“Who Am I This Time?” by Kurt Vonnegut

by kattomic

“Who Am I This Time?” by Kurt Vonnegut

12.03.12

Story 333/366

In honor of the call for submissions to And So It Goes, the anthology that’s a tribute to the late, great Kurt Vonnegut, I present this, one of my two favorite stories by him. (The other is “Epicac”). Both are love stories and “Who Am I This Time” was filmed in 1982 with Christopher Walken and Susan Sarandon in the leads. Bits and pieces of it are available on YouTube. Vonnegut’s estate holds pretty tight to the stories, but it’s found in a number of collections including: Welcome to the Monkey House, which is the perfect gateway to Vonnegut’s work.

See you tomorrow!

“Love With the Proper Killer” by Rose DeShaw

by kattomic

“Love with the Proper Killer” by Rose DeShaw

10.19.12

Story 288/366

DeShaw describes this as a “Valentine Mystery.” It’s in the “cozy” vein. You can read it here. DeShaw and her husband Dick (that’s him with her in the picture) have both been involved with the Federal prison system (as a guard and as a prison librarian) and those experiences changed their lives. She writes about that briefly in the “about me” section of her blog (linked to her name, above.)

See you tomorrow!

Sex & the Stand In by Louise Cusack

by Barb Goffman

222/366

An individual short story purchased from Amazon.

A 34-year-old woman’s best friend at work is a 22-year-old guy. They’re both crazy about each other, but neither will make a move. She won’t because she thinks he’s gay. He won’t because he believes she thinks he’s too young for him. Of course, this is a romance so …

My Fake Fiance by Lisa Scott

by Barb Goffman

221/366

An individual story purchased from Amazon.

When Samantha is invited to the showy wedding of her childhood frenemy, she hires a guy to pretend to be her fabulous fiance.

“Love Song with Holsteins” by Bodie Parkhurst

by kattomic

“Love Song With Holsteins by Bodie Parkhurst

08.28.12

Story 237/366

This story is, as promised, a love story about a husband and wife who have grown apart and how they find their way back to each other. It’s sweet and solid.

This story is included in The Corner Café.

See you tomorrow!

“Distant Replay” by Mike Resnick

by kattomic

“Distant Replay” by Mike Resnick

05.10.12

Story 130/366

I once bought a Mike Resnick novel directly from Mike Resnick on eBay,which was kind of cool. I love, love, love his novel Dark Lady, and every time someone asks me for the name of a novel that would make a good movie, I mention it. The French translation is called La Belle Tenebreuse, which I just think sounds gorgeous.  Resnick, according to Locus Magazine, Resnick has won more awards for short fiction than any other writer, living or dead. This story is a lovely story about love, past and present and future. It appears online at Asimov’s Science Fiction site.

See you tomorrow!

“You Can’t Win if You Don’t Play” by Karin Kallmaker

by kattomic

“You Can’t Win if You Don’t Play” by Karin Kallmaker

04.16.12

Story 106/366

Kallmaker is often styled “the queen of lesbian romance” and although she actually writes stories in a wide range of genres, her protagonists are all lesbians. She’s won a ton of awards, and this story shows why. In it, a woman who’s been looking for love online worries that the reality of the woman she’s been flirting with online will be disappointing when they finally meet for real. She writes terrific characters and now I have to track down Just Like That, described as a lesbian version of Pride and Prejudice. You can read “You Can’t Win if You Don’t Play” here. Check out more of her work on her website here.

See you tomorrow!

Take That, Bembridge Scholars! by seren_ccd

by djsacramento

#32: “Take That, Bembridge Scholars” by seren_ccd

Synopsis: Mummy fanfic in which Evie takes the Bembridge Scholars to task over their various shortcomings.

“We almost got torn apart,” Rick explained, “and Egypt was actually attacked locusts and flies and boils and sores and, and–”

“Water turning into blood and that sand thing,” Jonathan added gesturing with his flask.

“Yeah, that stuff, too,” Rick said while Evelyn frowned at both of them. “My point is, we almost got killed and your next move is to write a strongly worded letter?”

It is warm and fuzzy, is what. And there’s only so many times you can read about clowns cutting the fetuses out of pregnant teenagers at carnivals before having to take a warm and fuzzy breather.

Evy pulled back and glared at her brother. “Jonathan, despite all evidence to the contrary, you were not raised by wolves, kindly knock next time.”

Then she looked up at Rick and said, “And no. He’s not going to make an honest woman out of me.”

Rick raised his eyebrows. “I’m not?”

“Oh no,” she said starting to grin. “I’m going to make an honest man out of him.”

Trust me, I’ve spoiled nothing. There are plenty of other good bits. Go. Go on.

“Take That, Bembridge Scholars!” is available free online at An Archive Of Our Own.

The Investigation of Boyfriend #17 by Maureen Keenan-Mason

by Barb Goffman

39/366 from the December 2011 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Sigh. This is a perfect example of what can happen to an otherwise nice girl after she’s been cheated on and lied to by the men in her life. Every action by every new boyfriend is scrutinized, and she becomes her own private investigator, following her dates around, looking for their lies and secrets. Boyfriend number 17 doesn’t seem to be any different. Little does she know he’s perfect for her because … I’m not going to tell you. Read the story!

“First Blowjob” by Doug Kenney

by bloodandtacos

From NATIONAL LAMPOON: A DIRTY BOOK edited by P.J. O’Rourke, published in 1976.

If you don’t understand satire, please do not read this story. If you take everything literally and you believe that a story should be just and moral, please do not read this story. If you believe that characters in stories are real people, please do not read this story. If you have no sense of humor…you get where I’m going with this.

Doug Kenney, along with Michael O’Donoghue, Tony Hendra, John Hughes (yes, that John Hughes), P.J. O’Rourke, and many more were the comic masterminds behind National Lampoon Magazine. Kenney, who died too young at 33, was also the co-writer of Animal House and Caddyshack, and one of the funniest men who ever lived.

From its opening salvo, “First Blowjob” creates a pitch-perfect parody of every date story ever told:

“A young girl’s senior prom can mean many things: a bouquet of memories…or a pillow full of tears…”

Unapologetic, politically incorrect, and just plain mean, this is comedy at its rawest. A prime example of someone putting their sense of humor out there, without caring whether the reader gets it or not. And isn’t that what art (and honest comedy) is?

27/365