Happy Birthday, a Sci-Fi Flash Fiction by Linda Mooney

Happy Birthday

A Sci-Fi Flash Fiction

By Linda Mooney

            “Happy birthday, dear Gallas! Happy birthday to you!”

            Cheers went up as Wallace presented the large sheath cake aglow with a multitude of tiny striped candles outlining the edges. Gallas watched with patient curiosity as the chocolate dessert was carefully laid on the table, and the crowd of well-wishers gathered around.

            Leaning over the table, Stacie placed the tip of the fire starter on each wick, taking a few moments to get all thirty candles running along the outer edge of the cake. Technically, her Paldolvian mate wasn’t thirty years old. Neither were they certain today was actually the date of his birth. But if all the rest of the crew on the ship got to celebrate their birthdays, Stacie was determined to include her husband in the ritual. So they’d figured today was as good a date as any, and he’d estimated himself to be thirty Terran years old.

            “Every time I think I have learned all your strange customs, you surprise me with a new one,” he groused in a teasing tone.

            “You should be used to it by now,” his wife quipped. Straightening, she gave a wave of her hand to present it to him.

            Gallas looked down at the inscription on the cake. “What am I supposed to do with it?”

            “First, you blow out the candles,” Lt. Shoreson called out, followed by titters and chuckles from the rest of the group that had gathered in the mess hall.

            “Why?”

            “To see if your wish comes true,” Pvt. Dewey replied.

            “My wish?” Gallas glanced at his wife. The mate he had fought and nearly died for in this war between planets. The woman he’d almost lost. “I have already been granted my wish,” he stated, making it clear to all what he meant.

            Stacie’s face reddened under his direct, loving gaze. “Just blow out the candles so everyone can get a piece of cake and get back to work,” she chided with a smile.

            Bobbing his head once, the Paldolvian took a deep breath and blew, seeing the flames extinguish under the gale.

            After which each candle re-lit.

            He jerked his head back in surprise as the others laughed good-naturedly at the joke they had pulled on him. Undaunted, Gallas tried again, and again the miniature fires popped back into existence.

            Sighing, he looked at Stacie, who was trying vainly to stifle the giggles behind her hand. Commander Stancion had collapsed on a seat, tears backed up in his eyes, his sides hurting from mirth. Others around them also howled at the joke.

            Undaunted, he licked his fingers and tried to pinch the flames out on a couple of candles. When that tactic didn’t work, he reached for a nearby cup of water, but Stacie managed to stop him before he poured the contents over the cake.

            “No, no! You’ll ruin the icing!”

            Gallas grunted. “I take it spitting on them is not acceptable, either.”

            She laughed. “That is definitely not allowed,” she told him.

            Reaching over, he tentatively swiped one clawed finger across said icing, bringing it up to his nose to sniff. He followed with placing a portion on the tip of his tongue, then shot at glance at his mate. “It is not unpleasant.”

            “It’s not meant to be,” she countered.

            He perused the candles again. “How do I kill them?” His query brought forth a fresh wave of chuckles from the group. Placing his hands on his hips, he studied the cake and the problem laying before him. “This is meant to be a test of my intelligence,” he stated.

            “It’s all meant as good-natured fun,” his wife assured him.

            He stared at the candles for a few more seconds, when a smile spread over his face, and she knew he’d found a solution. What she didn’t expect was for him to reach over to pluck a pair of the irritating things from the confection, turn them upside-down, and snuff them out in the icing.

            “There. I have defeated the undefeatable. Now we can eat our foe.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

New!
RETURN TO NEVERWYLDE
The Rim of the World, Book 7
Sci-fi Romance
by Linda Mooney

Things have been quiet on Neverwylde, but everyone has been busy. With a new group of research scientists sent to spend the next six months on the planet, their goal is to learn and document as much as possible to classify the alien world as a 2A planet. But things never go as planned on this still wild and unknown galactic anomaly.

Dox has a one-track mind, but that’s normal for his kind. Being an isotope baby, he was specifically created to be highly intelligent, often found working on inventions, and rarely speaking beyond a couple words. But he’s also fiercely loyal and protective, as well as sweet and innocent, with zero experience when it comes to women. They never even crossed his mind, until now.

Xeno-archaeologist Dr. True Brown can’t wait to get her feet on Neverwylde soil. Having researched everything there is to know of the planet so far, she’s somewhat starstruck when meeting the original crew, but no amount of research could prepare her for the reality of the world, or the feelings the quirky, quiet, innocent tinkerer invokes. She didn’t plan on romance while on this mission, but then again, she didn’t anticipate her fellow scientists turning on them either.

Politics and greed are getting in the way of science and discovery, and may push everyone off the planet for good, wiping out all of their hard work. With months turning into days, the crew scrambles to protect a world filled with endless precious resources and intelligent life.

Once again the greatest enemies may not be the deadly creatures on the planet, but some of their own.

Warning! Contains a borrowed uniform, lessons on love, lost luggage, a purple cavern, a mosaic map, relevant theories, alien watchdogs, low-frequency sound, and a fight to protect others as well as those who are beloved.

Excerpt and Buy links

Distractions

Happy Mardi Gras! Or, as they say in New Orleans, Laissez les bon temps rouler!  I was planning an entire Mardi Gras-themed post for today, in honor of Never Have I Ever, which I was planning on re-releasing today, but…distractions happened. Which, unfortunately, seems to be a recurring theme for me these days. I’m endlessly distracted and, yes, some of that has to do with the general political climate; some of it has to do with the current hysteria occurring within RWA (which has affected me much more than I would have thought it would); a lot of it has to do with my adorable grandson who is twenty-three months old today. But most of it is me: my brain is stuck in hummingbird mode, constantly whirring, darting here and there, refusing to settle.

I used to be able to write through anything. Seated by a family member’s side in hospital; waiting for my children to get out of school; in a busy café in the middle of San Francisco; on the deck of a cruise ship; flying cross-country; moving cross-country—you name it. I was laser focused. A part of my mind was always immersed in whatever story I was working on. I’ve told the story many times of how my characters would wake me up in the middle of the night demanding their story be told. I even dreamed an entire story.

But somewhere along the way, I lost that. Nowadays, I’m far too easily distracted. I have trouble focusing for the length of time it takes to write a simple blog post—and that’s with nothing going on around me. I find myself resorting to tricks I’d relied on in the beginning, motivational tools I haven’t needed in a very long time. Creating soundtracks. Surrounding myself with objects and pictures that act as touchstones, reminding me of the story I’m working on. Challenging myself with writing sprints, turning off the internet, writing scenes out by hand.

It’s all helping a little, but it’s still a struggle. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. So what about you? How do you handle distractions? What tricks do you use to get yourself back on track when you’ve fallen off the writing wagon, so to speak?

Help a sister out!

HERE BE NEWS for February 24, 2020

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday, February 17 - 

"HERE BE NEWS" - All the latest from the authors at Here Be Magic, including favorite romantic movies, and TWO new releases!.

Tuesday, February 18 -
“LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS when you’re making other plans” – An unexpected flood changed the topic of this month’s post by Dani Harper. 

Thursday, February 20 -
“HELP AUSTRALIA RELIEF EFFORTS BY READING” – over 40 authors, including our own Maureen Bonatch, have donated stories to a 3-book anthology to aid in restoration and recovery in the "the Land Down Under". 

Saturday, February 22 -
This week's Bring It Back(list) feature is “NEVER HAVE I EVER”, an erotic romance by PG Forte. Scroll below for all the details.

NEVER HAVE I EVER
Games We Play, Book 2
by PG Forte

Kristy loves Luke but if anything was clear to her back when they were kids it was that gawky, awkward, tomboys didn't stand a chance with the king of the schoolyard. She watched her older brothers set their caps for Luke's glamorous cousins and get shot down. 

So she did what she had to in order to salvage her friendship with Luke. She hid her true feelings and her need for him to take control. 


Luke wants Kristy in the worst way -- actually, in all the worst ways: tied up, held down, beaten, bitten, whipped. But he knows he has no chance of ever having her. They'd been childhood friends and sweethearts, until she friend-zoned him in the fifth grade. He knows he can either keep her as a friend, or take her to bed and lose her forever. His biggest mistake--so far--was in hiring her to work alongside him in the bar of the haunted hotel he and his cousins inherited from their grandmother. He knows Kristy needs the money and the job, but Luke's self-control can't take the constant contact with the girl he wants to dominate -- both in and out of the bedroom. 

Something has to give -- and soon!

More info and an excerpt at 
http://herebemagic.blogspot.com/2020/02/bring-it-backlist-never-have-i-ever.html 

..................................

“HELP AUSTRALIA RELIEF EFFORTS BY READING” – over 40 authors, including our own Maureen Bonatch, have donated stories to a 3-book anthology to aid in restoration and recovery in the "the Land Down Under". 

Find out more on Here Be Magic - http://herebemagic.blogspot.com/2020/02/help-australia-relief-efforts-by-reading.html 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bring It Back(list) ~ Never Have I Ever

Never Have I Ever
Games We Play, Book 2

Kristy loves Luke but if anything was clear to her back when they were kids it was that gawky, awkward, tomboys didn't stand a chance with the king of the schoolyard. She watched her older brothers set their caps for Luke's glamorous cousins and get shot down. So she did what she had to in order to salvage her friendship with Luke. She hid her true feelings and her need for him to take control. 

Luke wants Kristy in the worst way -- actually, in all the worst ways: tied up, held down, beaten, bitten, whipped. But he knows he has no chance of ever having her. They'd been childhood friends and sweethearts, until she friend-zoned him in the fifth grade. He knows he can either keep her as a friend, or take her to bed and lose her forever. His biggest mistake--so far--was in hiring her to work alongside him in the bar of the haunted hotel he and his cousins inherited from their grandmother. He knows Kristy needs the money and the job, but Luke's self-control can't take the constant contact with the girl he wants to dominate -- both in and out of the bedroom. Something has to give -- and soon! 

 Currently available as a serial read on Radish Fiction. Click on the link below to read the first three episodes FREE:  

https://radishfiction.com/stories/kdV0Kyp7o?_branch_match_id=560844114261529172

Excerpt:

The Saturday before Mardi Gras…

“Hey, DiLuca,” Luke called to Kristy as he helped her close the bar—cleaning tables and stacking chairs. “D’you know what a drunk’s idea of a balanced diet is?”

“Wait, I do. I know this one.” Kristy looked thoughtful as she straightened up from the table she’d been wiping down. “Uh…a drink in each hand? Something like that?”

“Yeah.” Luke frowned. “A beer in each hand, actually. Did I tell you that one already?”

Kristy smirked. “Well, you must have, right? I don’t know anyone else with your encyclopedic knowledge of corny jokes.”

“Oh.” That was a relief. But why was that the case? It shouldn’t have mattered all that much if other people were telling her stupid jokes. It shouldn’t have mattered at all, come to think of it. It wasn’t right that he was so invested in keeping her to himself. But he was just the same.

“So, this memory problem you’re having, is it age-related or due to alcohol consumption?”

“Don’t be a brat,” Luke admonished as the urge to punish her—never far below the surface anyway—rose up to tempt him. He loved her all the more for being bratty, but the whole not being able to do anything about it? That royally sucked. “And cut the crap. You’re only a year younger than I am, and—”

“And I can drink you under the table. Yes, I know.”

Luke shook his head. “You’re really asking for it tonight,” he muttered, wishing she were. Oh, if only she were doing it on purpose. If only she really wanted what she was tempting him to give her. “Keep it up and I’ll go home and leave you to finish closing on your own.”

“Is that supposed to frighten me?”

“Ha-ha.” It was an empty threat, and they both knew it.

One of the main reasons he’d hired her to tend bar was so that they could split the shifts between them and give him a couple of nights off each week. But the sad truth was that, these days at least, he didn’t really have much of a life outside of the bar. So more often than not he’d stop in to check things out even on his days off. He’d tell himself he’d only stay a few minutes, that he’d leave after a drink, maybe two. He never did. Some nights he and Kristy would hit a diner when they were done, sometimes they wouldn’t, but at the very least, he’d always help her close.

It was part of their routine. He’d flirt with her and tell her stupid jokes. She’d laugh at him and call him an idiot. Afterward, he’d go home and fantasize about all the ways he’d like to punish her for being such a brat, all the ways he’d like to have her.

It was pathetic—he knew that. But the upside was that he got to spend time with her nearly every day, to indulge his hopeless passion for the girl, to watch her laugh. He got to take care of her, to make sure no one hit on her inappropriately…or at all, for that matter. Because that’s what friends did. Because that’s what kept them friends, kept her from cutting him out of her life or drifting away.

The downside was his sneaking suspicion that he was keeping them both from moving on with their lives.

“How about this one? Why can’t anyone ever find a place to sit at an Irish family reunion?”

Kristy slid him a sly smile. “I don’t know, Luke. Why?”

“Because the rooms’ll be filled with Dores, Walls, and Curtins.”

“Huh?” The smile disappeared, replaced by an expression of puzzlement. “I don’t get it.”

“Dore, Wall, and Curtin are all Irish family names,” Luke explained.

Kristy shook her head as she turned back to her work. “You people are weird.”

Help Australia Relief Efforts by Reading

I've always wanted to fly. Or to be able to do magic, or at least some of the cool moves from the Matrix movies. I didn't really want to be a superhero (too much pressure), just maybe have the ability to do a little...more.

Who knew that as a writer—and a reader—I could do more by just writing a story, or buying a book. It turns out, you can too. When people bring all their amazing talents together, fabulous things can happen. 

A Little Help From My Friends

My publisher (The Wild Rose Press) has authors all over the world, including authors from Australia. So when Australian author, Stephen B. King reached out about help for recovery efforts with the worst wildfires Australia has seen in decades, people volunteered in droves:

• Over 40 authors offered stories
• Countless others planned to promote
• Editors, and cover artists stepped up
• The Wild Rose Press volunteered all the time and effort involved in creating a 3 book anthology

The Wild Fires of Australia 

If you're not familiar with what's happening in Australia, here's a snippet from someone who's there: 

"Recent rains have helped enormously, still there are fires, but not to the same extent as there were, and the focus now is more on recovery and rebuilding. To that end there are advertising campaigns now to stop what’s called the second wave disaster and that is people staying away from tourist areas and business who rely on travelers and visitors to survive. Most of our tourist destinations are unaffected, yet people think the whole country is gone, which of course isn’t true. The problem of course is that if people stop visiting, businesses will go broke, making the overall recovery much harder. With the rains, re-growth has already begun and some burnt out areas have grasses and shrubs recovering already.

Then of course there is the wildlife, and those organizations such as the RSPCA, and others are doing remarkable work rescuing animals and rehousing them. A lot of our native trees are Eucalyptus, and with millions of trees gone, Koalas only eat those leaves, so regrowth and resettlement is going on in huge numbers to save a cuddly species from extinctions in the wild. Kangaroos will bounce back, and in time, the feeling is most other animals will to, but the key words are – in time. In a lot of cases we hope the burnt trees themselves will regrow as they have evolved to grow after bushfires. I’m told with heavy rains in recent days some are showing green growth, which is encouraging."   – Wild Rose Press Author Stephen King

Preorder Book One of the Anthology Now

The Anthologies are grouped by genre— and my story, Detective Paws and Lip Gloss (a cozy mystery flash fiction story I was thrilled to find a home for) is in Book #1. 

Book #1: A collection of Short Stories in Mainstream Fiction,

Women’s Fiction, Thrillers, and Mystery

Order Book One Now from The Wild Rose Press

• A Solicitous Wife by Madeleine McDonald
• No One Knew by Larry Farmer
• Pinochle by Brenda Whiteside
• The Tuesday Night Meeting by Peggy Jaeger
• 911, What’s Your Emergency? by D. V. Stone
• Tall Tales by Laura Strickland
• Fare Gain by Alexandra Christle
• The Note by Stephen B. King
• Three Ghosts by Julie Howard
• Detective Paws and Lip Gloss by Maureen L. Bonatch
• The Ring by Margaret Ann Spence
• Portrait of a Gunfighter by Hywela Lyn
• Six Hours or So by Lisa Wilkes
• Prussic Acid by Melody DeBlois
• 
  

Blurb: Detective Paws and Lip Gloss by Maureen L. Bonatch

Catherine, with her basset hound, moves out of her father’s home, to prove she has what it takes to be a cop. 

But when two menacing women inadvertently share their killer secret, Catherine wonders if she can solve the mystery or end up being nothing more than a `Fraidy Cat.

Book #2 of the Anthology 

Book #2: A collection of Romance, Young Adult, and Women’s Fiction Short Stories

Order Book 2 Now From The Wild Rose Press

• Che Gelida Manina by M. S. Spencer
• Recipes for Love by Carol Henry
• Waiting for Caleb by Gini Rifkin
• Wings of Fire by Jana Richards
• A Lark by Gabbi Grey
• Apple Crisp by Terry Graham
• Goody Twoshoes by Mark Love
• The Number by Barbara Bettis
• Deadly Homecoming by Peggy Chambers
• An Egg-Cellent Witness by Marilyn Barr
• Season of Withered Corn by Judy Ann Davis
• Beneath the Pines by Debby Grahl
• Christopher Reisner by Linda Griffin
• Unexpected Love: Chase Allen by Anna Lores
• The Cowboy and the Lady by Jean Adams
• The Heart Necklace by Amanda Uhl
• The Relaxation Response by Darcy Lundeen
• Dancing Through Tears by Jeny Heckman

Book #3 Information Coming Soon

Like We Need a Reason to Read

Every single state in Australia is suffering major fires, many hopelessly out of control. Estimates of how many and how big vary, but one source says 17.9 million acres of Australia have burned in one of the country’s worst fire seasons on record. Another report says that well over one billion native animals and birds have lost their lives…one billion.

Please help and show Australia some love by purchasing one or more of these anthologies. ALL proceeds will be donated to organizations aiding the victims of this horrific event and assist those still battling the flames. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Order now at The Wild Rose Press.

I may not have the Matrix moves down yet, and maybe I never will, but I can live many lives, and explore new worlds many times over by reading.

P.S. You CAN order these books through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or other online book retailers, but this reduces the funds going to the Red Cross. 

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter Be the first to know about Maureen’s book sales and new releases by following her on BookBub, Amazon and/or signing up for her newsletter