This
week I thought I would share with you a small sample of one of the literary stories
from my MIND SLICES short story
collection. Contrary to what some folks have argued on various lists in recent
weeks, a literary story does have a beginning, middle, and an end. At least mine
do. If you like what you see of this one, there are fifteen more tales in the
book ……
Obsession
She
crumpled the paper. The bill went into the back pocket of her torn black jeans
as she stared angrily at the house. Mr. Wonderful was occasionally visible
through the curtains that twitched in the breeze through the open window. Mark
was doing his number in there for the millionth time and the bills still didn’t
get paid. Now the power company had decided it was time for them to get paid or
the lights and everything would go off.
Midnight
to eight at the plant six nights a week, waitressing the seventh and all this
too. Lately, all Janet felt was anger toward everyone and everything in sight.
Her head pounded. She was so sick of living this way. Her eyes tracked back
across the dusty, dead lawn, back toward the paint-peeled house. A piece of
broken gutter lay in the half-dead bushes where it had fallen about a month
ago. Loose shingles flapped, threatening
to escape as their brethren had. There
was a plan to fix them, but that hadn’t happened either. The city had even been
out yesterday, citing them for one thing, then another. Can’t offend the
neighbors in the fancy-pantsy suburbs.
Through
the open window, the noise of the clacking computer keys drifted across the
yard to her. Why he had to have the computer make a noise like an old style
typewriter she didn’t know. He had been wonderful in the beginning. What had
been so cute way back when was now annoying. There he sat, in all his
beer-belly glory, poking along at yet another story. With only one sale in
twenty years of trying, and that one was years ago, you would have thought he’d
have figured out the situation. Instead, she was left to be sole provider and
parent as he sent his dreams out on paper. The years passed, the stories and projects
came back quicker than they went out, but he kept trying. If he had spent half
that energy and time getting a job that actually paid money, they could have
been rich.
Instead,
they were waiting for Lottery Liberation Day…..
Containing stories in various genres, the 16 tales are
available for $2.99 at the following sites….
Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/243655
Barnes and Noble’s NOOK http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mind-slices-kevin-tipple/1113576100?ean=2940044983076
Kevin
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