haste, if you'd marry me. You said no. I'm asking again. Paz, I want you to be Jane Court before Christmas comes.”


The other Sexy People:

Six Sentence Sunday

We're going to try this alphabetically.
By anthology title. I'm not alphabetizing 80 short stories.

A Dark Roasted Christmas is our first.
"One gift at a time" was my contribution.  It's Steven and Tanis together at Christmas, an Eight Thrones short.

There is no Buy Link.



Steven felt the edges of the frame through the wrapping paper. He eased the tape open, teasing, until Tanis nearly bounced with excitement. Steven gave her a wicked grin and shredded the colorful paper away with a swipe of his massive hand.

A painting of him, dressed as Othello, seated and brooding, stared back. Tanis chewed her lip, waiting. He smiled.