TUESDAY TALES - FREE READS FROM 12 AUTHORS

This week our authors are writing original short stories to include the prompt "Midnight". Click on the name of the author to go to his or her page to read the short story. We love comments! Should we continue with our stories or start new ones? Express your opinion. We hope you'll come back every week. Thanks for stopping by.  
Jean Joachim (Contemporary Romance)

"Sexy Night at the Museum"

Liza stretched her arms over her head then brought them down, folding them around the naked chest of Dr. Rick Banks hovering over her in the big bed.  As he lowered his mouth to hers, the phone rang and Rick glanced at the clock…seven a.m. He gave Liza a quizzical look as he moved over to answer the phone. 

“It’s the police,” he said turning his head to face her, cupping his hand over the phone. 

Ana Hart (Fantasy Romance)
“That crazy old bastard lied to us,” Natalia hissed as she peered between Brant's cupped hands at the softly glowing pendant he cradled there so carefully. “He said midnight, did he not? And here we are . . . as good as dead.”


Lisa Darling

The waiting is always the hardest part. She stands in the doorway with the cool night breeze blowing back her graying hair and staring off into the dark for any sign of him.  Perhaps a rustle of leaves or a quiet footfall will alert her to his nearing presence.  


Lindsay Downs 
The plaintive cry from a nearby Great Horned Owl wormed its way into his unconsciousness. Against his will and better judgment he forced one eye open, partway.

Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy (Romance) 
 I rode shotgun in a vintage, mint condition black 1959 Cadillac Sedan De Ville with Will Brennan at the wheel. Since my Will proved to be one of the best drivers I ever rode beside, with nerves of steel and total control, I had no fear when we winged our way into the greater LA area at a high rate of speed. After the two hour trek across the dark desert from Las Vegas, we entered LA before midnight.
 

Michael Charton

Charles was greeted warmly by Esmeralda's family. Charles felt funny about eating their food, because he realized how poor they were, but he also realized he would be offending them by not staying.


J.R. Jenkins (Contemporary)

Gotta love events at the shop. They’re chaotic, tons of people, and lots of fun. I think so at least, but I guess it depends on who you ask. More often than not, I don’t like to work late nights. At all. Events are my exception, especially when Raven is playing with his band. I haven’t missed one of his shows in a long time.

Karen Cino (Contemporary Romance)
"Midnight Encounter"
Alexandra Scaronni pulled her car over to the side of the road.  In the dark she searched through her pocketbook until she found the directions she had hand written earlier.  Just looking at her surrounding, she knew she had made a wrong turn around a half hour ago.


Kathleen Tighe Ball (Cowboy Romance)
Summer couldn’t wait to get back to her cabin. She wanted to look at the information about Stone. If he lived in Montana then why fly out of Texas?


Siobhan Kincade (Paranormal Romance)

Typical wolf, she thought with a smile. He was a bit of a romantic at heart, but in execution he somehow managed to fall short.

Kay Springsteen (Contemporary Romance)
With a strangled cry, Summer gulped the last of the wine in her glass. “Memories” was far too mild a word. The details of sitting for Kyle Sebastian had been burned into her soul with searing kisses and heated touches that had awakened yearnings she hadn’t known existed.

Linna Drehmel (YA Sci/fi PG)
 Natalie stood on the balcony of her privet chamber looking out at the night sky. It was lovely and yet so surreal. The stars were brighter and the patterns in the sky were nothing like she had seen on Earth.

TUESDAY TALES - FREE READS FROM 12 AUTHORS

This week our authors are writing original short stories to include the prompt "LIPS"! Click on the name of the author to go to his or her page to read the short story. We love comments so talk to us. Should we continue with our stories or start new ones? Express your opinion. We hope you'll come back every week. Thanks for stopping by.

 Jean Joachim (Contemporary Romance)

"Sexy Night at the Museum"

At six thirty the alarm clock went off. Liza opened one bleary eye and shot a dirty look at the clock.
   “I set it early,” Rick said, rolling over to face her in his bed.

  “God, why would you do that?”

J.F. Jenkins Contemporary

“Are you sure you don’t care? Because I don’t want to make things weird.” I tell Gav on the phone.

“Things are going to be weird no matter what. I can’t make you stop having feelings for her though, but you do know that if you do anything bad to her that means I can kill you and get away with it right?”

Lindsay Downs - Romance 

The buzz of the phone set on the bookcase behind her was a grateful relief from staring at the computer screen. Where, for the past hour, she'd been filling in time worked on the current case for the past week.

Kharisma Rhayne - Paranormal Thriller, Rated G

The next day was overcast and chilly. Maggie was really missing the Arizona heat. Looking out the window, she sighed as she poured a cup of coffee. 

Kay Springsteen - Contemporary Romance

A chill hugged Summer’s spine. She no longer had any need to look for a signature. She should have known. 

 Kathleen Tighe Ball - Cowboy Romance

Summer's Desire - Part 7

Just the thought of Stone’s lips turned her body into an electrical field. Every part of her tingled. She actually tingled in places she had forgotten about. Summer needed to get a grip on her feelings. It was desire, no love involved. It must be because they’d had a history together or maybe it was because he was a fine specimen of maleness.

Siobhan Kinkade - Contemporary

"Clay"

His mind was a blank canvas, vacant of any preformed idea or notion.  It always helped to begin with nothing, just as the material before him was nothing.

Lee Ann Southeimer Murphy 

"Lip Service"

His green and gold vestments suited him and enhanced the resemblance to an angel on a medieval stained glass window in a medieval cathedral.  With a sigh, Julie tried to shift her thoughts back to the Gospel reading and to ignore the constant distraction of her youngest son who wiggled at her feet like a small snake.

 Kathleen Grieve

“I need three Coors draft, a margarita, and a Bohemian Rhapsody,” a female voice shouted down the length of the bar. The wait staff knew how to make themselves heard over the buzz of music and conversation from the numerous patrons that usually frequented Jolly’s Taproom.

Michael Charton (Contemporary Romance)
"A Kiss in the Stairwell"
Esmeralda and Charles entered her building and walked up to the sixth floor, where her family's apartment is. The sounds of Latin music permeated the hallway. Before Esmeralda opened the door...

Ursula Renee (Rated PG) - Historical
"Blind Love"
"I'm on the step," Raven announced as Shawn walked out the house to wait for Bradford to pick him up and drive him to the range. 

Linna Drehmel 
"The Forbidden Kiss"

Symon lay in his privet chambers tormented by all the feelings of guilt as well as longing. He felt as if it would crush him. He tried to block the memories of her, but he couldn't.

TUESDAY TALES - FREE READS FROM 10 AUTHORS

This week our authors are writing original short stories to include the prompt "SECRET"! Click on the name of the author to go to his or her page to read the short story. We love comments so talk to us. Should we continue with our stories or start new ones? Express your opinion. We hope you'll come back every week. Thanks for stopping by.


Jean Joachim (Contemporary Romance)
"Sexy Night at the Museum"
Liza began to see eluding Angela's watchful eye at the museum as a game. She and Rick were formal with each other whenever they worked together.

Kharisma Rhayne (Paranormal Thriller)

After leaving the Tastee Cream, Maggie shot over to the police station where Dad had been working the last several weeks. He was am FBI Special Agent and work was always first. He had always been a hard man, but he's new dedication to work had to be because of Mom.

Lindsay Downs (Mystery)
He stood in front of the window, staring out into the deepening shadows as dusk changed the clouds from orange to red. In a moment deep purple would signal the beginning of night.

Kathleen Tighe Ball (Contemporary Cowboy Romance)
Breakfast had become a trial. Watching Stone and Mimi chattering and laughing bruised her already tender heart. Summer knew she needed to buck up and put it all behind her. She just didn’t know how.

J.F. Jenkins (Contemporary)

  “Where’s my set up newb?” Princess snaps, pushing me aside and away from the bar so she can commandeer the machines fully.  I’m supposed to be helping her, but I’m not meeting her standards, so apparently she would rather work on her own. I don’t know why she expects so much from me. It’s only my second week.

Michael Charton(Contemporary Romance)

Charles sent the taxi away. The kid who ran over said with an evil smirk, “You are gonna regret sending that cab away

Elizabeth Black (Romantic Adventure/Suspense) 
"The Artifact"
Why do I have to choose one man or the other? Why can't I have them both? 

 Kay Springsteen (Contemporary)

It had been a long time since he’d done any sort of grocery shopping. Even between missions, he had tended spend his time with accommodating women friends and they had usually ordered in.

Kathleen Grieve (Medical/Paranormal)

Femme Fatale Agent, Scarlet Reed watched as the balding overweight man scurried across the street.  In his haste, he stumbled, not once, but twice.  Sweat and fear emanated from him in waves. 

Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy (Contemporary fiction)
He sat upon an upturned milk crate left by the delivery truck and lit a cigarette, the familiar tobacco calming in the still dusk.  Inside the restaurant, everything remained hectic but outside he savored the quiet in these few moments.

TUESDAY TALES - FREE READS FROM 10 AUTHORS

This week our authors are writing original short stories to include the prompt "LIES"! Click on the name of the author to go to his or her page to read the short story. We love comments so feel free to express your opinion. We hope you'll come back to this blog every week. Thanks for stopping by.

Jean Joachim (Contemporary, PG-13)
"Sexy Night at the Museum"
Liza was embarrassed when she woke up. It was one thing to go to bed with Dr. Rick Banks, ornithologist and another to wake up with him in the morning. 

Kathleen Ball(Contemporary Cowboy Romance)
"Summer's Desire"

Lies, lies it had all been lies; every word, every touch, every look, all lies. Just the thought of it brought her to her knees. What she’d thought was love was actually a lie.

Kharisma Rhayne(Thriller/Paranormal - Rated G)

During her time at ASU, she was a different person than she had been while she was home. Arizona, with it's large population, provided a way to hide, to make mistakes and go on without every person you ran into knowing about it. Besides, no one in Arizona reminded her of how they had once changed her diapers.

Kathleen Grieve(Contemp. medical para./rom. PG-13)

“One. Two. Three. Jump!” 

     Helicopter blades whirling overhead, Agent Tatum Wilder obeyed the command without hesitation and leapt from the open door into the frozen, black night.  Snow swirled around her as she floated toward the ice-covered ground, easily manipulating the lines of her parachute.  
J.F. Jenkins (Contemporary)
 “Thank God you’re home because I’m about to murder your spawn.” Marit says the instant I walk through the door. Just what I need, an awkward five hour shift with Marion trying to jump my nuts followed by four hours of naughty Petey time.

Michael Charton (Contemporary Romance)
"Lies and Deception"
 Charles was taking Esmeralda back to East Harlem in a taxi, as promised, but it took a while at first. The taxi driver was a nervous Indian man who began arguing when they entered the taxi.


Elizabeth Black(Romantic Adventure/Suspense)
Victoria let out an exasperated sigh. "Don, this is Julian Archer, my ex-husband. Julian, this is Donovan Fleming, my boyfriend." 

Kay Springsteen(Contemporary)
Though it sat uneasy on him, Garrett agreed it made sense for him to stay out of sight when the police came. But on the off chance anyone came looking, he wasn’t going to be caught hiding. 

Ursula Renee(Romantic Suspense, PG)
Terri closed the door to the utility closet and glanced at the clock on the wall next to the door. Twenty minutes to twelve. Despite the activities of the day, she had managed to get back on schedule, once she had been able to open the restaurant.

Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy (Fiction, PG)
"A Lack of Familiarity"
If the black dog was her familiar like she said then she was a witch but it could be more of her lies.  That was basic and he wasn’t surprised.  The way she dabbled in herbs and those bright colorful skirts that swirled around her chigger bitten ankles were not normal and neither were the dangling earrings she wore. 

TUESDAY TALES - FREE READS FROM 9 AUTHORS

Every Tuesday we publish the short stories of writers who write to a particular prompt. This week the prompt is "marching band". Click on the name of the author to view their story. Come back here when you're done to read another. Thanks for stopping by.

Jean Joachim (Contemporary Romance, PG-13)

        Sexy Night at the Museum

After an evening of interruptions, handsome Dr. Rick Banks, professor, lecturer and curator at the Washington Natural History Museum and Liza Holmes, the beautiful intern working under him for the year retired to his bedroom in Dr. Banks’ townhouse in the tony Foggy Bottom section of Washington, D.C.

Lindsay Downs (Mystery)

The sounds of the unofficial base band drifted through the open window.Emily, along with everyone else in the CID office, had stopped to listen.

Kathleen Tighe Ball (Contemporary Romance)

 Summer glowered at Stone. 

“Come join us Mimi, the more the merrier. After our toast we are all closing the adjoining balcony doors.” Stone cocked his eyebrow and gave her a mocking smile. 

“You’re serious?” Beck poured Mimi a glass of champagne and handed it to her. He smiled at Mimi but she only had eyes for Stone.
 

J.F. Jenkins (Contemporary)

 I wake up earlier than I expect to. I’m not sure why. Even Petey is still asleep.

Kay Springsteen (Romance) 
“I forgot what a pain game nights can be.” Anna allowed the car to idle forward by inches at a time. The brake lights on the sedan in front of them hadn’t gone out once since they’d pulled up behind it—Garrett checked his watch—fifteen minutes before.

Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy (Romance - G rated)

            Small Town Veneer

Late afternoon sun filtered through the branches of the massive oak trees that stood like sentinels on the courthouse lawn as the marching band that led the annual homecoming parade approached the town square.  Sunlight danced across her freckle-dappled hands as Keisha waved one hand at the crowds.  With the other she reached up to touch the tiara that crowed her light brown hair.

Kathleen Grieve (Contemporary Medical Romance - PG)
The local high school marching band tuned their instruments on their local football field located on the opposite side of the fence backing up to Mary’s backyard.  With a groan she rolled over and buried her head under the pillow.  What on earth possessed school administration to torture the neighborhood at dawn on a Saturday morning?

Kharisma Rhayne (G rated)
Maggie sat on the bleachers in the cool misting rain. The moment she had turned thirteen she had wanted to leave this small town. Lanyard, Missouri had been her own remote hell—population 586. No freedom, no privacy, no mall. 

Elizabeth Black (Romantic Suspense) 
Victoria raced down the crowded street in a futile effort to keep up with Julian. She shoved her way past vendors seeking to lure her towards cowrie and leather chokers she would have bought had she not been distracted by a particular missing statue of Aphrodite. 

TUESDAY TALES - FREE READS FROM 11 AUTHORS

The prompt for this week's Tuesday Tales is "kiss". Click on the author's name to go to their story:



Jean Joachim (Contemporary Romance - PG-13)
Sexy Night at the Museum (Part Two)
Liza and Dr. Rick Banks walked from the D.C. subway to his town house in the tony Foggy Bottom section of Washington, D.C. It was a narrow brick house painted white.


Siobhan Kincade (Contemporary Romance)
THE KISS

The day dragged along slowly.  Karen was so bored she didn’t know what to do with herself, and was to the point where she felt she would start peeling the wallpaper if something didn’t happen soon.

Kathleen Tighe Ball (Contemporary romance)
Getting the group settled took much longer than Summer anticipated. All she could think about was the kiss that hadn’t happen, yet. Every time she looked at Stone, her lips tingled with anticipation.


Kay Springsteen (Contemporary Romance/Romantic Suspense)

 The cold wasn’t so bad. It was the six inches of wet snow that was giving Garrett trouble. He cursed under his breath as he slipped for the second time in as many steps. This time he twisted his leg and felt a hot pulling sensation in the vicinity of his wounded knee.

Casea Major(Sensual Romance - Rated R)

An Artful Kiss

When last we left Debbie Jenkins, she had just received an invitation for a drink in her boss' office – her very hot, newly single, boss she has secretly been in love with for five years.


Elizabeth Black (Romantic Adventure, PG-13) 
Chapter Three
At the sight of Julian Archer, Victoria Crenshaw wrestled between an urge to rush into his arms and another, equally strong urge to claw his eyes out. Victoria did not believe in love. 

Michael Charton (Sweet Romance)

A Kiss at the Turn of a Mile.

Esmeralda took Charles’ hand as they walked through the Greek statues. 

“I look forward to going to Greece and seeing where this great art came from and the source of our Western Civilization.  It is nice to share it with someone.”   

Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy (Romance, PG-13) “Wesley.    He sat up, banging his elbow against the spare tire, his head against the toolbox.  It was a woman’s voice, rich and soft as velvet and the sound of it was as intoxicating as the whiskey.

J.F. Jenkins (Contemporary)

  Gavin is out and about doing things with Petey, so it's just me
and Marit in the condo - alone. Which normally wouldn't be a big deal, but I am more or less in love with her.


Ursula Renee (Interracial Historical Romance - PG)
Sweet Jazz: A New Turn
Cass wondered when she would learn never to
trust a man who said trust him. Randy had dragged her to a…to a…she could not even think of the words to describe the place. Calling it a
dive would have been too kind.

Catherine Greenfeder (YA Paranormal)
A chill coursed down her arms as she put the phone away in her pocket. Ghosts can tamper with electronics. The voice, eerie feelings, the odd attraction to of all things a picture, and now her cell phone on the fritz
Don't have time to read them all right now? Follow us and read them when you can.

Stories from 7 Authors written to the word prompt, "museum"

Click on the author's name to go to his or her blog and read their story:

Jean Joachim (Sensuous Contemporary Romance - PG-13)
"Sexy Night at the Museum"
Liza poured coffee into a cup and put it on the window sill, behind the curtain to cool. Professor Rick Banks liked his coffee black, so she didn’t add milk. Desperate feelings called for desperate measures.

J.F. Jenkins (Contemporary fiction)

I can’t believe they talk about me while they work. Rude much? Then again, I guess I’m just as guilty as he is. But it’s different. I’m not gossiping about him, or trying to play matchmaker.

Kathleen Tighe Ball(Romance)
Randi felt like a fool. Taking a chance on Stone already had her seeing red. 


Elizabeth Black (Romantic Adventure - PG)
"The Artifact" 
Victoria tore through the boxes in the storage room. "If I don't find this piece before the exhibit opens I'm dead meat. It's holding the entire exhibit together and without it the show will fall like a load of bricks.

Siobhan Kincade (Romance)
Pocahontas had always been jealous of Sacagawea. From the day they were placed, the positioning of the other woman had served as nothing but a reminder of all the things she did not have.

Michael Charton (Sweet Romance)
Esmerelda thought over what the man was saying.  Was he asking her to go to Greece with him? 

Casea Major (Sensuous Romance - PG-13)
A shrill screech echoed down the hall.  Followed by another…then another right on its heels. Debbie Jenkins pulled off her eyeglasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.