~ Telling the Truth, Mainly
You don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth.
~ Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Get your facts first, then distort them as you please.
~ Mark Twain
When I pretend I’m gay I never feel that way I’m only painting the clouds with sunshine When I hold back a tear To make a smile appear I’m only painting the clouds with sunshine —“Painting the Clouds with Sunshine,” Joe A. Burke and Al Dubin * My husband says, “Start with the headline.” So. … Continue reading Eclipse 2024: The Pollyanna Version
This morning, I woke, as I often do, with a song in my head. Today’s selection: “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” Every few minutes, I break out into song: “I sing because I’m happyyyy . . .” The hymn is infinitely more beneficial to my mental health, and, I’m sure, to David’s, than the … Continue reading Re: Sun, Weasels, Blue Jaguars, & the FBI
Stories by Cari Dubiel, Katherine Tomlinson, Carol L. Wright, Joseph S. Walker, John Rogers Clark IV, M. K. Waller, Toni Goodyear, Laura Oles, Bridges DelPonte, Eric Beckstrom, Kaye George, Paula Gail Benson, John M. Floyd, Debra H. Goldstein, Michael Bracken, and James A. Hearn.
“MINE EYES DAZZLE”
Jean says her marriage to Stephen is a miracle. She takes seriously her vow to be her blind husband’s eyes. But when a second miracle happens, marital bliss suffers a breakdown. If Stephen insists on living his own life, how can Jean keep him safe?
I’m M. K. Waller, aka Kathy, former teacher, former librarian, former paralegal, and former pianist at various small churches desperate for someone who could find middle C.
I write crime fiction, literary fiction, humor (I hope), memoir, and whatever else comes to mind.
I grew up in Fentress, population ~ 150 in 1960, on the San Marcos River in Central Texas, the Blackland Prairie, where pickups hauled hay and kids and horses, guns killed the occasional
rattlesnake, Miss Pedula the milk cow grazed by the roadside, and a dear old gentleman named Dick Ward sold double-dip ice cream cones for a nickel.
Old ladies played dominoes on front porches in the afternoons, and old men gossiped on benches outside the post office. There were still horned toads and lightning bugs, and mosquitoes were one-tenth the size they are now. In 1983, my parents finally installed working locks on the doors.
Life was good. I would like to have the mosquitoes and the nickel ice cream and the old people back. A few things, however, are best left behind.
Memories provide grist for my word mill.
I now live in Austin, Texas, with a husband who writes and produces short-short videos which, like the city, have been described as weird.
Husband
Husband’s website and ongoing story, Alien Resort
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Available in paperback and ebook formats
Edited by Kaye George
Down and Out Books, April 1, 2024
Stories by Cari Dubiel, Katherine Tomlinson, Carol L. Wright, Joseph S. Walker, John Rogers Clark IV, M. K. Waller, Toni Goodyear, Laura Oles, Bridges DelPonte, Eric Beckstrom, Kaye George, Paula Gail Benson, John M. Floyd, Debra H. Goldstein, Michael Bracken, and James A. Hearn.
“MINE EYES DAZZLE”
Jean says her marriage to Stephen is a miracle. She takes seriously her vow to be her blind husband’s eyes. But when a second miracle happens, marital bliss suffers a breakdown. If Stephen insists on living his own life, how can Jean keep him safe?
Available in Paperback and Ebook format from Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon
Starpath, 2019
Available in paperback and ebook formats from Amazon, BookPeople, and Barnes & Noble
MURDER ON WHEELS
Austin Mystery Writers
Ramona Defelice Long, ed.
Wildside, 2015
LONE STAR LAWLESS
Austin Mystery Writers
Ramona DeFelice Long, ed.
Wildside, 2017
DAY OF THE DARK
Kaye George, ed.
Wildside, 2017
Like other writers, I’m first, last, and always a reader. Like other former English teachers and librarians, I no longer have a captive audience (“Read this! It’s wonderful!”), so I spread the word the best way I can.
I list authors and titles as they come to mind. The list grows day by day. I expect it to meander all the way to Infinity.
The Truth: Clyde Edgerton. He’s a genius, a writer who brings you to tears and then, before you can put away your crying towel, makes you laugh so hard you start crying again. And each of his books is different from the rest.
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Ann Marie MacDonald. The Way the Crow Flies.
Ann Patchett. Bel Canto.
Katherine Paterson. The Great Gilly Hopkins.
—–. The Invisible Child.
—–. Jacob Have I Loved.
Kaye George. Choke.
—–. The Immy Duckworthy Mysteries (Smoke; Broke)
Bapsi Sidhwa. Cracking India.
—–. The Crow Eaters.
Elizabeth Enright. The Saturdays.
—–. The Melendy Quartet.
Clyde Edgerton. Lunch at the Picadilly.
—–. Walking Across Egypt.
—–. Killer Diller.
Elizabeth Berg. Durable Goods.
M. K. Waller 