The fourth and final installment of the One Time romance serial. Sam and Elsie have moved into their new home, have begun their new part time jobs, and are ready to lay back and plan their wedding. Life has a few more surprises in store before the big day, though. Though on in years, the aging couple stand strong together against what life throws in their paths.This short story series concludes with 'New Roads'. The series follows two retirees, widowers, and former next door neighbors, as they close the doors on their previous long term marriages and seek in each other a loving partner to share the remainder of their life with. Their dramas are not unlike what many face, but it is their joy of life and appreciation of each other that lights their way through the dark times as well as the stormy times.

This is the third installment of the One Time serial. Sam and Elsie have made huge strides to close the doors of their past and open up a new door for them both to walk through. The house is turning out wonderfully, and both agree a pet is in order. That is where agreement ended, and their first hurdle began. Sometimes, the smallest things can cause the biggest rifts.A family pet is a big committment, whether the caregivers are young or old. An elderly couple has additional considerations in considering their own lifespans that might fall short of a pet's, or their ability to meet the physical needs as in providing the exercise the pet needs. These considerations were minor, though, when compared to the differing visions of what a family dog should look like...particularly size. Men tend to prefer larger dogs, while women more often like something that can curl up on their lap. Sam and Elsie are in for their first arguement, something almost every couple will encounter in their relationship development. How they overcome it is worth looking at, for the answer arose from strong love and mutual respect.

Imagine two separate minds existing in one body from even before birth. What trials and troubles would such a dual intellect in a single body go through as an infant, as a pre-schooler, in high school?Imagine what might happen if such a person were to appear in criminal court. Now, suppose the charge was murder?Multiple personalities have been well documented and studied. Protocols for re-unification have been published in many journals. Half a Mind is about a case where there can be no unification, and places those two consciousnesses into a legal situation of a murder trial. Here we explore some of the conundrums that would arise, including trial procedure, swearing in, giving testimony, witness protection, admissibility of evidence and more. I think you'll find this fertile ground for a situation that could very well happen in real life, though it sounds far fetched.

Sam and Elsie have overcome some of the fears and awkwardness of carving out a new life for themselves. How could either of their homes, the places they shared with their former spouses, allow for something new and untethered to the past? The painful decision to break from the familiar to allow the new is hard to make.What is a home? It is a familiar base that protects you, provides for you, while making great demands on you as time goes on. The servant slowly becomes more of a master. Letting go of the past is a frightening thing, which is as it should be. That keeps us from racing into uncertainty with too much risk. But too much reliance upon a past home prevents a new one from having a chance to form. We push our children out of their nest as part of our parental duties. Who, then, will push us out when we are the only one in the nest?

When the one you love passes on, leaving your sunset years wanting of warmth, a person can wonder if that is the way the rest of their lives will go. In One Time, two long time friends and next door neighbors realize they might very well find warmth once more in each other over and above being best friends. That leap is harder and more complicated than they thought. Reviews welcome!This is a simple story of search for the comforts of a new mate when the one you spent a lifetime with leaves you behind. People do find new mates, but there are so many differences. Who will leave the home with so many memories, how do you deal with the feelings of being unfaithful, and how do you find someone you can also be a friend to as well as a mate? Sam and Elsie were next door neighbors, adding a track record of friendship, while at the same time causing yet another complexity. One More Time isn't all that complicated a story, and no conflict over and above what a normal couple would have has been engineered for drama. Life is dramatic enough as it is.

A mentally fractured powerful spirit of a Georgian plantation holds in thrall the men and mounts of a Civil War foraging party to daily avenge the death of her husband and children by putting the enemy spirits through Hell. Ryan Fitzgalen, ancient and clairvoyant thanks to a WWII experiment using electromagnetism and his ghost wife must call in their descendents to battle undying hatred.A mentally fractured and hideously powerful spirit of a Georgian plantation and slave owner hold in thrall the men and mounts of a Civil War foraging party. She is avenging the death of her husband and children by putting the enemy spirits through a daily ritual of Hell. Ryan Fitzgalen was rendered spiritually clairvoyant and caused to be the world’s oldest man by a WW II experiment using electromagnetic power for naval stealth technology. He and the spirit of his deceased wife, Vanessa, are no match for Mad Annie, and so must call in his distant descendents to even the playing field. Even then, one of the Fitzgalen Family must fall.

Karl Hoffman has an adopted son like no other. Colin's mind is six years old, while his body is six feet underground. The child now exists in the electrical conduits of computers, cables and power lines. How do you raise a child who can only communicate via digital media? What kind of great service can such an intelligence render humanity? What kind of damage is he capable of?Switch Child 2 takes up the story of Colin Craft, a six year old child who suffered a catastrophic head trauma in the same boating accident that claimed both his parents. Karl Hoffman wants to live up to being Colin's adoptive father, but there are problems. Colin managed to extend his awareness into the city's electrical infrastructure at first, and became so adept at it that, when his body gave out, Colin became a permanent resident of computers, digital communication devices, and connecting conduits. Karl Hoffman is his only connection to the world he left behind, and Colin is the son he never had. Both realize that secrecy is paramount, for if the child's existence was ever revealed, there would be a world wide controversy. When the world learned of what Colin is capable of, controversy would escalate to a firestorm. Karl needs guidance and help, but who could he possibly turn to? The answer might be found in a most upsetting text message resulting from his interview with Detective Alice Roland.

It wouldn't be the first time the crime of murder disrupted a family, but how often does that crime happen in a previous life?The Baxters seemed the idyllic couple; almost love at first sight. Certainly there was a strong attraction that both passed on to just having the right chemistry. But soon after the honeymoon, things began to unravel...so much so that they now stood before a Judge after their third 'domestic dispute' intervention by local police. Yet, neither could recall what any of the arguments were about. In another time, they might be considered demon possessed. In modern time, they were remanded to court-ordered psychological evaluation. Hypnosis became the tool that unlocked crimes from a past life whose devastating effects continued to be felt over a hundred years later.

Life is not a circle...it's a spiral. You come back to not where you were, but a place that has familiarity. Arny Woods' earliest and fondest memory was in playing soldiers in the sandbox in the back yard. He was too young to see the cycle return in high school, but the shock of combat at D Day opened his eyes.What is deja vu, but a sense of having been somewhere before. The subconscious forgets nothing and can recreate every sense received by the central nervous system (except for pain...that's forgotten; had to be, or women would give birth only once otherwise). In Sand Soldier, patterns that began as a child are found to repeat twice more in later life, each time having deeper, and more dangerous, circumstances. Are they deepening of lessons started as a preschooler, or repeated warnings to change his path before it's too late?

An aging handyman winding up his employment years at a chronic care facility finds himself connecting to a child patient, though the boy registers as brain dead. The boy, Colin, is able to reach past the barriers in a way no one else has ever done, and Karl the Handyman tries to help, while protecting the boy from the dangers success would bring. Reviews and 'favorite author' are most welcome!The Northeast is concerned over the expanding scope of minor electrical fluctuations that no one can explain. The problem started in a 300 bed chronic care facility, and the first investigator was Karl Hoffman, who traced the disturbances to a brain dead child, the last 'survivor' of a boating accident.Karl is called before a Police Detective, and must explain with great care his role in tracking down and fixing the problem. If he tells too much, he may lose the best friend he has...the brain dead child who isn't quite as damaged as the experts thought.

When a man by mishap is locked into a sensory deprivation chamber for two days, he comes out changed. But what was he changed into? Some believed he was forever delusional. The man and others believed he was taken over by a holy angel to work miracles in the psych ward. Two college students doing a research project find more than they expected...much more. Review and 'favorite author' welcome!When people experience a life-shaking event, whether religious conversion, near death experiences, or other tumults of life, they often come out changed to the point where you wonder if they are the same person. Suppose, in at least some cases, they aren't the same person. Demonic possession has long been studied to either debunk or prove same. Those saying their new selves are higher spirits are treated with less by way of exorcism, but more by way of therapy...often forced.Two university students for a senior thesis are given one of the latter to study. When reports by professionals begin to fall short, they seek out the victim's sister. Through her help, both students are afforded a face to face meeting with the victim himself.

Andy and Gail were salutitorian and valedictorian respectively. Their task was to encapsulate 4 years of high school at graduation into a memorable 20 minutes. With a lot of soul searching, help from others, and the student body, the commencement speach became something no one would soon, or ever, forget.Graduation from high school is something that most of us go through. It marks a rite of passage, a transition. Two students, one with the highest cumulative average and the other with the strongest political achievements, were tasked by a new and progressive principal to make this day unforgettable. So what was it that those who leave high school remember most after 5, or 10, or even 20 years later? That they found out, and crafted a ceremony that most of us can only wish we had. Whether you have fond or bitter memories of the high school experience (most of us are a mix of both), GRADUATION DAY will touch you.Thank you for considering this for your reading. I hope it will mean something to you.

Who was the hostage taker, and why did he request Captain Roger Burhans as an intermediary? There were three prisoners in a small building that was built like a fortress. The negotiations game had begun, but the gunman's plan of multiple revenge strikes would eventually destroy more than one life. Misery loves company, and hate will provide it. Reviews and 'favorite author' status very welcome!This is the first of a short story series of varying topics and genres. The image of a police stand-off against a gunman with multiple hostages has made the video and print media all too many times. In this story, though, there are twists and surprises that no one could have possibly dreamed of, even in the worst of nightmares.Training and experience are invaluable to police in hostage crisis situations. But the formulas most successful in such situations can mislead when the game is not anything one had ever heard of. Going by the book, unfortunately, can lead one into a most horrific trap.