Tuesday Tales — step inside! Here is where you’ll find cool excerpts produced during smiles, tears, and hours of keyboard dancing. These are unedited snippets by a group of hard-working writers, based on word and picture prompts. You can see our works in progress unfold week by week. The current word prompt is bark. Make sure to visit the other talented authors of Tuesday Tales.
Buttercup pranced ahead of me on the lead, anxious to reach whatever prime spot she had previously discovered. What with neighbors continuing to stop by with apple cake and covered casseroles, we were late with her evening walk. Her insistent bark had elevated two octaves by the time I shed my dress and pulled on a tee-shirt and shorts.
Luckily, a nearly full moon dappled our path. My bare legs brushed against creeping thyme and chocolate mint. The release of pent up aromas put me in mind of Victorian ladies letting out a huge sigh after removing their corsets. Yes, I was waxing poetic and didn’t like it one bit. I knew how I was when a passion took root, and I had no intention of rooting in the Georgian foothills.
Still, the old fashioned herb garden held an otherworld fragrance that seemed to twine around me in wispy tendrils. It caressed me with the promise of healing teas and silken skin, and the bliss afforded by a leisurely soak in the mother of pearl claw tub adjacent to my sitting room. Sitting room, for Pete’s sake! I could feel myself being taken in. The Squire’s prophesy that I would become spellbound by the delights of Tea Thyme had every indication of proving true.
I set my teeth. I wouldn’t let it. Brian had promised me a stake in the Suwanee Ghost Tour if I’d clear up this will business pronto and head back south. And that was what I intended to do. No more dawdling while Opal extolled the virtues of respecting the final wishes of a little known stepfather. No more fanciful daydreams of Victorian gentlemen in top coats with strong jaws and piercing dark eyes. Good lord! I was locking away those yellow-paged melodramas first thing in the morning. Maybe the library could use them for a sale or something.
Buttercup pulled up sharp and let out a spate of barking. My heart racing, I grabbed her furry bulk up into my arms and squinted at the aberration in the blackberry thicket.
I hope you enjoyed the snippet based on the word prompt bark. Thanks for stopping by. Read the other amazing excerpts at Tuesday Tales.
Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories
All rights reserved, copyright @ 2020 Flossie Benton Rogers
No you can’t stop here! What’s the aberration!
Hahaha we must see later, Cathy, thanks!
I’m wondering what’s hiding in that thicket, Flossie!
As always, great descriptions that brought the scenes vividly to life. Loved it!
Glad it’s got you wondering. Thank you, Mae!
Excellent cliffhanger! Well done. Love the way her imagination wanders.
I’m so glad you love how her imagination wanders, Susanne!
Fabulous post! First, some of the most exquisite writing ever. Beautiful descriptions putting me right in the scene. “The otherworld fragrance seemed to twine around me in wispy tendrils.” Fabulous. And now you’ve left us hanging and wondering what is lurking in the blackberries!
Wow, you made my day, Jean! Thank you for your kind words.
ahhhh. I love her Victorian musings and dreaming even if she’s trying to put them aside. Especially loved the bath description. a nice warm soak… Lovely. Jillian
Thank you for the lovely feedback, Jillian!
I love your descriptions in her head and the tales she is spinning. And oh – who did she run into??? Great job!!
Mmmmm…thyme and chocolate mint! Now I’m missing my old garden. I just haven’t been able to grow herbs here in Texas like I could in California. Luckily, I can read about them in your wonderful snippets. Great job – as usual.
I would love to be able to grow the plants in that garden, too! Thanks, Trisha.