“Bethane’s Tears”

by Carol8 Comments
Image source: Deviant Art - Aurelia2012 Bethane's Tears 363 words He had heard the crying again last night, on and on, the weeping not allowing him to fall back asleep. He knew she wouldn’t be there, but he had to go out on the lake anyway. She sounded so lonely and grief-stricken. He needed to comfort her if she allowed him. He rowed the small boat out a ways. The pre-dawn air was still chilly and a fog hung over the water. It was silent now, the birds not yet awake, the naiad Bethane quiet. To most Bethane was a local legend, repeated to children but not truly believed. He knew better. He also knew why she cried. He had seen her and Ben, who stayed in the cabin next to his, sitting together on the shore, hand in hand, feet dangling in the water. She was so beautiful, long curling golden hair, clear shining blue eyes, a shimmering light green gown. He...
Read More

Thursday’s Tale: Frau Trude by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

by Carol10 Comments
Illustration from: Sarah Foster "Frau Trude," also known as "The Old Witch" is another story by the Brothers Grimm that does not have a happily ever after ending. The tale starts with a girl who was "obstinate and inquisitive" and never obeys her parents. That doesn't bode well in Grimm stories, disobedience is usually punished while those who are sweet and kind end up with the happy endings. The girl tells her parents she want to visit Frau Trude's house. Her parents tell her not to go, Frau Trude is wicked, but also warn her that if chooses to visit the old woman, she will no longer be their child. A bit harsh, don't you think? The girl head over to Frau Trude's cottage, and when Frau Trude answers the door she asks the girl why the girl is so pale. The girl tells of seeing three men on the steps, a black man, a green man, and a blood-red man. The...
Read More

Review: Ding Dong the Diva’s Dead by Cat Melodia

by Carol15 Comments
I love candy corn, the traditional kind with the yellow bottom, orange middle, and white tip. I could eat it by the handfuls, even though it really isn't good for me, there's no complexity to the flavor. But it's such a treat and makes me happy. That's kind of how I felt about Ding Dong the Diva's Dead by Cat Melodia. (I'm sorry that's got to be one of the worst nom de plumes I've heard recently.) It's a light, fun, perky mystery that kept me reading, even when I should have been working. It takes place behind the scenes at a small opera company. One of the singers has died in an "accident," and Debbie de Lille is called in to take her place as Nicklauss in Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman. Odd things keep happening, smoke bombs, threatening phone calls, a fire. Who's behind it all? And is Debbie going to make it to opening night alive? The actual whodunnit plays...
Read More

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...
Read More