Category Archives: Features

Wednesday Briefs: May 24, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Broken Path, Starless Tail: Chapter Twelve by Cia Nordwell
 

“What do you know?” Valrinda asked.  

Beckett thought hard. It was only… yesterday? How could it only be yesterday with all that had happened? He’d been in the bathroom with Parallax in his arms, then in a freezing cold forest with that same cat, but somehow, he’d been completely different. “Well, Parallax said he was the embodiment of the Cosmos, not it’s guardian,” he pointed out.  

“And you think that the very fabric of space and time needs a physical being to not protect it?” One of Valrinda’s eye ridges went up.  

“Okay, fair point.” Beckett tried to think back

 

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Wednesday Briefs: May 17, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Broken Path, Starless Tail: Chapter Eleven by Cia Nordwell
 

“How come I know your name?”  

And he wanted to smack himself in the forehead. That was not the first question that Beckett actually wanted to ask. Or thought he should ask. Of course it was the first one that popped out. He tried to think back BTT or as his brain was already labeling it, Before The Touch, capitals all the way. Beckett stepped back. “You never said it, right?” He might as well find out.  

“I’m your guide.” Valrinda shuffled his weight on those huge clawed feet of his and then winced. “Why are you in so much

 
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Wednesday Briefs: May 10, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Bad Karma and the Family Plan #73 (15.2) by Julie Lynn Hayes

“Doesn’t it stand to reason that she would want to keep track of business emails as opposed to personal emails?” Ethan continued. We all nodded our agreement.

“So maybe she set those emails aside, put them into a separate folder, so she could find them easily?”

Told you my boy is brilliant.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Troy exclaimed. “I do that myself. I make a folder for each project and then just move relevant emails into that folder.” He moved the cursor over to the left side of the screen where all her folders were listed in alphabetical order. The question now was what would Miss Crazy Pants

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Wednesday Briefs: May 3, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Broken Path, Starless Tail: Chapter Ten by Cia Nordwell

Twin thumps outside rattled his tree, startling Beckett awake in his soft bed where he’d spent the best hours of sleep he’d had in weeks. He bolted up, looking around wildly. Then he collapsed back, groaning. He was still there. He’d slept so hard, dreamless for once, that he’d been sure he’d wake up in his own bed.

Not that this bed wasn’t tons better. His head wasn’t throbbing for once and his stomach wasn’t churning. He wasn’t even hungry. Other than being stuck in this dream, he was overall feeling pretty good.

“Come out, little human,” a voice boomed.

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Wednesday Briefs: April 26, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Bad Karma and the Family Plan #70 (15.1) by Julie Lynn Hayes

Hours later we were back at Ethan’s parents’ house. The agents were back in position, and all the tires had been taken care of, courtesy of the US government. We’d had a long discussion with Anderson while we waited. He wasn’t entirely convinced the threat was over, but for now it was under control. He told us to lay low for a couple more days, if Ethan’s parents were agreeable, and then take Benny to Atlanta. Once he testified, Anderson had a feeling this nonsense would be over.

To my surprise, the minister was not only amenable to the idea of our staying, but said he hoped we would.  Ethan’s mother was delighted, of course, to spend more time with her brother and her son. Sarah chose to return to Mercy’s house, but they weren’t all that far away, so I suspected we would see them again before we left. I saw

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Wednesday Briefs: April 19, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Broken Path, Starless Tail: Chapter Seven by Cia Nordwell
 

“Hey! Where are we going?” They’d left the other creatures behind quickly, but that didn’t mean the world had gone quiet around us. The spring temperatures rapidly moved toward an early summer feel and the heady mix of treen leaves and flowers filled the air along with the buzz of insects and calls of other… things. Beckett wasn’t sure what they were after what he’d seen so far, and that made him nervous.  

“Your new home.” The tiny dragon’s wings flapped fast, not hummingbird speed or anything, but enough that Beckett was able to walk at a comfortable speed behind

 

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Wednesday Briefs: April 12, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Bad Karma and the Family Plan #69 (14.4) by Julie Lynn Hayes

“You did all of this…for an audition?” I knew Hollywood was nutso, but this went past that. Far past that. What sort of audition required an actor to terrorize people for real, people who weren’t involved in any actual way? I glanced at Ethan. His face showed a great deal of the skepticism I felt. Even Troy seemed suspended in a little disbelief, and he worked in the industry.

Something just did not make sense here. I cast my mind back, trying to remember everything that had happened in just the past couple of days. The attempted shooting at the hotel where Benny was in protective custody. The Atlanta threats. The mysterious woman at the rest stop. The slashed tires. The call to me. The false detour that led to

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Wednesday Briefs: April 5, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

The Sins of the Flesh: Part 1 by J Ray Lamb

Jeff sat in the coffee shop at one of the main intersections in town. It was a chain place with passable coffee, but his favorite cuppa had morphed from a coffee shop to being a small indie bookstore with a coffee bar. The proprietress had a dream of having her own bookstore and so the coffee shop had begun its transformation. The seating was mostly gone and the small groups that met there had found new homes.

 

The transformation of the coffee shop mirrored the changes in Jeff’s life. He had always been known as the quiet goody-goody…

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Wednesday Briefs: March 29, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Bad Karma and the Family Plan #67 (14.2) by Julie Lynn Hayes

If this suspicious excuse for an officer of the law thought this was going to fly, he had another think coming! What the hell was going on here? This had to end and it had to end now. Troy grabbed for me just as I was about to launch myself at Jenkins. He wrapped both arms around my chest to hold me in place. Breathing heavily, I glanced around. The others seemed as shocked and perturbed as I was. Even Joey seemed perplexed at these unexpected developments, his mouth wide open and gaping.

The minister was striding toward his son and his son’s captor, his voice booming with ministerial authority. “Please explain

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Wednesday Briefs: March 22, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Bad Karma and the Family Plan #66 (14.1) by Julie Lynn Hayes

“What are you people doing here?” were the first words from the newcomer’s lips. The voice was low, a little gravelly. Smoker, perhaps? The policeman had his thumbs tucked inside his belt, his jaw thrust forward almost aggressively. Not what I was expecting at all. His attitude further confirmed that these two were not Anderson-sent.

The policeman’s eyes seemed drawn to Ethan, even as he spoke, he angled himself toward him. His deputy—or whoever he was—hung back and remained silent.

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