A. L. Kaplan

Tag: Love

  • Book Review: The Hanging City by Charlie N. Holmberg

    Wow, what a wild ride. The Hanging City is an exciting story with a strong theme of prejudice, but at its heart, it is about love and acceptance.

    Since she was twelve years old, Lark has been running from her unusual ability to instill fear in others and a cruel father who bullies and uses her power for his own gains. So desperate for a place she can call home in this drought-stricken world, Lark seeks shelter with the trolls, mortal enemies of humans. What she discovers is a society unlike any she’s encountered, but far from the mindless monsters of legend.

    I hope Charlie N. Holmberg has a sequel planned, because I would love to see more of this world and the characters.

    [I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.]

    If you haven’t had a chance yet, check out some of my stories.

    MARK OF THE GODDESS

    Sometimes a blessing can be a curse.

    Young Maya bears the mark of the moon goddess, a sign that would doom her to be sacrificed in her village where the death god is revered. Forced to dye her golden eyes dark, Maya lives in constant fear of discovery. To save her family and the village’s future, she must find the courage to stand up to the high priest before he can bring the death god into this world.

    STAR TOUCHED

    Sometimes it’s hard to be who you are meant to be.

    Especially when your powers can get you killed.

    Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population.

    Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble.

    Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.

    HUMMINGBIRD

    Plagued by memories not her own, a young hummingbird struggles to decipher the visions and powers that set her apart from her fellow birds. But the road to awareness is fraught with danger that could doom her to repeat history.

    One step toward understanding.

    One stride toward survival.

    One leap toward flying free from the past.

    WOLF DAWN

    A Hidden Past – A Deadly Secret

    Gifted with the ability to wolf-talk, Kara has lived with the wolves since she lost her memories eight years ago. Now at sixteen, snippets of her past send her searching for answers.

    But the warm welcome she receives in the human village hides more danger than life with the pack.

  • A. L. Kaplan Wins Another Flash Fiction Challenge

    A. L. Kaplan is the Readers’ Choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge. The winning entry is decided by the popular vote and rewarded with a special feature on Indies Unlimited.

     

     

     

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  • SPRING PEEPERS

    20160308_165456

    Weroo, weroo, weroo
    Incessant sounds fill the air

    Weroo, weroo, weroo
    Bulging throats beckon

    Weroo, weroo, weroo
    Find me and I’m yours

    Weroo, weroo, weroo
    Your heart’s fulfillment lies with me

    Weroo, weroo, weroo
    Spring is here, spring is here

  • WONDERFALL

    103

    “This is Wonderfall,” said Mark.

    The thirteen year old looked at the rushing water with a board expression. His lips twisted in an all too familiar grimace. “It’s a waterfall, Dad.”

    “But this one is special. Grandpa Jack took me here when I was ten. Best fishing in Maryland.”

    “You mean the same Grandpa Jack I never got to meet ‘cause you had a fight thirteen years ago? Dragging me to all these ‘special’ places isn’t going to bring him back.”

    Mark’s stomach clenched. This wasn’t the father son trip he’d envisioned. He and his dad had drifted apart, then had a big blow-up right before Jason was born. Now the same thing was happening with Jason.

    It seemed like yesterday Jason wanted to be a mini Mark. Then his mom died and everything changed. There had to be a way to keep history from repeating. Around them birds sang. Water cascaded over rocks, each splash of water a soothing balm. The two of them may as well have been worm eaten husks of oak, empty, disconnected.

    A pair of deer peered at them from across the stream, one full racked, the other single pronged.  Mark drew in a sharp breath. Even Jason stopped kicking stones. It felt like they were waiting for something.

    “You’re right, Jason,” said Mark. “I haven’t been listening. Let’s do something you like.

    ***

    “You think they got it?” said the smaller buck as Mark and Jason walked away.

    “I sure hope so, Jack.”

  • THE PROPOSAL

    Sweat dripped down John’s back, tickling like a stream of little spiders. He hated being hot, but the corporate sauna was the only place where he could work undisturbed. Stripping down to a towel had made it somewhat bearable. He squeezed the black satin pouch that hung from his neck and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. The proposal deadline was in a few hours. Holiday house guests, endless phone calls, and questioning coworkers had kept interrupting him, even in the bathroom. This hot, pit of cedar hell was his only refuge. His fingers tapped furiously on the keys of his iPad. He was almost done. Nothing could stop him now.

    A fire alarm screeched. John groaned in frustration. “This isn’t fair.”

    He stumbled to the door and yanked it open, dizzy from the prolonged heat. Cold air hit him like an arctic blast. Everything looked hazy, smoky. Panic pressed in on him. He raced to the exit, bare feet slapping on the tile floor. Relief filled John as he burst out of the building and hurried to his boss, Morgan and her administrative assistant, Tyron.

    “Sorry…Morgan,” he said, clutching the iPad with its precious proposal and gasping for air. “Proposal’s…not quite…done….Need another…five minutes.”

    Morgan’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times, then she cleared her throat. Her eyes kept lowering, then darting away, finally settling on something behind his left shoulder. “Um…it’s okay, John. The fire and all….”

    “Really,” said Tyron with an enormous grin. “When you said you had an early holiday gift for me I wasn’t expecting this, but I love it.”

    Confused, John stared at his coworkers, then at the crowd around them. Fingers and phones pointed in his direction. It wasn’t until his heart stopped pounding in his ears that he heard the sniggering and the rapid clicking of cameras. A cold December breeze chased away the last of the sauna’s heat induced haze. Somewhere during his dash to safety, his towel had vanished. Warmth flooded John’s face. He lowered the iPad, then shrugged and handed it to Morgan. Sinking to one knee, he opened the pouch around his neck and pulled out a diamond ring.

    “Tyron, will you marry me?”

    Tears glistened in Taylor’s eyes. “Of course I will, you crazy fool.”

    Camera’s continued to snap amidst cheers and applause as Tyron wrapped his jacket around John and pulled him into passionate kiss. This was one proposal that would make history.

  • THE POTION OF POWER

    Colorful glass bottles filled the shelves in the small shop, some tall, others not. A few seemed to glow but that could have been from creative lighting. The containers had only one thing in common. None were labeled. Yet the old woman who ran the shop reached behind several to grab this one for Bob.

    It was a long shot, but Bob was desperate. No job, nearly homeless, and the most fantastic woman he had ever met probably didn’t remember talking to him last week. Why would she? He was useless. That small blue bottle was his only hope. If it worked, Vanessa was sure to notice him.

    “The ointment must be used sparingly,” said the woman, as she took his last few bills and handed him the bottle. “Too much and there will be dire consequences.”

    Bob laughed. “Will I grow fangs or something?”

    A toothless grin spread across the old woman’s face, but there was no humor in it. “Remember, you must still find the root of your problem and prune it out. Otherwise it will only fester.”

    He left clutching the blue glass.

    “Bang!”

    Bob’s bottle of salvation slipped and smashed open. His heart raced. People screamed and ran. But Bob acted instinctively. In seconds he pinned the gunman and saved dozens. It wasn’t until the man was hauled off that he noticed Vanessa watching him from across the street. His heart raced as he walked toward her.

    #

    Weeks later, after the reporters stopped asking questions, after endless job offers, Bob stood by the shop with Vanessa and stared at the concrete where the ointment had spilled. A pair of blue eyes gazed back. Jagged glass fangs stuck up from a long crack in the pavement beneath them. Vanessa leaned over the low fence that surrounded the damaged pavement then smiled at him.

    “I didn’t need the ointment at all,” he said. “All I really needed was confidence.”

  • Forever Hold Your Peace

    Blaine eyed the neatly displayed refreshments just outside the chapel and clenched his fists. Fruit punch and tea weren’t what he wanted, unless they were spiked with bourbon. His stomach twisted. This had to be done. It was his duty, just like serving in Iraq. He pushed open the doors just as the preacher asked if anyone had any objections.

    “I sure as heck object,” Blaine’s voice boomed across the chapel.

    Whispers grew as he marched up to the pulpit. Not surprising considering Roy McCoy stood next to his old fiancé. That snake oil salesman swept her off her feet while Blaine was off on tour. The man had the gall to smirk at him as he approached.

    Tiffany looked fantastic, the picture of health. There was no trace of the mysterious illness that only Roy could cure. Barely contained anger coursed through Blaine’s veins. He still loved her.

    “Blaine,” she whispered. “Don’t do this. Please.”

    Bombs and enemy gunfire were easier to face than the pleading in her eyes. Courage prevailed.

    “If you don’t want me, that’s fine, but I can’t let you marry this worm.” He pulled an evidence bag with a bottle of ipecac syrup from his pocket and held it up.

    “Officer Baker found this in Roy’s apartment along with a mess of other drugs. He’s the reason you were so sick, Tiffany. There’s a warrant for his arrest. His last wife disappeared. Officer Baker is waiting outside. The choice is yours.”

  • WATCHER

    “Margaret!

    “Goodness, Charles. You nearly broke the door slamming it open like that.”

    “To hell with the door. We have to leave. They found us.”

    Are you certain? It’s been years. Surely they’ve given up by now.

    Well, they haven’t. Damned robotic hawk’s been watching me plow for weeks. I was just too stupid to realize it until now. Where’s Peter?”

    “Oh, God. Not now. He’s out with Suzy.

    “Again? He spends more time with her than us these days.”

    “He’s in love, Charles. They’re in love. I’ll text him to come home.”

    Are you insane? They sent a robotic bird to spy on us, Margaret. Hacking a phone is child’s play to them. Pack our things. I’ll get Peter’s. We’ll pop to the theater for him.

    What about Suzy? He won’t leave her behind.

    “Bad enough we have to look over our shoulders all the time, and with Peter’s abilities, it’s his fate as well. That’s no life for a country girl like Suzy.

    Don’t you think that’s her choice?

    We don’t have time for this.

    Make time. Peter plans to marry her, with or without your approval.

    And if she freaks out when we tell her about us, about our magic?

    We do a memory spell and leave. But it won’t come to that. Suzy is stronger than you think. I think she has latent spell abilities.

    If they find out they’ll make her life hell. Damn techies. Wish they’d leave us mages alone. Let’s go welcome the girl to the family.

  • Dragonfly Arts Magazine: Reflections on Life, Love, Trauma and Hope

    Dragonfly Arts Magazine: Reflections on Life, Love, Trauma and Hope was recently published by Hope Works. Hope Works is dedicated to eliminating sexual and domestic violence in Howard County, Maryland. This insightful collection of poetry and art touches not only on the many aspects of abuse, but on renewal and healing as well. Dragonfly Arts Magazine was made possible by the Howard County Arts Council through a grant from Howard County Government.

     

  • MATCHMAKERS

    “This one’s a sceptic,” said Yenta.

    Clarence looked at the man curled up on the hay in Pete Forrester’s barn. “He’s here isn’t he?”

    “But he doesn’t believe.”

    “Yenta, look at him. All alone in a dilapidated barn. The man’s desperate for love. He needs our help.”

    Yenta pulled a pair of glasses from her carpet bag and scrutinized the sleeping man. He wore faded jeans and a Frank Sinatra t-shirt. Gray hairs dotted his head and a pair of red cowboy boots sat on the floor next to him. “I don’t know, Clarence. This one might be beyond us.”

    “Think of it as a challenge. Just last week you complained this job was too easy.”

    “All right. No need to kvetch. Who are we going to pair him with?”

    “Merry is about the same age.”

    “She’s a cup half-full girl. He’s half-empty. They’ll never agree on anything.”

    “Olive?”

    “With his vinegary attitude?”

    “Helen?”

    “Too explosive. He’d get buried alive.”

    “Fine. Ginger.”

    “Be serious, Clarence.”

    “I am. Lord knows he needs some spice.”

    “I don’t know.”

    “Where’s your sense of adventure, Yenta?”

    “I left it at the shtetl.”

    “And then you found me.”

    “So you always remind me.”

    “Yenta.”

    “Okay. You work on him and I’ll go yell in Ginger’s ear.

    “I think you mean whisper.”

    “No, Ginger is a heavy sleeper. I’ll need to yell to get through to her subconscious.”

    “Well good luck, then.”

    Yenta rolled her eyes. “Ginger and Al, a match made in heaven.”