"Your father told me you've been having a bit of trouble. I thought I might be able to help." I swallowed hard. In Mrs. Wolff's world, "helping" meant she was there to save you from your own incompetence.

Cover of the novella The Final Decree by Jeffrey Ricker shows a man in an orange spacesuit holding a ray gun standing against an abstract background.

LEAVE IT TO Travis to find the one planet it was impossible to get a direct flight to from anywhere. To reach Kohmar Prime, I had to string together four different flights in progressively smaller liners, followed by two local charters just to get there and make him give me the divorce I wanted after leaving him five years ago. Or did he leave me? Five years wasn't that long, but it was enough to make the details go foggy and, honestly, I tried not to think about that period of my life very often. Tracking him down took weeks and the help of a discreet private investigator. All of my old contacts from that life-the ones who were still alive, at least either didn't want to talk to me, or they didn't know where he was. When I finally got him on the link, he looked momentarily surprised but recovered quickly. "Hello, husband," he said, once the static finally subsided. Leave it to him to still know exactly what to say to get my goat, too. "Don't call me that." "If you wish, Lockhart.” I cringed. My given name was almost worse than husband. "It's Bill and you know it, so why don't you knock it off and tell me what the hell you're doing out there in the middle of nowhere." He shrugged and gestured behind him. "It's a nice place to get away from it all." He was standing out-side, and the landscape was uniformly tan and sandy, dotted with a few stubborn, scrubby-looking plants. "Lovely," I said. It was my idea of hell. "How are you, Bill?" he asked, his voice momentarily softening. "What's it been, four years?" "Five." A smirk. "Not that you were counting." And the sarcasm was back like a reflex. "Listen, I need a favor." "Of course you do." I paused at that, raised an eyebrow. He continued. "I figure you're not contacting me because you wanted to catch up or reminisce about all the good times we had. I'm not sure what I could possibly

Bill Templeton’s soon-to-be mother-in-law, Mrs. Wolff, knows more than anyone else, including the bad guys, and is twice as ruthless. Good thing she’s on Bill’s side. #1LineWed #BookSky #QueerWriters

(Want more? Go meet Mrs. Wolff in THE FINAL DECREE. ko-fi.com/s/b6e348f1b1)

Jessica couldn’t believe her own eyes that the compact, square-shaped device could expand into such a magnificent machine.

#1LineWed #expand #WriteSky

a close up of a cartoon sheep with the words baaaa on the bottom ALT: a close up of a cartoon sheep with the words baaaa on the bottom

Yes, there was a lot of cheering and loud music. Thankfully Beth’s nearest neighbour is a field of sheep so they wouldn’t be ringing the police to complain.

#1linewed "The Librarian's Secret Diary" on Channillo.com

Maya’s whole being was filled with such insurmountable joy in realising that fate was giving her a second chance, almost.

#1LineWed #joy #WriteSky

I was lucky I didn’t stab myself in the foot when I dropped the knife. A white horse, its head lowered to the ground as it searched for bits of grass to its liking, ambled slowly across the yard. When it heard the knife clatter, it looked up and stared right at me, blinked its glossy black eyes— —and shook its wings.

Cover of the novel THE UNWANTED by Jeffrey Ricker.

Jamie’s *had it* with his day long before he gets home and discovers a Pegasus in his backyard.

And *that’s* before he finds out his mother’s an Amazon.

How bad does it get? Check out THE UNWANTED to find out. #1LineWed #QueerYA #WriterSky books2read.com/theunwanted

“Why are you losing your chill over this?” “I am *not* losing my chill.” *** He is *so* losing his chill. 

Do you believe in ghosts? Lyn isn’t sure, but he’s been seeing one around his hometown of Hopewell, Ontario, and he can’t believe he’s told perfect stranger Ed about it. #1LineWed

a cartoon of a penguin with a backpack looking at a map with the words " getting lost " above him ALT: a cartoon of a penguin with a backpack looking at a map with the words " getting lost " above him

I hate directions with the words “you can’t miss it”. It’s like a secret incantation to the Gods of Getting Lost and will always end with me on my bike, staring at my phone, without signal, and hoping to meet a local who can help me.

#1linewed "The Librarian's Secret Diary"

Emmett looks like he’s going to give himself a heart attack and break a tooth, the way his jaw is clenched... his perfect, square jaw with the neatly trimmed beard that’s more salt than pepper and that would probably feel ecstatically good rubbing against his thighs or between his — well, riding down the highway in the middle of a blizzard is probably not the time to think about getting his salad tossed.

I’m revising the queer holiday romcom I wrote last year (working title: Kiss Me, Grumpy) and experimenting with writing from the love interest’s point of view. Greg’s the sunshine to Emmett's grumpy, and he’s… well, maybe I should’ve named him Randy instead of Greg. #1LineWed

That sense of desperation tainted everything about their relationship—every moment they spent together, every time they fell into bed pawing feverishly at each other, unable to get enough because it could all end in an instant, which was why Doyle proposed so early on and, he suspects, why Range accepted just as fast.

From a story I’m revising. Doyle reflects on his failed marriage after traveling to a parallel reality on a dangerous mission that might help his people win a war. Why’s he thinking of his ex-husband now? The person he’s tailing is his doppelgänger. #1LineWed

"You’re a fucking accountant who has an F-150 in your suburban driveway, Joe. Don’t fucking pretend not to understand the importance of gender affirming care."

#1LineWed

(I wonder if it’ll make it past an editor.)

a baby yoda from the mandalorian is manifesting new high paying jobs . ALT: a baby yoda from the mandalorian is manifesting new high paying jobs .

“It’s so hard to get a permanent job though. You have to fill dead men’s shoes."

A recent trial in the High Court talked about a person hiring a hit-man for €5,000. We couldn’t help noticing that assassinating an archive’s curator could be a worthwhile career investment.
#1linewed #librarylife

Wednesday, February 18th ~ #WritingPrompts 1/5

#1LineWed Theme: Salt(y)
#2WordPrompt Thumb & Consult
#BedroomEyesPrompt Will you still love me
#BraveWrite Whirlwind
#DailyImagePrompt #dip54 ⬇️

Don arrived on Delta A to a “Dear John” letter from Jamie and no forwarding contact information. Now Don was freezing and facing what had to be the planet’s biggest blizzard ever. Never go halfway across the galaxy for a man.

A few weeks ago I mentioned an old story of mine, “Snowblind,” originally published in The Bears of Winter. It’s out of print, but if you like sci-fi, adventure, danger, and a hot ginger bear, you can download it for free over here: ko-fi.com/s/c59ea2b37c #1LineWed

#1LineWed [1/3] Ra’fa’kat’wei wanted to know whether any of the vegetable matter was edible, and Swai’fol’zei and Tro’tei’a showed us some that was. We tasted a bit of weedy stuff but found it salty and unpleasant. Mo’wiv said that was its name – ko’zim’ko’zim’fli.

#1LineWed [2/3] Footnote: ko’zim’ko’zim’fli (Salt-salt plant, i.e., plant that is very salty.)
It was often harvested, washed in fresh water, dried, and shredded, then tied up in bundles to be carried on voyages as a nutritious supplement to wood pellets.

#1LineWed [3/3] “You may even come to like it!” said the Boatbuilder genially. “Chances are you will be consuming a lot of such fodder if you cannot eat wood!”

dipper from gravity falls is holding a clipboard ALT: dipper from gravity falls is holding a clipboard

An intern escorted me from reception to where we’d be filming season two of “Storyteller and Bear”, as the place is a maze. He looked about twelve years old and clutched his clip board like it would save him from the zombie apocalypse.

#1linewed "The Librarian's Secret Diary

Thursday, February 12th ~ #WritingPrompts 1/5

#1LineWed Theme: Sweet
#2WordPrompt Urban & Return
#BedroomEyesPrompt If you see me walking by
#BookishTues Beautiful
#BraveWrite Garnet
#DailyImagePrompt #dip48 ⬇️

“I swear,” she said, “I can’t look at her or listen to her without thinking of a piece of shit destined for a sewage grinder.”

One of my favorite things is putting words in the mouths of my characters that I would love to say myself…. #1LineWed

a man wearing a beanie and a blue shirt is holding a piece of paper in front of a palm tree ALT: a man wearing a beanie and a blue shirt is holding a piece of paper in front of a palm tree

I restarted Thing One and Thing Two myself. Linda cannot be trusted with anything more advanced than a stapler, and honestly I’m not totally sure about that either.

#1linewed "The Librarian's Secret Diary"

Wednesday, February 4th ~ #WritingPrompts 1/6

#1LineWed Theme: Bitter
#2WordPrompt Hunger & Fix
#BedroomEyesPrompt Here comes the sun
#BookishTues Pasta
#BraveWrite Tulip
#DailyImagePrompt #dip40 ⬇️

“Yes yes yes. Do we really have to do this?” “Do what?” “The part where I convince you that your eyes are not deceiving you, and also that I’m not a figment of your imagination and you’re not losing your grip on reality. Well, such as it is. Et cetera, et cetera.” “Oh.” “Yes. Oh.”

Thanks in large part to inspiration from @laurenshippen.com, I’ve been writing an extended dialogue between a messenger from Hell and an office worker who harbors… well, certain impulses. He just needs a little nudge. #1LineWed

a cartoon character with a big nose and a hat ALT: a cartoon character with a big nose and a hat

“Relationships aren’t easy, Nina. They take work. Anybody who says different is lying or selling perfume."

#1linewed "The Librarian's Secret Diary" ❤️

⬆️
#WritingPrompts 3

#UnchainedSymphonies
#ShakespeareSunday
#SenryuSunday*
#MythologyMonday
#FaeSense
#ScifFiMicro
#BookishTues
#WriteStuff
#FromOneLine
#10WordTuesday*
#LegendaryWednesday
#WyrdWednesday
#WednesdayWIPs
#1LineWed*
#Penstricken
#HorrorWritersChat
#30WordThursday

⬇️

Wednesday, January 28th ~ #WritingPrompts 1/5

#1LineWed Theme: Love
#2WordPrompt Patient & Detect
#BedroomEyesPrompt Audrey Hepburn
#BraveWrite Ballroom
#DailyImagePrompt #dip33 ⬇️

Travis would have said I lost my nerve around the time I left him, but I hadn’t listened to him then, and I wasn’t about to start listening to the voice in my head that spoke using his tone. Who was I kidding? I listened to that voice all the time.

Cover of THE FINAL DECREE by Jeffrey Ricker: A man in a red spacesuit stands before a stylized green-and-earthtone background while brandishing a raygun.

Bill’s way out of his comfort zone when he travels halfway across the galaxy to track down his estranged husband and get a long overdue divorce. Is he second-guessing his nerve? Maaaaybe. Check out THE FINAL DECREE here: ko-fi.com/s/b6e348f1b1

#1LineWed #WriterSky

three skeletons are dancing in a cemetery with graves ALT: three skeletons are dancing in a cemetery with graves

“Linda, what’s this old library event you ran? It’s called Kicking the Bucket, was that a game?”

#1linewed "The Librarian's Secret Diary"

Wednesday, January 21st ~ #WritingPrompts 1/6

#1LineWed Theme: Faith
#2WordPrompt Notice & Virus
#BedroomEyesPrompt Retribution
#BraveWrite Twisted
#DailyImagePrompt #dip26 ⬇️

There’s one who smiles at you whenever you get on board. He has a tattoo sleeve on his right arm; it peeks out from underneath his shirt and you wonder how far up his arm it goes, and if he has any in other places.

I wrote most of “You Ride the Bus” *on* the bus, specifically the 99 bus to and from campus while in grad school. Like many of mine, it’s about longing and desire. Go read it here: citronreview.com/2016/04/04/y...

#1LineWed #WriterSky

“However it happens,” she said, “I want it to involve immense pain and a lot of blood. Preferably televised.” #1LineWed #AmWriting