March 2010 Publisher Spotlight - Samhain Publishing

Good afternoon, messires and maddams! (Ok, so I didn't take French as a foreign language.) Today, I am spotlighting a publisher I've recently ran across and gathered information on.

Samhain Publishing

Samhain—the Celtic New Year—signifies a new beginning, a rebirth.

Pronounced sah-vin by the Scots, sow-in (sow like cow) by the Irish and sam-hine in English, Samhain is the Irish word for November. And November 2005 saw the launch of Samhain Publishing, Ltd., founded with a goal of bringing to compulsive readers books that allow them to discover new worlds and be taken on adventures through the creative minds of today’s brightest authors.

Primarily an ebook publisher, Samhain has also segued into print books (anything over 60,000 automatically becomes a print and ebook). So, concerning cornering a large market, Samhain caters to both e-reader and traditional reader alike.

Now, from a writer's POV, Samhain offers many great guidelines as a publisher.

Firstly, is how highly recommended Samhain is by several well-known and established writer resource sites. Two of these sites include Preditorsandeditors.com and absolutewriterwatercooler.com.

Is Samhain right for me, however?

This is the largest question looming over writers' heads when they consider submitting for publication. And, then there's the lengthy process of trying to gather enough information to make certain this publisher is one you like...and one whom will like you. Here, I've complied a list of several items Samhain Publishing offers that, I think, will entice most wirters.

1) Payment - How does Samhain Publishing pay their authors?

From all the research I've done, it appears that Samhain pays their authors in both royalties and with 10 author's copies of their novel/la.

2) Submissions - How long do I have to wait to hear from Samhain? And, can I submit to other publishers at the same time to increase my odds?

While this publisher does ask for a 12-16 week response time to inqueries, they are open to simultaneous submissions (meaning - you are free to send to multiple publishers/agents while also sending to Samhain). The only item they request is that you notify the editors your manuscript is being considered as a simultaneous submission.

3) Recognition - Is Samhain Publishing recognized by any national literary organizations?

Yes, indeedy. Samhain Publishing is an RWA (Romance Writers of America) recognized publisher. Not sure if this is a big deal or not? RWA guidelines only recognize non-subsidy, non-vanity publishers; the publisher must release books via a national distribution campaign; and, the publisher must have sold (in one year) more than 1500 hardback/paperback copies or 5000 copies of any other format.

4) Genres - What genres/categories does Samhain accept?

This publisher, while primarily a romance/erotica publisher, has began to diverge into a large scale of titles, including science fiction and fantasy, romance and erotica, horror, paranormal fantasy, historicals, urban fantasy, mysteries and thrilles, and a ton of more genres. (Please, check publisher's submission page to see what titles they are currently accepting, if any.)

All of this builds up to a pretty reliable, large-small to medium sized publisher. But what was most important to me (as a writer and the one bringing this information to my friends and readers) was how genuinely happy Samhain's authors are with the press. Authors have made comments on many blogs regarding the helpfulness of their rejection letters, the artistry of the cover art, and the helpfulness of the staff and editors at Samhain.

To me, as a writer, this all stacks up to be a decent publisher. However, I understand that my research is not imperfect and my opinion not absolute (unless you're my husband reading this and then my opinion is absolute! LOL). If you have anything to add regarding this publisher, or you plain need any other information I may have collected during my research then, by all means, leave me a comment or drop me an email at bbwalter@bbwalter.com .

I'd also love to hear any feedback concerning other publishing houses you've found to be interesting (either good or bad). The more information we can put out there for writers to find, the better! Thanks, and I'll chat atcha soon.

BB Walter

Guilt and Debrox Drops

Hello again all. Today, I have a life experience to share with you all. It envolves Debrox ear drops.



My nephew had some serious ear wax built up when we took him in to see his pediatrician the other day. He recommended we take the child to see an Ear Nose and Throat specialist but, in the mean time, to flush his ears using the Debrox drops. My sister asked after the hole in his ear, and the doctor (based on his thirty-some odd- years experience with the product) said that he should be fine.



WRONG! Less than thirty seconds after administering the drops, my nephew was shrieking in pain. He hurt enough for his face to turn beat red and he collapsed on my sister's lap. Poor little guy! We all felt so bad (my sister, myself, and my niece). But I had tried the drops (had to show a worried little guy that they didn't hurt you, you know) and had no problems - actually, they worked great for me.



He screamed for over an hour while the drops drained out (along with the wax, btw - so it did work) and even had some pinkish discharge, quite possibly blood, along with it. However, after speaking with the doctor (who was confounded since he'd never had any problems with any patients using these drops over the years) said to keep a close eye on him. If his condition worsened or did not lessen within an hour, we should take him to the E.R. immediately. Fortunately, he seems to have calmed but is still complaining of pain and is in and out of sleep.



So, while these drops did work (my ears are clean, and the one ear we used them on for him is also clean now, despite his pain), I'm just posting on here for my friends (and blog followers, if any) that if you have ANY inner ear deformities or abnormalities/anomalies - DO NOT USE Debrox drops for ear wax issues. Now, if you don't have these problems, use away :)



[CR: The Realtor Murders by David A. Kaufelt; Cell by Stephen King; City of Bones by Cassandra Clare; and Contemporary Fiction - 50 Short Stories Since 1970 by assorted authors. TBRN: Her Majesty's Wizard by Christopher Stasheff and The Burning Land by Victoria Strauss]

To Freelance or Not to Freelance?

A portfolio of more than 300 short stories, 19 novels (complete and incomplete), and more poetry than one can count; a background strong in English with a focus for details; and a passion to make the written word better - to pick up the individual letters in a composition, polish them till they gleam, and put them back again...

So published author, literary tutor, and education major (and these are my Night Jobs)...Why am I seriously considering an addition of freelance editing/proofreading to my portfolio? Some might say that I've gone off the deep end. And maybe I have. But, after reading some of the papers that were recently turned into my friend's writing class (she's a professor at a nearby community college) and reviewing several manuscripts getting ready to go to publication, I've decided that the literary world needs me to be a little crazy. In fact, it needs me to swim clear out into the deep in and tread - for an eternity. LOL

Actually, a little more seriously, I feel my services could be used by friend and fellow writers who need a little help catching the things they might have missed. And as for the college students...? Um, they need all the help they can get. LOL

So in addition to everything else I do ('cause aren't I magnificent? lol), I've decided to add proofreading/editing services to my portfolio of greatness. Just my little part to beautify the world one letter at a time. Now all I must do is get the word out, build up a client base, and figure out what to charge...Easy-piezy, right? lol

Return of the Living Dead

Hello, all! B.B. Walter has returned from the land of the dead. I wanted to leave a brief message to everyone letting them know that I am all right. A few of you know the reason for my absentism for the last several months, and I appreciate the outpouring of emotional support I've received from each one of you! For those of you who are unaware of what transpired; my cousin (she and I were closer to sisters than cousins) slipped into a coma in July from a rare disease - Pompe's Disease. After several weeks of struggle, Amber Nicole (Burgess)(Bennett) Cowan passed away in the middle of August. Since then I have been hiding from/wallowing in my grief from her passing.

Having come out of the darkness (although still have moments of utter blackness) I have decided that the best service I can do my cousin's memory is to live. I am also planning a series of articles about my cousin Am and her disease, Pompe's.

This disease effects only 1 in 40,000 people. Briefly, the human body produces lactic acid during movement (that is the bodily fluid that makes your muscles feel weak/fatigued/stiff after exercise) and, separately, another enzyme to break down the lactic acid. Pompe's disease is the non-production or minimal production of this second enzyme called (I believe) glucosamine (I will be double-checking all of this information prior to my articles). Essentially, the lack of this enzyme causes the stiffing of muscles. Since the heart, lungs, and brain are the hardest working (and constantly working) muscles in the human body, these three organs are amongst the first attacked and affected (although a patient may feel pain/fatigue in other seemingly less-deadly muscles as premature symptoms of the disease).

My cousin Amber's disease first manifested as common fatigue; it progressed to pain in her hip and left leg causing difficulty with mobility; and, finally, attacked her lungs, causing her to slip in and out of consciousness, before affecting her brain causing debilitating seizures.

Writing about all of this is going to be both cathartic and devastating for me, I know, as well as for my family. But, true to writer form, unless I'm tweaking an emotional response, I'm not interested in writing something. Also, after seeing the network of people whose lives are affected by this virtually unknown disease, I feel it is important to enlighten those I know (even if they are few) about the illness and its devastation. So look for a series of articles from me on my blog here and also on AllVoices (an online news community written by the everyday people who witness the most extraordinary things).

This is my first step out of the darkness Amber's death has left behind. I miss the light she radiated, and I am determined to find my way back to it again.

Until my next blog article, I hope all my friends, fans, and occassional readers are well and happy. And I look forward to writing at you again soon!

B.B. Walter

Write With Me, Learn With Me Vol. 2

All right, kiddies; I'm back with another exciting installment of "Write with me, Learn with me". What is this strange thing you ask? (Well, you ask if you are new to my blog.) The truth is, I'm always trying to learn more about my trade - writing - and how to improve myself. So what I am doing is posting my assignments here on my blog for constructive criticism/thoughts as to how I can improve.

Today, the assignment I'm posting is my Argumentative Paper for my Comp. class (taken here at my local college). The assignment was "If all books were made illegal, what one book would you choose to memorize and tell to future generations?" This assignment came because we were reading Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury in class. I chose Flowers for Algernon to write my paper on and argue why this book should be kept above all others.

**I do want to warn the reader that, with the professor's permission, I took some creative license with this paper in the way of grammer and punctuation. If you have read Flowers for Algernon then you will understand; if you have not, here is a brief synopsis.

The story is told by Charlie Gordon, a mentally handicapped man, who wants nothing more than to be smart. Charlie undergoes experimental brain surgery to increase his intelligence but finds that its effects are not lasting. The entire story is told in the first-person and is written in the form of personalized Progress Reports by Charlie himself. In the beginning, Charlie's grammer, spelling, and punctuation are on level with his I.Q. of 68. As his intelligence increases, due to the surgery, he learns and evolves. Unfortunately, we also witness Charlie's loss of intelligence but that he gained so much more wisdom in the end with his same progress reports.

My warning is that my argumentative paper was written exactly how the book is written by the author, Daniel Keyes, as a person evolves and deevolves intellectually. So, here is my paper. All input is appreciated!

Most Smart Pirson In The Wurld

There is a sayin told win we ar litel Do to other peepl what you wunt thim to do to you It’s a good sayin and peepl don’t go by it oftin Cept for some vary few peepl You see it all the tym on the street and on the telivishun We are told two that peepl are gud and peepl are kind And you see this all the tym with peepl at chirch or the nice boys who help peepl at the groshry stor And in storees riters rite two like a book calld Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes This riter rote a gud book about a man who wants to be smart like other peepl he knos and like a vary speshul mous named Algernon who can run mazus Charlie Gordon is a gud man who is gud to other peepl just like the sayin we ar all told as litel kids But ol Charlie cant think so gud Charlie just wunts to be smart like the peepl he knos and he even gos to a collug to learn speshul At this collug Charlie is picked by speshul docters for a sergery to make him smart Charlie thinks he will wayk up aftir the sergery smarter and he dus Aftir the sergery Charlie gets smart lik other peepl lik the mous Algernon and ol Charlie starts to see peepl arnt so nice and gud aftirall The sham is that peepl ar like that all over In Flowers for Algernon peepl who reed it and Charlie finds peepl ar mean to him when he used to think they wer his frinds that the docters who gav him the speshul sergery arnt vary smart at all evin tho they messd with his jeans that he dosnt no how to talk to gurls that he wus startin to remimber stuf that hurt about how peepl treatd him from win he wus litel and that bein smartr thin everyone els dosnt make him happyer
One of the first things Charlie notises in Flowers for Algernon is that peepl ar bein mean to him win he ust to think they wer his frinds. Charlie has two gud frinds at work, Joe Karp and Gimpy. Joe and Gimpy ust to tayk Charlie out aftir work and ust to joke around with Charlie all the tym. Aftir Charlies speshul sergery, Joe and Gimpy still treet Charlie the same, but Charlie starts to notis that Joe and Gimpy arnt bein funny win they say things like “Don’t be a Charlie Gordon” (-)like he ust to think. Charlie rites in his Progris Riports about how Joe and Gimpy ar reely bein mean to him and, you kno, peepl are mean. You can see it on the street at the peepl who pass up the person walkin in the rain or cold, and also in the mean things peepl say win other peepl fall down or say sumthin wrong. Course not all peepl are mean. Charlie knos that becus his teacher at the collug is kind to him. But one person being nice while the whol wurld isn’t doesn’t make thos that aren’t ok.
Of course Charlies doctors are also nice to him. Even if it is for their own reesons. See Charlies doctors are trying a new type of sergery surgery – a speshul surgery – to trick Charlies old dum brain into being smarter. Lots of doctors have tried doing the same thing threw the years. Acordin to Alex Boese, riter of Elephants on Acid and Other Bizarre Experiments, in 1927 Dr. Il’ya Ivanor, wirld-renownd xpert on veterinary reproducktiv biolog, tried to inseminate girl chimps with human spirm! That didnt work to good, and peepl were reel mad about the hole idea and he spint som tym in a prisen camp. But Charlies doctors think their surgery works pretty good because of the mouse named Algernon, the speshul mouse who got super smart and stayed that way aftir his surgery for a long tym. Dr……….. told Charlie all about how smart Algernon stayed; he said “Charlie we werked on this for a long time but only on animals like Algernon. We are sure thers no fisical danger to you but there are other things we cant tell until we try it.” (8) And this is tru about stuf like xperiamintel surgery like, according to the United States Govirmint, Nazi doctirs deprived Jewish prisonirs of oxigin to find out how long their bodys would keep living aftir they stoped breathing becawse one Jewish man had lived longer than all the other Jews they had xperiaminted on (144-147). They thot that mayb this man or the other peepl were brokin somehow. But why do the scientists keep trying to fix all the peepl who are broken, like Charlie? It makes you wonder what xactly is broken in Charlie aftirall?
Although Charlie does find out that something about him is not so right after all. Charlie had never had a girlfriend before, but he starts to think about girls more. Espeshully Especially when he starts to notice “how beautiful Alice Kinnan is” (54). He is reely really drawn to her “pigeon-soft brown eyes and feathery brown hair” (54), so Charlie asks her out on a date. On their date, things began to change between Charlie and Alice. Their relationship became charged with a new kind of electricity, with an unknown sexuality. Despite Charlie’s development intellectually, on an emotional level he was “still just a boy” (65). Sexuality in humans has been a long debated topic among doctors and sycho psychologists. And it was a large debatable topic in Flowers for Algernon when the book was written in 1959. The somewhat explicit scene between Charlie and the woman on the park bench was a hot button debate. Many groups believed it demonstrated a loose morality and opened the door on sexuality outside of marriage, especially since the woman is married and pregnant with another man’s child while soliciting Charlie. However, the open exploration of Charlie’s sexuality is one of the most significant moments in the story on a developmental level. Until that moment, the reader views Charlie as a rather one-dimensional character, possessing an unheard of depth of knowledge with little to no social or sexual knowledge. There are numerous studies of sexuality bridging the gap between intelligence and social interaction. With clear correlation drawn between intelligence and sexuality, it is hard to imagine Flowers for Algernon without the topic.
However, Charlie’s sexual revelation comes at a steep price; he is forced to face uncomfortable insights into his own history. These insights, however, do explain Charlie’s sexual retardation as having stemmed from deep-rooted psychological scars inflicted upon him as a child by his family. On page 78 of the novel, the reader is given such an insight into Charlie’s past during a dream. Little Charlie has seen his sister climbing out of the bath naked, and he gains an erection from it. His father attempts to diffuse the situation, but his mother, Rose, is not to be swayed. Instead, she screams, “holding a leather belt in her hand” (78) and threatens young Charlie. Despite the vehemence of her warning “If you ever touch a girl, I’ll put you away in a cage, like an animal, for the rest of your life” (78), Charlie experiences a natural reaction to his deepening involvement with Alice that changes him from a static one-dimensional character into a more developed and interesting character. In a short span of time, Keyes deepens the reader’s involvement and connection to Charlie. Intelligence has been a long standing connection among today’s modern society, however, social and sexual communication and relation is a instinctual and well-documented reaction that stems back to prehistoric man. For instance, phermones still play a vital role in the inter- and intrapersonal relationships man forges on a daily basis. Nurmerous studies done at Oxford indicates an increased correlation between prehistoric phermones and modern day relationships. To exclude Charlie’s sexual development from Flowers for Algernon would be akin to excluding the entire surgical procedure that had adapted his infantile brain to the intellectually stimulated one, and without both forms of development Keyes would have found little to document.
One of the key componints of Flowers for Algernon is Charlie’s emotional developemint. Despite his low intelliginc intelligence, Charlie felt welcome in the simpel life he had always led. And, although it is shown that many of the peepl Charlie interacted with on a daily basis are oftin cruel or unkind, “it was home” (72) to him, and it offered a plac of security and shelter. Once his intelliginc intelligenc skyrockets to the point of genieus, Charlie begins to feel lik an outsyder. He becomes emoshunaly distant from everyone he knos when he points out that “intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I knew and loved” (75). The isolashun leevs Charlie alone in a wurld he dosnt understand and cant conneckt to. Lots of studys show how peepl just lik Charlie who got reel smart reel fast cant talk to peepl around them. Thers peepl tho that dont agree with Flowers for Algernon tyin soshul stuf with intelliginc but thre medikel gernals did riports on soshul and intelliginc bein tyd togethir. And most docters git it rite most of the tym And probly if the mous Algernon culd talk hed have told peepl himself but mys cant talk only squeek Aftir Charlie lirns he is the most dum smart pirson in the wurld becuz he cant talk to peepl he feels reel bad and remimbers that lots of peepl likd him win he was a dum pirson becuz they laffed and wer his frinds lik Joe Carp and Gimpy And win he gits dum agin Carp and Gimpy stik up for him a new werker Meyer Klaus says “I hear you’re a very smart fella-a real whiz kid. Say something intelligent.” (214) Aftir that Gimpy tells Charlie they ar gona set peepl strait that bother Charlie agin And Charlie remimbers “It’s good to have frends” (215) So its easy to see that bein smart aint always the sam as bein likd just lik them doctrs sayd befor And evin Charlie knos at the end that he may not hav bin smart at the beginnin of the book but he was hapy cuz peepl likd him When he got his intelliginc he wasn’t hapy cuz he new peepl wer makin fun of him so by the end he lirns that evin tho he is dum agin peepl ar his frinds and mabee it is beter that he is dum and likd and not smart and mad fun of
In Flowers for Algernon peepl lirn that bein smart dosnt reely hav much to do with how hapy a pirson is no mater how they play with ther jeans or how many fance sergerees they hav or evin how they talk to gurls But they do lirn that Charlie is mad betr at the end becuz evin tho he isnt any smartr he can remimber the good things about bein him lik peepl likin you win they can laff with you and that gurls ar not so scare and can be gud frinds But the best thing Charlie lirns is that hes a gud pirson if hes dum or if hes smart It’s a gud lesin for Charlie to lirn or anybody to lirn becuz every pirson no mater how dum or smart shuld be treatd nice Peepl can lirn in Flowers for Algernon that the importint stuf about bein peepl is how we treet other peepl Like the old sayin we ar told as kids Do to other peepl whut you wunt thim to do to you Charlie wint threw lots of stuf that hurt lik an operashun and gitin fired from the bakery and hurtin Alice but he lirnd mor win he lirnd he was goin to be dum agin dering his xperimints with the mous Algernon then he did win he was smart He lirnd that evin tho Algernon wasnt smart anymor he was still a gud frind to Charlie and Charlie likd him Win Algernon died Charlie was sad cuz he lost such a gud frind but he was hapy becuz hed had the tym to be Algernons frind at the end and cuz the mous shoed him that bein dum didnt meen you didnt hav frinds witch was somthin he lirnd bein smart At the end he evin asks the doctirs in his last progris riport to “put some flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard” (216) And there aint any beter lesin to be lirnd if you ar smart or dum then the lesin that Flowers for Algernon teachs peepl U aint got to be smart or dum as long as you remimber the peepl and somtyms animuls that mak you hapy and that bein who you ar and not havin som fance operashun to chang your brain maks you smartr then the most smart pirson in the wurld

The End.

So, there it is; me laying my heart out for the world to see. Lemme know what you think - good or bad, I like to hear it all.

{Finished Reading: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon - Bloody fantastic book! It gives you a true peek into the mind of an individual with Autism and the world from their view. - CR: Familiar Texas by Caroline Burns (I'm a sucker for this woman's romance/intrigue stories.) and Secondhand Husband by Dallas Schultz and To Serve and Submit by (can't remember who). - TBRN: Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyers}

Thanks so much!
B.B. Walter

Quick Note

[*Finished Reading: New Moon by Stepahnie Meyer, and plowed right on into and through Eclipse as well the same day - I definitely see this series appeal, but I'm still not sure if I actually like it; I find myself wearing my editor/writer's hat and wanting to take a red ink pen, but the characters have appeal and who doesn't love a vampire/werewolf story? -- CR: To Serve and Submit by Susan Wright - Great so far with subservient erotica - and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon - Riveting! I'm having a hard time putting it down when I pick it up, but it may not be to some people's taste in novels. TBRN: No friggin clue! :) More than likely will get Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer so I can finish the series, but I'm not chomping at the bit or anything.]

A quick note to let everyone know that I'm not dead. LOL

Things are a bit crazy right now. Z and I are getting ready to move to the St. Louis area. He got a great job offer (two actually) that he's decided to take. I'm not jazzed about the idea of moving - um, AGAIN - but I am about when we get there. See, I've always been the responsible adult who worked full-time and made sure all the bills were paid (rarely on time, but PAID anyway) while Z was free to work part-time and pursue other paths like school and his own small business. We've been doing this pretty much since we've been together - the last ten years. This being said, when we move to the St. Louis area, Z will have a great job with excellent pay, so we made a pact. It's MY turn to do the part-time work and full-time other pursuit while he plays the responsible adult. I figure since I had the last ten years, he can have this decade; we'll just switch off every so often! :)

I'm not thrilled about leaving all my friends and family and moving two hours FARTHER away, but I am looking forward to city with some culture in it. Don't get me wrong, we do have friends there already and even some family, but nothing like the last ten years we've accumulated here. Oh well...have to buck up and take the bad with the good, right?

As for my writing, I'm still hard at work on it. Mostly working on my writing classes I'm taking currently, but I do manage to get a little "me" time writing time, too. Most of this is spent working on the third book of the Of Shadows series and the second book of the Abigail St. Michaels series, plus my new post apocalyptic erotica I'm tinkering with. Not much more on the publishing front, but I did get a pretty good inside tip about a publisher recently that I plan on using to my advantage soon! (wink) You know who you are!

That's about it for me today...I have some serious house-hunting tomorrow, so I'm trying my best to rest up tonight! Until we meet again...

Keep reading; keep dreaming!

B.B. Walter

Write with Me, Learn with Me!

All right, kiddies! I threatened some time ago that I would be posting my writing assignments from the two courses I'm taking right now on here every so often. Today is that magickal day!! *And the crowd goes wiiiiiild!*

No, seriously, folks...I'd really like to hear some feedback about this short story I had to write for one class. It hasn't been graded and returned by the teacher yet, but I'm hoping for some constructive criticism from my friends, or any complete stranger that happens to read it. *wink* So here goes...

EXTRA-ORDIANRY

Tean-year-old Marcus Samuel Simon is what some would call an extraordinarily ordianry little boy. With mousy brown hair and nondescript brown eyes, freckles across his cheeks, he walks home from school with rounded shoulders, his hands crammed into the pockets of his blue jeans. The toes of his red and white sneakers leave wakes in the dirt as he drags his feet. Shades of his classmates taunt him during his trudge down the dirt road leading home.

"Marcuth Thamuel Thimon," the shades mock.

A new year at a new school because his dad has a new job at a new refinery. Marcus had anticipated the ridicule; this was the fourth school in as many years.

He sighs as he takes in the faded lime green pull-behind camper; his home since his mom abandoned them. His dad, Stephen Simon, did what he could but work was hard to find with refineries closing all across the U.S.

Twenty-two minutes and eleven seconds to go...

A piece of cardboard that neither keeps out the rain nor the cold is duct-taped over the busted window (the window where his "bedroom" is) at the front of the camper. Two rusted lawn chairs stand guard outside the dented front door.

Marcus strides across the outdoor carpeting that constitutes their "lawn". He retrieves the key tucked inside his shirt. The key is on a necklace comprised of two of his dad's old bootlaces.

Nineteen minutes and six seconds to go...

He slides the key into the lock and twists. Pushing his way into the dim interior, Marcus reaches for the kerosene lantern to his right. The lantern hangs on a rusted nail his father has driven; the book of matches for the lantern is in a brown glass ashtray. The ashtray is from the local (as in three states and two schools ago) bowling alley. It is balanced on the backside of the bench seat that joins its mate and small Formica table making up their "living/dining room".

Lighting the lantern, Marcus closes the door and hangs his key on the hook. Climbing the two stairs that bring him into the center of his home, he sets the lantern on the table. From his position, he can touch the table, the hot plate, and the bathroom door all at once if so inclined.

Marcus is not inclined.

Fourteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds to go...

Looking at the table, he sees his dad left him a note.Dear, son. chance for overtime. Eat your dinner, do your homework, and wash your face before bed. Here's a dollar; get something sweet from Chuck's. Love, Dad.

Chuck's is the convenience store down the road from their trailer park. Marcus moves the four quarters used to hold down the corners of the note and sighs. A dollar might get him gum if the old man who works there takes pity and doesn't charge tax. Marcus deposits the quarters back into the change jar sitting beside the hot plate. He stirs the jar, making it look like he spent the coins - not that his dad would check.

Stephen Simon works from three each afternoon until three in the morning, six days a week. Overtime meant an additional four hours; he would be ready to drive the hour and a half home about the time Marcus would be getting ready for school. The boy would be in class when his dad got home. Stephen Simon would be too tired to check his change jar to see if Marcus spent the money or put it back like always.

Marcus opens the door on the miniature refrigerator. The refrigerator shares the same counter as the hot plate and makes up their "kitchen". Removing the package of bologna and a juice box, he closes the door. The bread is in the cupboard above him. Within five minutes, his dinner is made; five minutes later, his dinner is eaten and his mess cleaned.

Five minutes and eighteen seconds to go...

There is no homework for the night; it's the first day. Marcus heads to the bathroom.

The bathroom consists of a small commode, a child-sized shower, and a sink the size of a sand bucket. Marcus removes the washcloth from teh edge of the sink and wets it. He scrubs at his face, turning the skin pink, and wrings the water from the cloth. Placing it back on the edge of the sink, he exits the bathroom. To his right, beyond a moth-eaten curtain, in his dad's "bedroom". His dad's room houses a bed and a small two-drawer cardboard dresser. The dresser has decorative pink and purple flowers; his dad found it on the side of the road.

Marcus turns and makes his way to his own bedroom. He extinguishes the light as he passes. His room is past the living/dining room and kitchen. Marcus's dad had hung him a sheet too; the sheet is 'Strawberry Shortcake' but Marcus doesn't mind. He bats the sheet aside and climbs into his bed, kicking his sneakers off as he pulls himself up.

Two minutes and three seconds to go...

Marcus draws the curtain shut, closing himself in. His room is made up wholly of his twin-size bed and the small storage space beneath it. Marcus reaches down and opens the door to the space. He pulls out a battered shoebox, clearly one of his dad's, and settles it in his lap. He sits Indian-style on his mattress. The boy caresses the boy, sliding his hands along the top of the cardboard, before he removes the lid. Light engulfs Marcus and he closes his unremarkable brown eyes.

Seven seconds to go...

Marcus opens his eyes to the adoring faces tilted upwards at him from inside. Salutations of greeting drift to him in melodious harmony.

"Hail Marcuth Thamuel Thimon! Hail King Marcuth, the Creator!" the people cheer.

Marcus's face splits in a dazzling grin. You see, ten-year-old Marcus Samuel Simon is what would ordinarily call an extraordinary little boy.

The End.

Allright, now I've put myself out there; laid my soul bare, so to speak, and I want you to tell me if you think it's pretty or not. *lol* Truly, I would like some feedback on what you think about my little diddy, how I can improve it, etc.

Well since I'm at work, I probably should be getting back to doing what they pay me for. *smile* Even if I'd rather be doing this...Chat atcha again in the future!!

B.B. Walter