StoryRoom

“Do you really think James Bond was born James Bond? Or was he actually born Joey Numbnuts and then changed it after he became Double-Oh-Seven? How do you get to be James Bond? Where do you start? And how do you leave? How does James Bond retire? What happens when he runs out of spies to catch? Does he go back to being Joey Numbnuts?”
Added Chapter 14

Deputy US Marshal Wounded Hawk is ready to head back to Golden City, after taking a prisoner to Estes Park, Colorado. But when a group of bandits decides to pick that particular bank to rob, Hawk and the local Marshal's posse set out in pursuit. The half breed Marshal will need all his Indian tracking skills to catch up to this band of outlaws. But the posse is ill-prepared for the gang leader's relentless pursuit of freedom.

Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, the story follows Hester Prynne, who is publicly shamed for committing adultery and giving birth to a child named Pearl.

An aging man becomes obsessed with books about knights and chivalry. Believing these tales, he renames himself Don Quixote and sets out to revive knighthood.

A sensitive and intelligent boy growing up in late 19th-century Ireland, as he struggles to find his identity as an artist.

Ulysses is a modernist novel set in Dublin, Ireland. It follows the inner thoughts and movements of three main characters: Leopold Bloom, Stephen Dedalus, and Molly Bloom.

The Happy Prince and Other Tales is a collection of short stories by Oscar Wilde. The book contains five fairy tales, each with its own plot and moral themes.
Added The Nightingale (final)

Set in 15th-century Paris, the novel follows the hunchbacked bell-ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral, and his tragic connection to a beautiful Romani girl.

Following the Equator (sometimes titled More Tramps Abroad) is a non-fiction social commentary in the form of a travelogue published by Mark Twain in 1897.
Added Chapter 27

The novel tells the story of the Karamazov family, focusing on the conflict between the immoral father, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, and his three sons: Dmitri (Mitya) who is passionate, Ivan who is intellectual and Alyosha who is kind-hearted.
Added Chapter 3

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is an epic novel set in early 19th-century Russia during the Napoleonic Wars.
Added Chapter 6

A former convict is released after 19 years of hard labor. Rejected by society, he’s shown compassion by a bishop, which inspires him to change his life.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885.
Added Chapter 15

Dorian Gray seems to never age or grow old. What's his secret?
Added Chapter 7

After their harrowing trials on Black Star, Ryan and Eclair return home to the Fire Ministry. Ryan puts aside his feelings for Eclair to train with Zanderius Alastar, the Prime Minister of Elemency. His goal, to attain ultimate power in order to finally defeat the Dark Dragon Lord and avenge his family. Meanwhile, on the distant planet of Atlantis, home of the Merfolk, a sinister plot is underway that could spell dire consequences for the entire universe.
Added Chapter 18

I had some fun with Chapter 13 describing the problems with elk in Everest. The fictional city and county of Everest, Montana, are southeast of the very real city of Banff, Alberta. My wife and I had ... more

Country Roads (5)
After the loss of both his parents and his music career, Charlie gets a second chance when he lands a spot on a hit music competition, The Stage. But his journey of redemption is paved with heartbreak, betrayal, and ambition.
Added Chapter 17

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (also simply known as Tom Sawyer) is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River.
Added Chapter 14

A Tramp Abroad is a work of travel literature, including a mixture of autobiography and fictional events, by American author Mark Twain, published in 1880. The book details a journey by the author, with his friend Harris, through central and southern Europe.
Added Chapter 9

A Tale of Two Cities is a historical novel that explores the themes of justice, sacrifice, resurrection, and the brutality of revolution.
Added Chapter 5

"Sense and Sensibility" is a classic novel that explores the lives and loves of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, after their father's death leaves them in reduced circumstances.
Added Chapter 5

"Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens is a classic coming-of-age novel that follows the life of Pip, a poor orphan, as he grows up, makes mistakes, and learns hard truths about wealth, love, and identity.
Added Chapter 3

Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel set in early 19th-century England. It follows the story of Elizabeth Bennet and her evolving relationship with the wealthy but reserved Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Added Chapter 6

Will you be content to drift from situation to situation, to sail the course charted for you by others, or will you take charge of your life and chart your own course? For Jeff Knox, a teenager about to start high school in Enfield, Massachusetts, choosing to take charge of his life will affect more lives than just his own.

Rodion Raskolnikov, a poor former student in St. Petersburg, believes that some people have the right to commit crimes if it benefits humanity. To test this theory, he murders an old pawnbroker and her innocent sister.
Added Chapter 2

The weapons issue generated some email. For those wondering about the last blog post, I am perfectly aware that the Ruger Mini 14 fires NATO 5.56. The Mini Thirty is the version that is chambered for ... more

No haiku fails All haiku fail Fail,haiku! Fail! no haiku fails [No violence, no mature subject or language. May contain some troubling subject, like meteorology.]

Bathsheba Everdene is a strong-willed, independent young woman who inherits her uncle’s large farm in rural England. As she manages the estate, she becomes the object of affection for three very different men, each representing a different type of love and future.

The novel is narrated by a sailor named Ishmael, who signs up for a whaling voyage aboard the ship Pequod. The ship is commanded by the mysterious and intense Captain Ahab.

When going through the editing process, I send a story to a group of individuals who have experience with the subject being written about. Occasionally the results are amusing. Case in point, the last ... more

Book 2 differs from Book 1 in that in almost all cases the story proceeds chronologically. With very few exceptions, there will be no bouncing back and forth in time. Some people liked it, some people ... more

Privatizing assassination? You just know this won’t work out well! This is the end of Book One, though don’t worry. There won’t be a break in the schedule for uploading. Enjoy!

A Story in the Anthony Carter, Family & Friends Universe
Will Potter, an orphan and merchant’s apprentice in a small Devon port, runs afoul of the law when he beats up a landowner's son. Given a choice between prison and volunteering for the Royal Navy, he joins the company of a small Navy sloop bound for New South Wales. Read how young Will finds his calling as a ship's purser and a sweet wife, how he prospers and is decorated for saving a shipmate in the Battle of Trafalgar.
Added Chapters 9,10

A Story in the Anthony Carter, Family & Friends Universe
On a rainy spring day, Ellen Trilby, the daughter of Major George Trilby and his wife Siobhan, both dear friends of Harriet Carter, appears on Anthony Carter's estate, asking for shelter to escape an unwanted suitor. Wary of the Carters' son Richard at first, they grow together through a tragedy and danger, but they must overcome a cunning enemy and their own insecurities before they can become a couple. This continues the Anthony Carter stories.
Added Chapters 7,8

"De Profundis" is a long, personal letter written by Oscar Wilde in 1897, during his imprisonment in Reading Gaol. The title means "from the depths" in Latin, reflecting the emotional and spiritual depth of the work.

The Contractor finally gets to work. Enjoy!

Chapter 7 is where things start getting bloody. I’m sure it’s a dreadful next comment, but…Enjoy!

This is a true story! After a disastrous start, both of us thought there'd definitely be no future in this relationship. Someone else apparently had other plans.

The NSA programs mentioned – ECHELON, PRISM, AND FINCEN – are all real programs used by the NSA, CIA, and FBI to find foreign spies. They are used to track foreign movements but often catch Americ ... more

More ancient history for Jake, or whoever he is. Enjoy!

Chapter 4 will fill in some of the blanks about how our hero (?) learned his trade. Enjoy!

In which I am not amused/amorous/amiable (damned thesaurus) by which way the story goes. "THEE END" is not a farewell so much as a bitter wish/decree/curse. It does not work as an end to a story. THE END (see)

So far, people seem to like the story. Many thanks to all who have purchased it. My wife appreciates it. She tells me, “Just remember, you earn it, I spend it.” It’s basically a direct line, Boo ... more

It has been three years since Ginny B's awful tragedy and death. James Mercer had moved on and is now married. He had a bright future at a large university in Chicago, as well as a profitable sideline that provided him with financial stability. Then one fateful day, his pal FBI special agent Lawrence Foster appears with two pretty apparent government employees. They make him an offer he can’t refuse.
Added Chapters 36-38

I received a couple of interesting comments that I thought I would pass along. First, one reader commented that longhorns are in Montana. In 1866 a fellow named Nelson Story drove 1,000 longhorns from ... more

The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today is a satirical and political novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner first published in 1873. It satirizes greed and political corruption in post-Civil War America.

Roughing It is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, following his first travel book The Innocents Abroad (1869). Roughing It is dedicated to Twain's mining companion Calvin H. Higbie, later a civil engineer who died in 1914.

The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrim's Progress is a travel book by American author Mark Twain

It’s time for a new story. This one will be considerably different than my previous story. The hero isn’t all that heroic. “Do you really think James Bond was born James Bond? Or was he actual ... more

Jordan, an ordinary man with a dark past, transforms into a brutal vigilante known as "The Night Stalker" after being disillusioned by the justice system. Operating in secrecy, he hunts criminals who prey on the innocent, leaving a trail of destruction and mystery that captures the public's imagination. His actions, while violent and morally ambiguous, earn him a mix of admiration and fear. Detective Abigail, a relentless investigator with a strong aversion to vigilantism,takes personal interest

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 historical novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. In the book, a Yankee engineer from Connecticut named Hank Morgan receives a severe blow to the head and is somehow transported in time and space to England during the reign of King Arthur.

Life on the Mississippi is a memoir by Mark Twain of his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War published in 1883. It is also a travel book, recounting his trips on the Mississippi River, from St. Louis to New Orleans and then from New Orleans to Saint Paul.

At least one reader pointed out that the various North Sea ferries don’t just handle traffic between England, Scotland, Norway, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. Other North Sea destinations in ... more

Time traveling Vikings! Do we need more of a description than that? How did they get here and what do we do with them? Enjoy!
Added Epilogue (final)

We are getting to the end of the story. The Vikings are heading to England. Can we say ‘culture shock!’ For those curious, the MV Sudreyjar was modeled as a sister ship to the MV Hjaltland and M ... more

Jordan, an ordinary man with a dark past, transforms into a brutal vigilante known as "The Night Stalker" after being disillusioned by the justice system. Operating in secrecy, he hunts criminals who prey on the innocent, leaving a trail of destruction and mystery that captures the public's imagination. His actions, while violent and morally ambiguous, earn him a mix of admiration and fear. Detective Abigail, a relentless investigator with a strong aversion to vigilantism, takes a personal inte

A poem that is an allegory on creation and the Creator (as portrayed in the Gospel of John, chapter 1). "The creator came to the people he created, but they rejected him. Yet he gave his life for their sake, so they could become part of his family." A version of this produced for radio broadcast – including music – can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d01Jaf1OjQ

It was pointed out to me that the British king never really beat the Scottish king. “I don't know what your Scottish readers will say to your comment that the King of England beat the King of Scotla ... more

A Florida Boy's Adventures Story
Just another little tale.

Made a mess of things, trying to fix them now. When I get it right hope you enjoy it.

A Florida Boy's Adventures Story
How a young man finds a different way to make a living. If you like the short story I have several ideas to keep it going.
Added Chapter 2

Chapter 16 is about the future plans of Lars and the Vikings. The Vikings are moving to England. God help the Vikings and God help England! I know that everybody will have their own take on what shoul ... more

For those curious, the usage of Private Military Contractors is ubiquitous on military bases. Many think it is limited to overseas conflicts, but the reality is that they are used in military bases ar ... more

This tale begins in southwest Virginia in "the colonies" a few years before the American Revolution. For my readers in Britain, sorry 'bout that. It follows James through being a long hunter, starting a new estate in North Carolina, and his involvement fighting against the British.
Added Chapter 5 (final)

When I wrote the story, I had completely forgotten about The Technicolor Time Machine by Harry Harrison. At the end of that story, the hapless hero is presented with a producer who wants to do a movie ... more

As Travis says in this chapter, “I have the feeling this thing, whatever it is, is moving into the end game.” We are now in the final third of the story. Some of the chapters will be a little shor ... more

Researching and writing Chapter 12 proved one of the most humorous of the entire book. Norse wedding rituals came up, specifically the negotiations involved in a marriage. Why so amusing? For one thin ... more

In Chapter 11 I mention the Runic alphabet. I know there are several, but I just couldn’t figure out which one would have been used, and I just couldn’t get WLC to display them properly. I don’t think it’s that critical, but please don’t complain. Thank you in advance. Enjoy!

Just uploaded chapter 1 of 5. Story is complete and edited and I'll upload all the chapters so they post a new chapter every 2 days. Enjoy.

For those curious, the Red Arrows are the UK version of the US Air Force Thunderbirds or the US Navy Blue Angels. They belong to the RAF. Enjoy!

For those curious, it seems that Yanks and Brits really do speak different languages. What Americans call sheetrock and lumber, the British call plasterboard and timber. There are a few other instances like that throughout the story. One of my English editors pointed this out. Interesting! Enjoy!

Chapter 8 looks at military medicine. Until I wrote this story, what I knew about military medicine was based on MASH, a 1970s TV show about a 1950s war, where Hawkeye and BJ performed ‘meatball sur ... more

Two Family Court lawyers are bitter enemies. How can the finding of a toy rabbit change anything?

The coins the Vikings had in their possession would have been very different from what we would consider coins. A typical coin of that period might have had a profile of the local ruler and a year of ... more

I did the best I could, using both an Old Norse translation site and another site with an Old Norse dictionary. Is the grammar perfect? Are the word choices optimal? Are the tenses and verbs properly ... more

The part about the CIA having people on tap for information on just about anything is true. I once had a history professor who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency back in the ‘60s. He was one ... more

Several odds and ends to think about. Two new characters are introduced, one of whom can seemingly speak every language known to mankind. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. It sounds impossible but ... more

I’ve been a science fiction fan since I was a young boy, and I remember reading H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine before I ever saw any of the movies. The one thing that is never shown in any of these ... more

Had to get it down to where I could say it out loud without crying at the eulogy. Now I cry even harder. yeah, yeah. Life. Can't live without it.

I hope everybody is enjoying the story so far. FineStories is having a problem linking stories to the appropriate bookapy listing. Here it is: https://bookapy.com/s/351/vikings Enjoy!

When Miami Vice began back in the ‘80s, the ‘elevator pitch’ given to investors was ‘MTV Cops!’ The elevator pitch for this story is ‘Time Traveling Vikings!’ It came about from the Hist ... more