An Ounce of Prevention

Several years ago, I finished my story “An Ounce of Prevention” about a being from the distant future who comes back to nudge humanity onto a better path with the help of a present day schlub.  At the time I was just getting into self-publishing and I didn’t know which ereader would be best, Kindle or Nook.  So I published some stories on Kindle, and “An Ounce of Prevention” on Nook.  I sold a couple copies, but it soon became clear that Kindle was the better option.  I kept “An Ounce of Prevention” on it just in case someone noticed it there, but also because I was too lazy to change it.  Eventually, last year I took it down, waited a few months, then revised the story.  Last week I then republished it for Kindle.

Here’s an excerpt:

Jason took a step back, and collapsed into his beanbag chair. For ten or fifteen seconds he just stared at the woman. Shaking his head, he asked, “Do you have a name?”

“You lack the organs to ‘speak’ let alone ‘hear’ my name.”

“Then what do I call you?”

The woman frowned. “Does it matter?”

Jason thought for a moment. Finally, he said, “I think I’m either okay with or just ignoring the fact that you’re not … human. But I think not having a name to call you bothers me on a … primal level, maybe, something.” He finished with a mumbled, “I don’t know.”

The woman nodded. “What would you like to call me?”

Jason looked over at his bookcase and on the second shelf down a tome by Tolstoy caught his attention. “Anna?” he asked.

“Anna it is.”

“Okay … Anna. Sit down.”

She moved some books off a chair and sat down facing him. For a second he was engrossed by her legs. He shook his head and looked back to her face. “Uh, do you want me to … take you to my leader?”

“If I wished to speak to your President, I would just walk into the White House.”

“The Secret Service would probably stop you.”

“They would fail.”

A shiver ran down Jason’s back. He sat up straight and asked, “Why have you come to me?”

“I believe you may be of some service to my mission.”

“Which is?”

“The salvation of the universe.”

It was several attempts before Jason could speak his question, “I could save the universe?”

Anna shook her head. “No. I could wipe out your species and the universe would not notice. My mission is to try to save several million insignificant species in the hope that collectively you’ll make a difference.”

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If that sounds at all interesting, I hope you’ll check it out.

Grimm Reviews – “Rapunzel”

My introductory post.  

Grimm Reviews List 1

“Rapunzel”

There once was a couple who wished for a child. Next to their house was a beautiful garden that belonged to a witch. One day the wife noticed some rampion (a blue flower that can be used in a salad) in the garden and really wanted it, for some reason.

After several days, she asked her husband to go get her some. So he did. The wife loved the salad, and begged for more. When the husband went the second time, the witch caught him.

At first the witch was upset, but then she came up with a deal. The couple could have all the rampion they wanted, but she would get their child.

When a girl was born to the couple, the witch came and took her. She gave her the name Rapunzel, which is apparently another name for rampion.

By the time Rapunzel was twelve, she had long, golden hair. The witch at this time shut her into a tower that didn’t have a door. So Rapunzel had to let down her hair for the witch to climb it to get in to the tower.

Some years later, the king’s son was riding in the forest when he heard lovely singing. He stopped and tried to find a door to the tower, but could not find any. Each day he returned to listen to Rapunzel sing.

One day he was there when the witch visited, and he saw how to enter the tower. The next evening, he went to the tower and called out for Rapunzel to let down her hair.

The prince climbed up and Rapunzel was surprised to see a man, because she had never seen one before. But, he seemed so nice so she agreed to marry him. But she had no way to get down, so she asked that he visit her each evening and bring a piece of silk rope so she could get herself down.

The witch finds out about this because, despite trying to keep this a secret, Rapunzel asks the witch why it takes her so long to climb her hair when the prince does it so quickly. The witch was so angry she cut of Rapunzel’s hair and then – somehow – took Rapunzel far away.

But that night, the prince visited again, but this time it was the witch who lowered the hair. The prince was so upset with grief he jumped from the tower. He lived, but thorns plucked out his eyes.

The prince then wandered for several years, until he happened upon the place Rapunzel lived, with her children. When they met, her tears healed his eyes, and they went back to the kingdom and lived happily ever after.

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I don’t care how fantastic a salad is, why would anyone go into a witch’s garden?

Wait, Rapunzel can’t tell the difference between the witch and the prince calling out to her? Did the witch have a manly voice?

How high is this tower that the prince can’t find a rope long enough he can just carry up once to let her escape?

So Rapunzel is rather dense when she lets slip she’s seeing a man.

Interesting how Rapunzel had children. You’d think that back in the day they’d have to wait until they had a proper wedding.  Maybe more interesting are her healing tears.

Grimm Reviews – “The Glass Coffin”

My introductory post.  

“The Glass Coffin”

A tailors apprentice became lost in a forest. He climbed a tree to spend the night to be away from any beasts. In the night, he saw a glimmer of light and went towards it. He found a small hut where an old man lived. At first, the old man tried to send him on his way, but the tailor pleaded to let him stay the night and the old man relented.

The next morning the tailor was woken by a loud noise. He ran outside to see a great bull and stag fighting each other. The stag eventually won, then gathered the tailor up in his horns and carried him off.

The stag carried the tailor to a rock wall and let the tailor down. The stag pushed his horns into the rock, and a door opened with a blast of fire and smoke. The tailor didn’t know if he should run, but a voice came out of the rock bidding him to enter.

Inside was a great hall, and the voice told him to step on the stone in the center for a great fortune. The tailor did as he was asked and he sank down into the mountain. There he found another hall with two glass chests. In one he saw a miniature castle and farmland. In the other he saw a beautiful maiden.

She looked asleep, but then she opened her eyes and begged the tailor to open her glass coffin. The tailor did as she asked, and she came out and told him her story.

Her parents had died, and she was raised by an elder brother. They loved each other so much, they promised to never marry and stay together. One night a stranger came to their door and begged a place to sleep. He told such stories the brother begged him to stay a little longer.

That night, music woke the girl. She wanted to call out to her maid, but could not speak. She saw the stranger – a magician – enter through her locked doors. He offered her his hand, but she refused. The stranger then said he would punish her.

The next morning, she learned that the stranger had ridden off with her brother. She went after them, and found the stranger leading a stag. She realized what had happened to her brother, and tried to shoot the stranger but the bullet bounced off of him. He then made her go to sleep.

She awoke in the glass coffin. The magician told her he had shrunk her castle and lands and turn all her people into smoke in jars. He would return everything if she agreed to marry him, but she again refused. She fell asleep again until she woke to the tailor.

The two carried the castle outside where it returned to normal, and they freed all the people turned to smoke. He brother also returned to human form because he had killed the magician as a bull. And the girl and the tailor were married.

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I guess this tale makes about as much sense as the rest of them.

Was there some significance to him being a tailor?

Was the brother/stag just going to pick the first man he found to free/wed his sister?