Happy Anniversary!

&

A Valentine's wish for true believers

and non-believers alike.

Something for everyone!

Enjoy!

EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE

a warm shower

soapy lather

bubbles and spray

intimate touches

stolen kisses

playful caresses

blindfolded

intensity rises

trembling anticipation

tender touches

probing tongues

insistent moans

verbal requests

irresistible demands

voiced joy

pulsations overwhelm

screams of delight

release imminent

crescendo

a warm shower

soapy lather

bubbles and spray

love unbridled.

~***~

Engine 7 4 0 5 9

Seven years we were wed

Five million tears now shed

I pushed you in a rage

Not realizing I'd be caged

Onto the tracks, you fell

At the clang of the engine's bell

That moment's a blur

But witnesses concur

Zero friends have rallied

Their votes I have tallied

Instead, to her they throng

There is nowhere I belong

Two lives' you transformed

On that train platform

My heart was broken

When loves loss was spoken

For I alone held deed

To all your desires and needs

Nine days till the hangman's noose

Did she seduce

These thoughts I still ponder

For time, I can squander

Were you smitten

Did she make your heart quicken

My only regret

I couldn't kill Yvette

But if curses are true

She'll soon be blue

Her breath I'll steal

Your money made the deal

I want your pardon

To walk in heavens garden

Will you find it in your heart

Will death mean a new start

Or has destiny showed
Hell, as our new abode?

~**~

SECRET DESIRES

To be free.

To travel.

To taste the best liquor.

To eat the finest food.

To laugh,

just to laugh.

To smile twenty-four-seven.

To touch

and be touched.

To see you

and have you see me.

To hear you say the words,

and then. . .

To walk away – and never look back.

~***~

YOU FOUND ME

You don’t know me

—yet you found me.

How could you reach me

—so profoundly?

No one is allowed

—that near.

Was it your words?

—Prose that inspired.

Stirred feelings long ago

—desired.

Now denied

—forever decried.

Now I must find a new place

—to hide.

A place even

—words can’t find.

In the darkness so deep.

Neither prose nor light nor

—love will keep.

Yolanda Renée © 2020
~***~

Yes, we do more than murder here. 😊

Pictures are a bouquet of roses from my husband.

This post is dedicated to him – Happy Anniversary!

What is Horror

Sunrise the morning of a storm.

Yolanda Renée © 2020

 Horror

Horror is

life – without purpose

love – unrequited

cruelty – without retaliation

work – with no joy

a question – with no answer

hate – misdirected

dysfunction – without family

inspiration – without an artist.

True horror is depression.

A black pit – and no visible escape.

Yolanda Renee © 2015

What's your definition of Horror?

IWSG - Inspiration from Art

Before I took my long hiatus, my blog Defending the Pen had been part of the IWSG since 2008. But since I'm going back to posting author interviews every Monday there - I decided to post my insecurities on this blog. I want to give the author represented there, a full week of exposure for their work.

Just so you know, my insecurities are the same. Even though I have 6 published books, and have had two of my stories accepted for two of the IWSG anthologies, I still wonder about my writing abilities. This time I was ready to quit, ready to just walk away, then I read one of my short stories. 

And I thought, wow, I can write. LOL Yeah, sometimes it takes a kick in the pants. But it gave me the push to publish my last book and to get back to blogging. Besides, I tried painting, but after seeing the work of a horse in New York, I was convinced I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of ever succeeding as an artist. LOL

So, I've dusted myself off, and I'm back in the game - for good this time, well, with shorter breaks anyway. :) 

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The co-hosts are Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson!

Don't forget to visit the website:
Insecure Writer’s Support Group Website!!!

February 5 question - Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it? 

Most definitely, every Wednesday a new writing prompt is posted on the Friday Fictioneers Blog site run by Rochelle Wisoff. 

When I first began participating it was a photo prompt and the challenge was to write a flash in 100 words. It was/is great fun. If you're looking for a great challenge, try it!

Here's my first try from July 2, 2015.

ANT FARM

Dad took me to the ant farm. Even spray-painted my initials on the 63' Sedan. Dad loved his baby-blue caddy. I remember him racing, doing crazy eights, and how I choked on the dust cloud swirling like a comet tale as he drove away that fateful day.

Memories of him tinkering, washing, and polishing Abby, a car, my namesake, are all I have left. That and a few faded photographs. A handsome man. The ladies loved him. Did he ever love anyone?

Mom married Hank, a mean son-of-a-bitch.

Stuffing Hank's carcass in the tail of that monument somehow seems apropos.

100 words

Yolanda Renee © 2015

Don't forget February means a new 

writing challenge from the WEP

Check it out!

https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/

NATURE OR NURTURE

THE ENVIRONMENT OR THE GENES

MURDER, JUST BECAUSE

Nature refers to traits and characteristics that are inherited or genetic in origin, while nurture refers to traits and qualities that are learned.

         
            In the writing of The Snowman and now Murder, Just Because the antagonist of both books, Stowy Jenkins, is evil personified. A hideous individual who kills simply because he can. In The Snowman, Stowy Jenkins sees his killing as an art and is almost naïve to what he’s really created. But in Murder, Just Because vengeance is his motivation. He’s out to destroy everyone. But what drove him to such extremes?

          In The Snowman, it seemed to be the relationship with his mother, he experienced physical and sexual abuse as a child. He killed for the first time at the age of 16, and enticed by the blood, he begins his work in blood art. In The Snowman, he appears almost naïve as he wonders why his art isn’t appreciated by the masses.

And why are the red-haired victims' deaths more brutal than the others? Is it because red is the color of his own mother’s hair? Does he kill because he was sexually abused,

           And what of his mother, what drove her?

           I’d say in this instance, for poor Stowy Jenkins, it’s both nature and nurture.

           In Murder, Just Because he’s been in prison for ten years, a time for reflection, answers, and an education in a more brutal sexual violence. But he escapes, and after ten years’ incarceration, his methods have become more horrific. His drive for revenge comes from his own understanding of who he is and why he is. He has nothing to lose which makes him a bigger threat.

           But had he escaped his mother’s grasp would things have been different? Or was the fact that she was a killer, an abuser enough to scar his genes?

            It’s an interesting question and there is no easy answer.

But Stowy Jenkins has no conscience, no feelings of guilt, as you can see in this short excerpt. 

Murder, Just Because

       There were no jack-o-lanterns, spiderwebs, or glow-in-the-dark skeletons decorating the so-called safe house, nor were there any bowls filled with chocolate bars and candy corn, but befitting the holiday, Fern Jenkins was suffocating in a horror movie-like atmosphere of stress and fear. She’d reluctantly agreed to let the police move her here after the death threats began, but that didn’t mean she had to like it, any more than calling this dump a safe house meant she felt safe.

Her cell phone rang, and she answered with irritation. “Hello.”

“Why, lover, what’s wrong?” Zeke asked with a smile in his voice.

“Zeke. Where are you? Why haven’t you called?”

“But I am calling my love. Don’t worry. It’s all proceeding as planned. Stowy doesn’t have a clue. Soon the cops will have him, and we’ll be free. I promise. Just stay cool. It’ll all be over soon.”

Before Fern could say another word, the line went dead. “Son-of-a-bitch. It’d better be. I haven’t suffered all these months because I love you. Stupid asshole, I swear I’ve never been a bigger idiot. The only reason you aren’t already dead is that I need your contacts.” She emptied her glass and laughed. “Believe me, killing you will be the highlight of my life.”

Stowy appeared from the shadows, “Killing, Mother, who’s on your shit list now?”

*****

Learn more about Stowy Jenkins ---

The Snowman

&

Murder, Just Because

Learn more about the publication of these books on my other blog.

Defending the Pen - To Publish or Not to Publish

A Brutal Attack

With the improvements to the cabin completed Sheila grew antsy for a new conquest, which meant a new relationship. She decided to write a book about her exploits, and since all writers wrote their most successful novels at the local coffee shop, Sheila came up with a plan. She took the ferry to Seattle every morning, and at the Starbucks in Pioneer Square she opened her laptop, sipped her coffee, and began detailing her life. But she hadn’t forgotten her true mission, she kept her eyes open for her next romantic conquest.

Even she was shocked when that person was a sweet young girl named Jerry. Their connection was instantaneous, the rapport amusing, sincere, and thoughtful. The sex unbelievable. Jerry gave Sheila something she didn’t expect, a hint at what empathy meant. It was her downfall and her greatest asset. It was also Jerry's undoing.

Jerry loved everyone, and the causes she worked tirelessly for innumerable. So much so that they began to interfere in the relationship. Something Sheila could not tolerate. The attention from her lover had to be full, intense, and unrelenting or she grew bored. Three months into this relationship, Sheila became bored. It was time to plan the next phase.

Hiking was the one recreational activity that Sheila and Jerry loved doing together. They began planning longer and deeper excursions into Moran State Park. It was a hike to the summit of Mount Constitution that become an adventure that Sheila would never forget.

The hiked, then made camp. Alone in the forest, they found a lake where they could skinny dip, make love on a blanket in the open air, and even plan for a future, A future that sadly would never be.

At midnight, Sheila left the tent, she packed her sleeping bag and secured her backpack., then she undressed. Her companion, Jerry, was sound asleep, thanks to a sedative that Sheila had slipped into her last glass of champagne. From outside the tent, Sheila took a curved hunting knife and slashed the canvas open. Mimicking, she hoped the sharp claws of a bear. She tore into the sleeping girl she once claimed to love. The slices were deep, brutal, meant to kill. They would.

Sheila struggled to awaken from the nightmare attack. She found clarity for one full moment. At that moment she recognized her attacker. Her last words, “why my love?” fell on deaf ears as Sheila struck the final blow.

When Jerry was finally well and dead, Sheila went back to the lake for one last swim to remove the blood from her naked body. Re-dressing, she gathered her belongings, made sure all evidence of her presence was obliterated, then she calmly walked back to civilization.

She relied on Jerry’s silence about their relationship as cover. The fact that she never gave her real name or any actual facts about herself also gave her no cause to believe that she be found out.

Jerry was known for her solo hikes. It was how she carried out most of her amorous relationships. Her father, a prominent politician in Seattle, would not have understood his daughter’s choices, and Jerry was sure she could keep the world fooled. At least long to inherit a promised fortune by marrying the man who would make her legit in her family’s eyes. After that, she planned to come out to the entire world.

Now, there would be no need. Sheila saw to that.

Jerry’s body wasn’t found for several months and by that time the animals had gotten to her. Her bones were scattered. A bear attack was cited as the cause of death. Sheila smiled when she read the article.

***

Want to know more about Sheila

Follow the links for her story:

Killer Flowers

Killer Spice

 Foxglove Tea

 Bloody Tissue

 A Murderous Intent

 In Flagrante Delicto

Getting Away With Murder

Sheila Murders, In Hawaii

A Deadly Retribution

Sheila Falls

One Night Stand

Obstacles Must Be Removed

Murder = Death

A Very Cold Dish

Pea Soup

Sheila Kills Again

A Brutal Attack

Remember folks - this is all fiction -

an exercise of the imagination!