Thursday, January 26, 2017

Excerpt from Undying

Metamorphosis
By Stephen B. Bagley

In the failure of his life,
he stirred the ashes,
recognizing each mistake,
his lover there,
his career here,
his hopes scattered
by the brutal wind.

He stood and spread his arms.
His hands couldn’t hold
—he dropped them.
His tongue couldn’t speak
—he spit it out.
His skin flawed and torn
—he sloughed it away.

That which he didn’t need
he would not keep;
all things have a time,
even humanity.

He raised tentacles
to the night sky,
roared his fury
as the ravens circled above,
craned his sinuous neck
to see the town below.

His lipless mouth
curved into a smile.
She would wake to terror,
she would see her unfaithful heart
beating in his grasp,
and her screams would be his lullaby.

(Excerpt from Undying. Copyright 2016 by Stephen B. Bagley. All rights reserved.  No copying without prior permission of the publisher.)

Friday, January 20, 2017

Excerpt from Floozy Comes Back

(From "Clothed and Happy" in Floozy Comes Back.)

Have you seen that show “Naked And Afraid” on the Discovery Channel? It’s a (so-called) reality show where they drop two total strangers—a man and woman—into a harsh wilderness environment with only one item apiece. Neither item is clothing.

You might think this is a recipe for hanky panky or whatever the kids are calling it these days, but after a day or two with the couple being bitten and stung by hordes of hungry insects, sunburning in places the sun really shouldn’t get to, feeling ravenously hungry and desperately thirsty, having their bare skin slashed by vines and plants, limping on feet bleeding from thorns and bruised by rocks—hanky panky is the last thing on their minds. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised to find the show is sponsored by the Clothing Manufacturers of America after seeing what clothes and shoes protect us from.

Of course, the Discovery Channel blurs what needs to be blurred; you’ve seen more skin at the beach or the lake. And since these are not supermodels, the skin you do see isn’t skin you’d necessarily want to see—if you can follow that.

“Experts” give them a Survival Rating at the start and end of the show. By choosing to participate in such an insane and life-threatening situation, it’s obvious the participants have the survival skills of deranged lemmings and the intelligence to match. I suspect their family trees are more like telephone poles.

There’s a lot of drama as the two discover that they not only have nothing in common with each other, but that they want the other participant dead. And possibly cooked over a slow fire. Because it’s the 10th day and all they have had to eat was a couple of insects and some grass that tasted like...well, grass.

(Read more in the upcoming Floozy Comes Back, copyright 2017 by Stephen B. Bagley. No copying without prior permission from the author and publisher. Thank you for reading.) 

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Christmas After Christmas

    What with one thing or another, I didn't talk about Christmas here much. Sort of surprising since Tales from Bethlehem is a Christmas book, and that is the time it receives the most interest. Life, however, had other plans, and I didn't get into the spirit of Christmas until it was almost upon me. Well, that happens sometimes. But Christmas finally worked its usual magic, and soon I was happily singing carols, sending out Christmas cards, and watching concerts and old Christmas movies.
     I hate to see the holiday season end. January always seems so much colder and darker after the life and excitement of Christmas. The winter closes in. The temps drop. The skies stay gray. I miss the sun and warmth.
     Almost all decorations are down in my house now. Just a few more things to be packed away and placed into storage until December rolls around again. It seems like long time until then, but it will go fast. The days can drag, but the year blurs.
     I always plan to somehow keep Christmas in my heart through the year. I bet you do, too. It's easy to say, but hard to do. Maybe this year we will. I will try. Maybe I should reread Tales every month. That might help! Well, it couldn't hurt, now could it?

Tales from Bethlehem
    You've heard the story a thousand times: glorious angels, lowly shepherds, brightly shining star, three Wise Men, and wee babe in a manger. But have you ever wondered about everyone else in tiny Bethlehem on that marvel of nights? What did they think? What did they do? How would you have responded?
     In these funny and touching tales, you'll meet a stable boy, a serving girl, an honest spy, an astounding clerk, an empty innkeeper, a mighty ship of the desert, and many others as they share their amazing Tales from Bethlehem.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I hope your 2017 is filled with good health, wealthy sufficient for your needs and a few luxuries, solutions to your worries, peace to quiet any anxious thoughts, love unconditional, sweet laughter, and much, much joy!