Hartland Quay, North Devon. A place of absolute beauty. On a sunny summers day, with the tide gently splashing over the rocks, it is hard to imagine anything but a tranquil, restful scene. At low tide, however, there is much evidence of the destruction that can be wreaked by the ever-powerful ocean. It was on one such day that I found myself driving through the narrow streets of Hartland village. I hadn't been here for ma...

“I don’t care who you are or where you’ve been. Don’t tell me stories of your spiritual journeys or epiphanies. Screw your aspirations and achievements,” I fume as I scroll endlessly down my cellphone screen. “Just give me the recipe!”

Breezes usher in on an orchestrated serenade of autumn. It enters cool and sedated, as subtle as the high notes of a summer song. Where once the raucous of beach-laughter and jubilant screams blended with crashing surf, they now trail off, dissipating into the scent of cozy fireplace bellows. I sit, chin on knees, and watch as the leaves’ brilliant folly comes alive. Colors held and hidden away from the heat, spring forth...

Butterflies and bees danced under the summer sun as Gail walked to the raspberry patch. The heat was increasing as the day wore on but was still bearable. With the lake as her pool, the heat did not really matter to Gail. She would re-apply sunscreen and go for a dip later. Finding a bush with plenty of ripe, red berries, Gail started picking. Her husband Michael was grilling a trout he had caught for dinner. The berries...

As his band stepped onto the stage, Tyrone stole a moment to sip his dirty martini. He ran his tongue along his upper lip as he admired the glass, savoring the lingering taste of the alcohol. With a contented sigh, he got up and walked onto the stage. During his break, the din of the bar had swelled to a jumbled murmur. The restless audience had taken to chattering over clinking glasses filled with liquor to lighten moods...

December 22, 2015 Ricky breathes deeply as he walks through the park. The air, sweetened by the scent of pine and cooled by the fallen snow, refreshes his lungs and spirit. It’s barely evening, yet it’s already dark out, the sun having slipped below the horizon. The snow on the ground is new and untrodden. It casts a luminous blanket all around, as if flying above the clouds at night. He and Crystal are all alone in the p...

He pulled his cloak over his head and brushed away a few errant flakes of snow from his shoulders. He breathed out a long breath into his cold, rough hands, this warmed them with incredible speed. He stepped out from the Coaching Inn into the day. His footfalls were cushioned by the blanket of fresh snow. His long staff arced its way through the air as he walked, and made a small dent in the snow close to his right footpr...

CalmEvening Brings quiet.Father Sun diesDarkening the copseAs deeper night begins.Mother Gaia sleeps with us,At rest beneath the barren limbsOf leafless trees trembling in damp windForeshadowing new growth with promised spring.With MorningPleas ring outBeseeching bothThe shining Father And fertile Mother Earth. When will light and life return. Gifts are offered on raised altarsThis is the shortest day of each yearSo we cr...

The Christmas present ticked and would open soon. They've chosen one out of billions annually since the Code was deciphered because its power must be limited. They placed the box in my home on Christmas Eve, timer set for eight in the morning. I'm waiting in the living room now, heart thundering, unknowable sciences about to bring you back. You'll be there, naked. Alive. Every memory retained. Even your death. You'll ask...

I had hidden in the trees all day,until the dusky mist of twilight overcame me. Nothing you could say or do could ease the pain, or lightmy pathway from that strange madness. The trees seemed tortured as my soul,Twisted as my mind with sadness.The setting sun, behind the knollgave promise of the coming blacknessof that eternal, dreamless night. The twisted trees took great delightin hearing the flutter of my heart.They re...

“David, is that you? Are you back?” she asked. There was no answer. It was a Red-tailed Hawk that had landed on a branch above. She had heard his wings flutter. She stared up now as she raised her arm, opened her palm, managed a smile and waved. A small celebration of being alive. “Are you after the berries on those brambles, Mr. Hawk?” she asked. Then she said “No, probably not. You’re a meat eater. Sorry if I insulted y...

Allowing myself to misplace reality's grip.Dwelling yet again in the past, feeling dismay.Into the bottomless depths of darkness I slip.Why could life not have been a different way? Trying to regain clarity, not where I want to be.Descending to the abyss, luminosity fading fast.Not fearing the dark, but the demons awaiting me. Been here many times, heart stressed, mind aghast. Plummeting downward, chilled through the bone...

A female has moved into my territory, a healthy young blonde, ripe for breeding and bearing good child. She could be my mate, once I've captured her, subdued her and proved my worth as her man.Sounds easy enough, but this female is small, flighty and quick. One stray sound and she's off like the wind, racing through shadows to seek cover amongst the ruins and rubble. I've no hope of chasing her down, so instead I'm intent...

Lynette Baxter was born a beautiful child with light brown hair and blue eyes as most babies are, one of thousands born that same day. Not an unusual birth, except, of course, to her parents who were completely enthralled with her arrival. She was a cute normal baby. If she had stayed that way who knows what would have happened or wouldn't have happened. Lynette advanced normally through her first year or more. Her mother...

Coffee. What Sam needed was coffee. He was a walking zombie, desperate for caffeine. It was a condition of his own making, he had to admit, since he was the one who'd wanted to drive on their family vacation instead of flying. And so they had spent more than 40 percent of their holiday — two days down and two days back — stuffed into a Hyundai Sonata, a car which seemed roomy enough during his solo daily commute but quick...