Showing posts with label Reality Bites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reality Bites. Show all posts

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Best Years of Our Lives (bullying sequence from Ultra Violence) by Mark Barry featured in Green Wizard Publishing's anthology, Reality Bites



Excerpt from Best Years of Our Lives

You are thirteen and it is your turn today.
You don’t know why it’s your turn today but all you know is that it is.
The atmosphere has been building up for weeks.
Those little incidents.
Brief encounters.
Minor skirmishes.
You’ve never experienced anything like this anticipation before and you’re scared. Your stomach is turning over as if you’re staring down the side of a skyscraper. You are tense and dizzy and you wish you hadn’t had seconds in the dinner hall.
Manchester Tart. 
Two slices.
You’re thirteen, sitting at a large school desk, your satchel packed and blazer on.
Five boys are staring at you. You know it’s your turn.
You’re paralysed. Panic. You cannot move. You’ve never known a feeling like it. Trepidation courses through your veins. Your body is charged and you want to cry. But you don’t. Weeping will only make things worse.
You wish it isn’t your turn today but it is.
You pray.
That’s what they taught you to do at Primary School. Pray. When in trouble. Pray. God will provide. God will save. They taught you to pray before they taught you to read, those nuns. You really need him now but as you’ve long suspected, he isn’t there and somehow even if he is out there, you know he isn’t going to help.
You’re on your own.



Amazon US Link - http://www.amazon.com/Reality-Bites-Green-Wizard-Publishing/dp/1484077113

Amazon UK Link - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reality-Bites-Green-Wizard-Publishing/dp/1484077113

Friday, December 27, 2013

Out of the Depths by Mary Ann Bernal featured in Green Wizard Publishing's Anthology, Reality Bites





Excerpt from Out of the Depths

When did I first suspect that Helen had been unfaithful.  To be honest, I never suspected; I had to catch her in bed with her lover before admitting the truth to myself.  I remember coming home unexpectedly to find her in our bed, our marital bed, which is sacrosanct, with Trevor, her boss, of all people!  I could not believe Helen could betray me like this, especially after making love to me earlier that morning in the very same bed.

What hurt the most was her lack of remorse.  She even laughed at my pain, her hurtful words a floodgate of loathing.  While I thought our relationship was fine, and that we would survive the storm, she, on the other hand, was seething with rage and resentment.  She was tired of supporting me, physically, mentally and financially.  She had had enough, but why did she not tell me.  Perhaps she tried, and I did not listen.
 
You think I was at fault, that my drinking pushed her away, do you not?  You have no use for my self-pity, do you?  Ah, what makes you so righteous?  You think you would have behaved differently.  I dare say, not!  You would have wallowed in self-pity just like I did, only your way of dealing with your demons might have been different.  Instead of alcohol you might have turned to drugs, or threw yourself into your job, or took up religion.  How do you know what you would have done until you have actually experienced the pain?
 
Amazon US Link - http://www.amazon.com/Reality-Bites-Green-Wizard-Publishing/dp/1484077113

Amazon UK Link - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reality-Bites-Green-Wizard-Publishing/dp/1484077113



Friday, November 8, 2013

Ngaire Elder Spotlights A Taste Of Reality From Mary Ann Bernal

http://adventuresofceciliaspark.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-taste-of-reality-from-mary-ann-bernal.html

A Taste Of Reality From Mary Ann Bernal
About the Author
Mary Ann Bernal, author of The Briton and the Dane novels, is an avid history buff whose area of interest focuses on Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Britain during the Viking Age.  While pursuing a degree in business administration, she managed to fit creative writing classes and workshops into her busy schedule to learn the craft, but it would take decades before her “Erik the Viking” novel was ultimately published.
Mary Ann is also a passionate supporter of the United States military, having been involved with letter writing campaigns and other support programs since Operation Desert Storm.  She has appeared on The Morning Blend television show hosted by KMTV, the CBS television affiliate in Omaha, and was interviewed by the Omaha World-Herald for her volunteer work.  She has also been a featured author on Triangle Variety Radio, The Phil Naessens Show, and The Writers Showcase, and has been interviewed extensively by American and European bloggers.

Mary Ann is a New York “expat,” and currently resides in Omaha, Nebraska.

Author, Mary Ann Bernal


Today the spotlight is on Mary Ann Bernal's short story, Out of the Depths,  from the anthology Reality Bites, published by Green Wizard Publishing.



Excerpt from Out of the Depths (Reality Bites) written by Mary Ann Bernal:

When did I first suspect that Helen had been unfaithful.  To be honest, I never suspected; I had to catch her in bed with her lover before admitting the truth to myself.  I remember coming home unexpectedly to find her in our bed, our marital bed, which is sacrosanct, with Trevor, her boss, of all people!  I could not believe Helen could betray me like this, especially after making love to me earlier that morning in the very same bed.

What hurt the most was her lack of remorse.  She even laughed at my pain, her hurtful words a floodgate of loathing.  While I thought our relationship was fine, and that we would survive the storm, she, on the other hand, was seething with rage and resentment.  She was tired of supporting me, physically, mentally and financially.  She had had enough, but why did she not tell me.  Perhaps she tried, and I did not listen.


You think I was at fault, that my drinking pushed her away, do you not?  You have no use for my self-pity, do you?  Ah, what makes you so righteous?  You think you would have behaved differently.  I dare say, not!  You would have wallowed in self-pity just like I did, only your way of dealing with your demons might have been different.  Instead of alcohol you might have turned to drugs, or threw yourself into your job, or took up religion.  How do you know what you would have done until you have actually experienced the pain? 
http://adventuresofceciliaspark.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-taste-of-reality-from-mary-ann-bernal.html