Only Regrets -The First Reveal
I patted his scar and grieved for whatever had happened to him over the last ten years, then left without looking back. Continue reading Only Regrets -The First Reveal
Category: My novels
Cartoons with Wings
[Lustredust, an illustration I created for my last novel, is this post’s featured image.] While working out the shocking and unexpected turning point of my story, “Only Regrets,” my worktable beckoned me again, this time with an invitation to draw … Continue reading Cartoons with Wings
Only Regrets – Installment 16: Runners and Losers
In the last installment, Ella meets Detective Ferguson in his precinct office. The interview includes all her odd experiences in the neighborhood and disturbing incidents in the unit next door to her apartment. After calming herself at a pizza place, … Continue reading Only Regrets – Installment 16: Runners and Losers
A Manual of Magic
This season, full of turmoil and menace, as well as hope, reckoning, and the promise of regeneration, is also the fifth and third anniversary of my two novels, Malevir: Dragons Return and Where Dragons Follow (its stand-alone sequel). This post reviews the … Continue reading A Manual of Magic
Only Regrets – Installment 14 (Officer Friendly?)
Ella meets with a local police detective who has asked her for information regarding her presence near a corpse found in a trash burner in her neighborhood. Ella describes her worries about strange sounds in the unit next to hers … Continue reading Only Regrets – Installment 14 (Officer Friendly?)
Only Regrets – Installment 13 (The Station House)
Ella was snooping through the vacant unit next to her apartment when an attack knocked her out. After recovering, she found her apartment burglarized but only a photo of her deceased husband was missing. My forehead was throbbing the next … Continue reading Only Regrets – Installment 13 (The Station House)
Only Regrets – Installment 12 (Knock-Out)
Re-cap: Ella has moved into a new neighborhood and loves it until she learns someone might have been murdered a few blocks away from her home. A dog threatens her at the murder site. She calls Animal Control to report … Continue reading Only Regrets – Installment 12 (Knock-Out)
“Only Regrets” Installment 11 (Apartment 2A)
[In the last installment, Ella called Animal Control Officer Falk back to her neighborhood. She suspected an abused dog lived captive in 2A, the apartment next to hers. Earlier, Falk had discovered a mutilated corpse inside a trash-burner a few … Continue reading “Only Regrets” Installment 11 (Apartment 2A)
Next Installment: “Only Regrets” (Animal Control)
[After a strange incident around a trash burner a few blocks from her home, Ella is unnerved by reports of a corpse discovered inside it. Her neighbor Fanny helps her calm down but when Ella returns to her apartment, she hears strange sounds next door. She phones Animal Control to report possible abuse.] Maybe the stress of moving was catching up with me, but I couldn’t accept I was hallucinating. Officer Falk’s patronizing tone when he walked me and the cat back to our building had made me feel small and silly. But there was that body…torn apart, he’d said. … Continue reading Next Installment: “Only Regrets” (Animal Control)
New Installment of “Only Regrets”
[After her casual walk reveals a corpse, Ella suspects her new neighborhood has some unpleasant secrets. Fanny, a tenant one floor down, comforts her with tea and sympathy. To read previous installments, start with https://susanbassmarcus.net/first-paragraphs-of-a-new-scary-short-story%5D Fanny made excuses about an appointment. “Sorry, can’t go in this robe. Your tea still warm? Take the mug home. I know where to find it,” she said with a small smile while showing me to the door. “Thanks, Fanny. I appreciate your company…and the tea, but that business around the trash-burner was so strange.” Fanny whispered, “Strange. Yes. Anyway, you’re welcome.” She paused and … Continue reading New Installment of “Only Regrets”
