Joseph Carrabis, Author Blog – Quite the Life (and all in Times New Roman 10pt!)

The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery) – Chapter 33

Hopefully the next entry in these The Alibi previews will be new, fresh, exciting…or at least recycled differently.

See you next month.

Enjoy!

The Alibi – Chapter 33

Leddy sat across from Penny in the Boston Public Library’s Johnson Building. Leddy always thought she and Penny’d look like tower salt&pepper shakers if Penny could get on her shoulders. Leddy, stocky and dark like her father, Penny thin and fair like her father if he didn’t get to his Bermuda home for a weekend.

Out the window she watched firetrucks and ambulance race towards the waterfront until people crowded around her and blocked the view. She switched her tablet from screen to dVids, a gift from Penny’s father, and guided her drone with a specialized pen she designed inside MIT’s Media Lab as part of the after school study program. She couldn’t stop actionable ideas from coming to her. Her advisors wondered if she were adopted. Grad students and professors attempted to copy her designs. Penny’s father, Briggs, told Penny to keep an eye on her and bring any things she came up with to him.

Briggs had Penny and Leddy to lunch at least once a month and Leddy on her own fortnightly. He ate little, a salad if anything and rarely more, bottled water on the side, made sure Leddy ate like a queen, and probed her about anything Penny brought to his attention and then conversationally asked about things Penny missed, but gently so she wouldn’t catch on.

Leddy thought him a playable fool. He could get her hands on tech even her Media Lab buds knew nothing about and Leddy always let him think something profitable would come of it.

But gently, conversationally, so he wouldn’t catch on. After their third chat she started picking at her food.

She’d order everything and anything, then have it boxed up to go and pass it around when she got back to the lab.

A lot of her labmates were just getting by.

And Leddy liked to pay it forward when she could.

She tapped Penny’s tablet. “People will see what’s on your screen.”

Penny laughed. “I’m going inside. I’ll be able to sell this, create a bidding war. We’re the first on the scene.”

“You take too many chances.”

Penny kept her tablet active. “You don’t take enough. What are you doing?”

“Watching vehicular and foot traffic.”

“Do you listen to yourself? You sound like your father.”

“You sound like yours.”

“Yeah? How ’bout you give those dVids back. Briggs won’t mind.”

“I’ve never heard you call your father father, dad, pop. He’s always Briggs to you.”

“That’s the way he likes it. Good business practice. He’s grooming me to take over for him when he retires.”

Leddy smiled and nodded. You don’t have the horsepower to takeover for a snail.

Penny nodded with her friend. “See? Even you know it.”

Leddy continued smiling and nodding. I’m agreeing with myself, you wonker.

Penny cocked her head over her tablet and frowned. Her long blonde hair fell forward and partially covered the screen. She brushed it away. “I swear Briggs has the right idea, shaving everything off. Nothing gets in the way.”

Leddy noted Penny’s blank screen. “Problem?”

A woman with a nametag hushed them from the window.

Penny’s tablet sounded an odd ping.

Leddy reached for it. “Did it die again?”

You have to be a paying subscriber (Muse level (1$US/month) or higher) to view the rest of this post . Please Login or Join Us to continue.

Previous entries in The Alibi (A John Chance Mystery)

My ‘Sanctuary’ in Writers Co-op Production’s The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey Anthology

I asked fellow The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so will be appearing here for the next week or so.

Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).

Let’s start with an introduction to the anthology as a whole:

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Emerson’s point has been echoed by many, but in the Land of the Weird the question arises, “A journey to what destination?” At the same time, you might ask, “Is the journey therefore the destination?” The journey may well be an individual’s destination, because it will define them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And in the Land of the Weird, that journey can take twists and turns that amuse, sadden, or horrify.
This trip into the Land of the Weird offers you 39 unique trails to follow, assisted by 35 different guides, each leading you down their own singular paths, manifesting their own view of journey as destination, some laughing, some weeping, and some, eyes wide with fear, shaking as they point out the spectral footpath for you to follow on your way down The Rabbit Hole.

A Writers Co-op Production
Stories by: Chere Taylor, Brian R. Quinn, Arthur M. Doweyko, Donna J. W. Munro, Tom Howard, Kayla Whittle, Leslie Muzingo, Pete Barnstrom, Emmie Christie, Thomas Nicholson, GD Deckard, Richard DeRobertis, M.C. Schmidt, James Dorr, Rosalind Goldsmith, Margaret Karmazin, J.W.Wood, James Rumpel, Bill McCormick, v.f. thompson, Fran Tabor, David K. Slay, Joseph Carrabis, Jane Frankel, Alice Baburek, Susan R. Morritt, Bobby Rollins, Lee Clark Zumpe, Denice Penrose, Stephen McQuiggan, H. Donovan Lyón, Anna Ross, Michael Pudney, Beth Gaydon, and Tom Wolosz.

My second contribution is Sanctuary. Here’s the opening:

There is a planet on the scanners. It is large and round and red. The sun is yellow and warming, and the planet is in the sun’s life zone. The gravity is slightly stronger than Earth’s. The air is a bit richer, and there is abundant water under the surface.
The red coloring comes from two things. The surface of the planet is covered with red vegetation and their spores are everywhere. The ground is also red, although not with spores but with clay and slate like so faraway Connecticut.

How the story came about:
Sanctuary was written in the mid-1990s and originally appeared in Harvey Duckman Presents Volume 8. Of all my flash pieces – probably of all my work – it has received the most visceral reactions from readers, everything from “F’king Brilliant!” to “I hate you for writing this and I never want to read another thing you’ve written!”
Amusingly (to me), that same person finished their acid bath with “And that fact you could get me this pissed off in 900 words tells me what an incredible author you are!”
Hey, I take ’em where I can get ’em.
Sanctuary is about environmental concerns and sacrifice.
I think.
Continue reading “My ‘Sanctuary’ in Writers Co-op Production’s The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey Anthology”

My ‘The Seduction of Cyrynda Strong’ in Writers Co-op Production’s The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey Anthology

Let’s start with an introduction to the anthology as a whole:

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Emerson’s point has been echoed by many, but in the Land of the Weird the question arises, “A journey to what destination?” At the same time, you might ask, “Is the journey therefore the destination?” The journey may well be an individual’s destination, because it will define them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And in the Land of the Weird, that journey can take twists and turns that amuse, sadden, or horrify.
This trip into the Land of the Weird offers you 39 unique trails to follow, assisted by 35 different guides, each leading you down their own singular paths, manifesting their own view of journey as destination, some laughing, some weeping, and some, eyes wide with fear, shaking as they point out the spectral footpath for you to follow on your way down The Rabbit Hole.

A Writers Co-op Production
Stories by: Chere Taylor, Brian R. Quinn, Arthur M. Doweyko, Donna J. W. Munro, Tom Howard, Kayla Whittle, Leslie Muzingo, Pete Barnstrom, Emmie Christie, Thomas Nicholson, GD Deckard, Richard DeRobertis, M.C. Schmidt, James Dorr, Rosalind Goldsmith, Margaret Karmazin, J.W.Wood, James Rumpel, Bill McCormick, v.f. thompson, Fran Tabor, David K. Slay, Joseph Carrabis, Jane Frankel, Alice Baburek, Susan R. Morritt, Bobby Rollins, Lee Clark Zumpe, Denice Penrose, Stephen McQuiggan, H. Donovan Lyón, Anna Ross, Michael Pudney, Beth Gaydon, and Tom Wolosz.

My first contribution is The Seduction of Cyrynda Strong. Here’s the opening:

It was done and she felt herself relax.

Michael stood where the parking lot pavement met the beach sand and gazed up into the clear evening sky. “Care to go for a walk?”
She thought for a moment.
Pros slid into cons faster than she liked: she liked him, he was cute, he was a gentleman, he listened to her. It was their first date, there were some beach houses within screaming distance with lights on, the beach was deserted, he might turn into a monster – two arms, two legs, and a dick. She remembered a joke a friend told her, “…I’ve already got one asshole in my pants, I don’t need another.”

How the story came about:
The Seduction of Cyrynda Strong is part of a women’s triptych I wrote from 1992 to 1994. I worked as a therapist specializing in trauma recovery. For reasons I didn’t understand, women came to me more often than men and I documented their stories in fiction (asking to make sure my “translations” were acceptable, of course). One of the three, Rachel, Above the Clouds While Flying, appeared in Across the Margin and in Rabbit Hole IV Descent Into Madness. The second piece, Striders is yet to find a home. Cyrynda Strong is the third piece of the triptych and was originally entitled “The Raping of Cyrynda Strong” because I dealt with so many individuals who were first psychologically and emotionally violated (victimized) and that violation/victimization led to consent to the physical encounter.

Another, similar piece, Eliana’s GiveAway, came later towards the end of my practice and appears in my The Shaman and on BizCatalyst360.

Hope you enjoy.
Continue reading “My ‘The Seduction of Cyrynda Strong’ in Writers Co-op Production’s The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey Anthology”

Sitting at the Kiddie Table

Ah, the memories.

Holidays at your parents’ house. At your grandparents’ house. Maybe family friends? Relations of some kind or other?

I do.

Christmas was always at our house.

My god, the food.

Sicilian delicacies (I’ve learned to cook a few), Italian pastries from Piantedosi’s (haven’t had their like since), and laughter. Lots and lots of laughter.

Thanksgiving was at the Campbell’s in Middleton, Mass. My dad and Al Campbell knew each other from way back before I was born. I remember the food was amazing, non-stop, and the pies…oh, my god, the pies! As the day wore on, Mrs. Stocktin would play piano.

I can’t say she was my first piano teacher. She did teach me how to play Chinese Checkers (is that still around? Probably under another name…) and Blanche taught me how to play Dominoes and Scrabble.

But mostly I remember the day at our house when I moved from the Kitchen to the Dining Room.

Almost burst out singing “God has made a Man today!” from Fiddler on the Roof.

Pity it wouldn’t be written for another ten years or so, huh?

Rosalind Goldsmith’s ‘Almost Home’ in Writers Co-op Production’s The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey Anthology

Let’s start with an introduction to the anthology as a whole:

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Emerson’s point has been echoed by many, but in the Land of the Weird the question arises, “A journey to what destination?” At the same time, you might ask, “Is the journey therefore the destination?” The journey may well be an individual’s destination, because it will define them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And in the Land of the Weird, that journey can take twists and turns that amuse, sadden, or horrify.
This trip into the Land of the Weird offers you 39 unique trails to follow, assisted by 35 different guides, each leading you down their own singular paths, manifesting their own view of journey as destination, some laughing, some weeping, and some, eyes wide with fear, shaking as they point out the spectral footpath for you to follow on your way down The Rabbit Hole.

A Writers Co-op Production
Stories by: Chere Taylor, Brian R. Quinn, Arthur M. Doweyko, Donna J. W. Munro, Tom Howard, Kayla Whittle, Leslie Muzingo, Pete Barnstrom, Emmie Christie, Thomas Nicholson, GD Deckard, Richard DeRobertis, M.C. Schmidt, James Dorr, Rosalind Goldsmith, Margaret Karmazin, J.W.Wood, James Rumpel, Bill McCormick, v.f. thompson, Fran Tabor, David K. Slay, Joseph Carrabis, Jane Frankel, Alice Baburek, Susan R. Morritt, Bobby Rollins, Lee Clark Zumpe, Denice Penrose, Stephen McQuiggan, H. Donovan Lyón, Anna Ross, Michael Pudney, Beth Gaydon, and Tom Wolosz.

Rosalind’s contribution is Almost Home. Here’s the opening:

She folds her hands neatly in her lap and gazes out the side window, expecting to see the swaths of land passing by. But all is still. The Cypress trees at the far end of a hay field stand solemn and sentinel, and not so much as a wish of wind rustles their branches. In the mown field, rolls of twined hay. A broken fence skirts the grass gully beside the road.

How the story came about:
Almost Home began as a response to a writing prompt, though the story has morphed several times since the first version. The prompt was: A car stopped by the side of the road with someone in the back seat. No mention of the driver…. So then the question was: Who is driving the car?? That set me off down a strange path to answer to that question. I love writing prompts. They are visual triggers, and you never know where they will take you!
Continue reading “Rosalind Goldsmith’s ‘Almost Home’ in Writers Co-op Production’s The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey Anthology”