Charmaine's caller ID appeared on my phone. "Hi," I said. "Hey, Dave. I hope I'm not calling at an inappropriate time," she apologized in advance. "Not at all." I was already curious what this call was about. "I'm so glad to hear that. Something's going w...
"Do you remember Cinderella?" Charmaine asked. We were in her house again; she'd called and asked me to come over. It was still an odd thing to know the Fairy Queen was living in our modern world, in a small but mostly modern house, driving a car. "Ehm. I...
Somehow, Charmaine always seemed to know when I wasn't doing much. "Dave. Can you come over?" "To your place?" "Of course, dumb dumb." She hung up. It only took me twenty minutes to get to her tiny house at the edge of town. I never understood how she man...
Once upon a time, on a Saturday morning in the village of Wickware, Allison Crowley made breakfast for her husband and her neighbor, Duke Scoggins. Duke was her husband's best friend. He was an asshole at times, but mostly, he was a jerk. Duke got off on...
Once upon a time, in a castle far, far away, a little baby girl named Daisy was born. She had three siblings, Roy, nine, Iris, eight, and Genevieve, six. Daisy was the little doll of them all, and as any doll, when they got too tired to play with her, th...
Sunshine sparkled over a fairytale sea. Sails of red, blue and yellow glided in serene dance, measured by the same gentle breeze that played over Lacie's dress as she reclined on her favourite grassy down. From its slope high over the water, she saw in th...
The rumble snapped Fauna’s attention ― horse hooves pounding into hardened earth. She cautiously peered down from her cave; a cliffside hideaway perched more than ten meters above the forest floor. A golden misty glow surrounded four horsemen who came to...
Surely love’s magic would rouse his children from their cursed sleep. But no princess had yet stirred Prince Fredrick. Likewise, no prince had awakened Princess Aurora. The king desperately needed a woke heir. Reluctantly, he turned to Prince Bryan and Pr...
The man staggered along the Grassmarket. The area below the Castle battlements was thronged with crowds on a rare sunny Saturday afternoon in Edinburgh. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. His hair was dishevelled, sticking up as if he’d stuck his fi...
“You are pregnant,” the physician barely whispered. The news struck like lightning, stunning Jeena for a few seconds before the implications hit her like a roar of thunder. She burst out laughing, frightening the middle-aged woman. “Do not worry,” the que...
The third prince was young. Never having initiated a virgin, Jeena thought it could be fun teaching him and molding him to be the husband she wanted. What he lacked in skill could be made up in stamina and enthusiasm until the skill was taught. The queen...
The search for a husband continued. Widely-traveled, Geoffrey promised more exotic pleasures. Would he just be a plaything for the queen’s amusement, or could he become a true partner? The queen hid the bon vivant in the head cook’s quarters. The chef did...
The Queen of Lushland knew she needed an heir, so she needed a stud. Would it be the exotic stallion with strength and experience, the worldly mustang with hedonistic temptations, or the trainable colt with devotion and aspirations? Would her heart, mind,...
It was a setting where he really should have known better, but nonetheless the prince insisted in generally referring to peasant women as baggage when he was out on his carriage rides. It was only a matter of time before one turned out to be a witch. Afte...
Zee walked into the bar like she owned it. Like she owned it and wanted to burn it down. She strode over to the pretty, green-eyed bartender without acknowledging the five men gawking at her."Where is she?" Zee demanded."You know, if you gave me your cell...
