Review: “Last Cottage” by Christopher Merkner

by Carol10 Comments
We know the Larsons. They come to Slocum Lake each summer. We would like them to stop, but they do not stop. So opens "Last Cottage" by Christopher Merkner, a chilling short story that takes place at a mid-Western lake. The Larsons are out-of-towners who arrive every summer. They are also the owners of the last privately owned land on the lake. The locals hate them, believe that they are standing int he way of the towns' economic development. They go to extreme measures to get the Larsons to leave. The first thing that grabbed my attention is that it's told in the first person plural. It's creepy and at the same time forces us to see things from the townspeople's viewpoint. And they do see everything, hiding in the bushes to watch the Larsons, see the reactions. And they justify everything they do. They really see it as reasonable, which is the disturbing part. "We" are crazy, but make it sound...
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Saturday 9: Someday We’ll Be Together

by Carol15 Comments
I'm not feeling terribly creative today, so I went in search of a meme. I found Saturday 9, where they post 9 questions every week. 1. Have you ever left a relationship but knew that eventually you'd get back together? Definitely. I can't even count how many times David and I broke up and got back together before we got married. 2. Are there things that you hate to buy? Items that you either hate to spend perfectly good money on or hate to spend the time it takes to buy them? I hate grocery shopping, at least the normal boring trip. It's not fun buying the same cereal, bread and lunch meat week after week. That's why I drag David and Amber with me- if I'm going to have a miserable evening, we all should. Now I really like out of the ordinary grocery stores, like the one we stop at when we go to Amish land with all the jellies, or the giant Giant Eagle...
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No Promises

by Carol8 Comments
No Promises 403 words I shivered. The Street of the Dead. I knew it was perfectly safe at this time of night, all the occupants were either truly dead, locked away in their vaults, or out hunting far from here, most likely down on High Street where the bars stayed open late and some of the unadvertised spots never closed. There were certainly folks out there making a fortune in the new economy. I wasn’t one of them. What was I doing here, I asked myself for the millionth time, as I paced in front of a particularly elaborate mausoleum with the name Gedding engraved in the marble above the entry. Lightning flashed and I turned to see Jacob walking up the cobble-stoned street. Watching him stride toward me, his black trench coat billowing in the wind, I had to force myself to stand still, not to take off running down the road. Jacob made me nervous, but he was a good client....
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Thursday’s Tale: The Robber Bridegroom by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

by Carol8 Comments
Photo source: SurLaLune Fairy Tales It's October, a time for spooky reads, and as I've learned in the last couple of years, some of the scariest stories are fairy tales. "The Robber Bridegroom," told by the Brothers Grimm, involves murder, cannibalism, and a creepy old woman. The story starts off in a conventional way, a miller decides to marry his daughter off to a rich suitor. The daughter is not happy about this arrangement, but doesn't have much choice in the matter. One day, her fiancé claims she never visits him and insists that she come next Sunday, when he will have guests visiting. He leaves a trail of ashes for her to follow through the wood to her house. The girl, quite rightly, feels uneasy about this but goes on to the house anyway. Stupid! She walks and walks and finally ends up at a lonely house int he middle of the dark wood. It looks like no one is home and...
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Guest Post: Chen Lizra, author of My Seductive Cuba

by Carol16 Comments
I'd like to welcome Chen Lizra, author of My Seductive Cuba, to my notebook. On the last morning of my two months in Cuba, I woke way too early. I was way too emotional to sleep. The Malecón [seawall] was so calm and dawn was breathtaking. I stepped out to my balcony and took some pictures. I am never awake at this time to take in all the beautiful colours. The cars’ lights and street lamps were still reflecting on the water, yet the light already allowed for the pretty sea colours to show through. So calm, so peaceful. I packed my last things, and went to say goodbye to Melba and Alberto, my friends. It was time! On the way I was reflecting on how Cuban dancing has transformed my life forever. With every emotion that I feel deep inside, I explore how to express the feelings outside, and I can feel it changing me. It softens me, makes me more...
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