...still I shout...
...enjoy it...
...enjoy it while you can...
...enjoy it while you can you deserve it...
...still...”
…lost and lonely, Amanda felt herself being wrenched backward, down through the ages, through the infinite allness of want and desire and isolation and dreams and shames and moments of pride and self-worth and meaning that Woman had shrunk Herself into so as to be human, raw with pain yet drenched in wonder, and she stretched herself under the weight of this knowing, her eyes staring toward the truth that was her soul, her whole body becoming involved in drawing it back into her in one breath, and in the moment before she came away whole, clean, and filled with glory, in the millisecond before she found herself once again standing in her bathroom staring at the reflection in the mirror, in that brief instant of eternity that revealed itself to her just this once before her final metamorphosis took place, she broke into a language few could understand, speaking of herself and her sisters as zealots entering a church resurrected on the sight of pagan temples called Beauty and Ugliness and Plainness, a novice in the inner sanctum, knowing at whose altar she knelt, to what god she prayed, and in this communion between herself and her sisters she knew all of Woman, and loved them, and thanked them as a thread of knowledge wound itself around a certain part of her consciousness and Shekinah whispered a last answer to a final question—
—and Amanda, awakened to the majesty that was always without and within her, knew exactly, precisely, with a strength of certainty most people know only once in their entire lives, what had happened to her, and why.
She looked at her sisters, crowding around her; so lonely-eyed and plain-faced and in desperate need of one moment of glory, a moment like she’d experienced tonight—and to hell with the empty feeling in the pit of her stomach when it was over—but could not find the words to articulate.
Her sisters, standing there with their jars in their hands. “You’re so beautiful,” said one of them. “Like a picture by Michelangelo.”
Then held out her empty jar.
Amanda reached up and took hold of her father’s straight-razor, opened it, and stood in awe at how exquisitely the blade gleamed in the light. Her sisters held their breath. Every moment of glory comes with its consequences. “I love you,” she whispered to her sisters. “And I give myself to you.” “Amen,” they whispered, tears of gratitude in their eyes. She placed the razor against her lips and began.
Other Exciting Titles
from Generation Next Publications
MOSTLY HUMAN
by William Meikle, Steven Savile,
Scott Nicholson & Steve Lockley
The English Lake District is a haven of tranquility, a place for hill walkers, mountain climbers and those in search of solitude. But when the rains arrive it becomes a desolate landscape where malevolence rises up from the depths and death is not far behind. It has struck before and this time it has to be stopped.
From the imaginations of four authors working as one comes a menace that is Mostly Human.
PAGES OF PROMISES
by Stephen James Price
“Pages of Promises is a perfect title for this page-turning collection of short stories, for Stephen James Price is a very promising writer indeed.”--Bentley Little, author of THE BURNING and HIS FATHER'S SON
Pages of Promises is a collection of 14 dark, speculative fiction stories straight out of the twisted imagination of Stephen James Price. From a paean to Stephen King to the child of a serial killer, Price explores dark corners of the human heart with wit and skill. At the end of the volume, Price allows the reader to glimpse the insights and incidents that gave birth to each story.
Price is a Writers of the Future contest finalist and his work also appears in GRAVE CONDITIONS and THE OUTSIDERS.
THE INVASION (Extended Version)
by William Meikle
It started during a winter storm on the North Eastern Seaboard which brought with it a strange green rain. Where it fell, everything withered, dies and was consumed. The residents of remote outposts in Maritime Canada escaped the worst of the early damage, but that was a blessing in disguise, for they were left to watch as first North America, then the world was subsumed in the creeping green carpet of terror.
THE ROADHOLE BUNKER MYSTERY
by William Meikle
It is a routine case for Scottish private investigator John Royle-until a body turns up in the Road Hole Bunker at the 17th on the Old Course at St Andrews. Soon he's up to his ears in bodies and red herrings as the trail takes him through the social strata of town and gown, and the case grows to encompass the history, and the very future, of the old course itself.
Scottish writer William Meikle is author of more than 200 works of mystery, horror, and fantasy. Look for more Meikle books from Ghostwriter Publications.
THE ICE MAIDEN
by Steve Lockley & Paul Lewis
“a young girl disappears, a teacher dreams, a killer waits…”
Nominated for a British Fantasy Award.
ISLAND LIFE
by William Meikle
An archaeological expedition is intent on opening an old barrow on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides despite the reservations of the locals, who all know and fear the old stories. The scientists unleash a colony of murderous monsters from deep under the earth. As the released creatures swamp the island, slaughtering livestock and people alike, the humans must band together to combat it with few resources save their courage and wits.
CONJURE
by Mark West
Newly pregnant, stuck in a job she doesn’t like and mourning the death of her cousin, Beth Hammond’s life isn’t working out the way she thought it would. So when her boyfriend wins a weekend away, at the east coast seaside resort of Heyton, Beth thinks this could be just what they need - some time to themselves, to get away and relax and make their plans for the future.
Unfortunately, as they begin their weekend, there's an accident at the beach and a centuries old memorial is damaged. Something escapes - a presence that was buried beneath the memorial, sealed in a stone tomb, that now wants desperately to get its revenge on the residents of Heyton.
ETERNAL SUNSET
by Sephera Giron
Vanessa moves away to college after an extended break of hard living, casual sex, and dabbling in the occult. But little does she know what fate has in store for her where she accepts a gift from her new friend: an ancient book that holds the secret to eternal life...
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