A fly almost disappears up my nose and I fail to sneeze
John PolidoriChapter 3 in a proposed historical fantasy, The Death of John Polidori.Previous chapter. The door creaked as it cautiously edged inwards. The door had always creaked, but if any door creaked eerily, it was this one. I was often woken in the early hours of the morning by the door singing on its hinges. And …
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Escape Velocity: Chapter 1 – Moonlake
Dan WildTales from the Outer Rim: Book 3 They filed out of the hall, bustling with excitement. A bearded young man in hipster jeans, brows furrowed, chatted to a young Sirian woman, who gave him her full attention. Everyone gives Zeen Crawdex their full attention. Crawdex looked around as if someone had called his name, or …
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The Human Factor: Greene’s existential world of espionage
Dan Wild“A crumb could contain a microdot.” (129) The first Graham Greene book I read, Our Man in Havana (1958), followed the adventures of a vacuum cleaner salesman after being recruited by British Intelligence (and his increasingly outlandish ways of meeting their expectations). The Human Factor is decidedly less light-hearted, but no less a solid read. …
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Making the Amazing Meals of Martha Maloney
Dan WildOver twenty years in the making (about the time it takes for me to chop up veggies) and my first children’s book has been released. It was written with my author mother and illustrator “Aunty” Donna, who have both been big influences on my creative upbringing. The genesis of Martha goes back to my high …
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Rocket Science: Chapter 12 – Party of four
Dan WildPrevious Chapter Back in his quarters, Chuck Marley sat down and introduced Gaston Dimble and the Zorgon. The cleaning droid had attempted to tidy his room again. Pickle stains from the Betelgeuse Burgers remained, as did a couple of potato chips. “Do you have a name?” Marley asked the Zorgon.“No. On Zorge only the Guardian …
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Rocket Science: Chapter 11 – The art of the loan
Dan WildPrevious Chapter As Chuck Marley entered the office of Binary Loans he noticed the strapline above the door: ‘We Have Your Interest in Mind’ He strolled in, not over confident, but confident enough to attract the attention of the Octomaid on reception. She batted her long eyelashes. Female Octomaids were generally very social and took …
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Rocket Science: Chapter 10 – Snooze button
Dan WildPrevious Chapter When the alarm went off Marley pushed the snooze button. The alarm buzzed half an hour later. Again Marley pushed snooze. One of the great advantages of modern technology was its adaptability. On the verge of the third millennium alarm clocks were installed with memory chips, so after about two weeks your bedside …
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Rocket Science: Chapter 9 – In denial
Dan WildPrevious Chapter The VT was playing hits of the 2670s. Chuck Marley had fallen asleep. Gaston Dimble was relishing the opportunity to study a rare historical document. The closest he had come to anything like this was when the curator of the Cretan Museum allowed him to glance at Harvard Akbar’s geological survey, Asteroidal Tendencies, …
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Rocket Science: Chapter 8 – Man of perfect proportions
Dan WildPrevious Chapter When Gaston Dimble stumbled into Marley’s condo, he immediately began tucking into the leftover popcorn chicken. Marley had ordered a bowl of all varieties to entice the historian. He could never work out what Dimble loved more, food or books. Gaston’s first degree was in very ancient history. But if one was to …
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Rocket Science: Chapter 7 – No sleeping in the library
Dan WildPrevious Chapter He climbed the stairs, two at a time and hovered within the lobby. From here he could see the backs of people on the endless steps. Others stood with hand above head, blocking out the artificial sunlight. The Great Library claimed to house the biggest collection of databases in the Orion Arm. Marley …
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