ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
I'm thirty nine, recently single again. I have two boys Cli' (pronounced clee) Real name Christopher and Mark. I'm a care in the community nurse and formerly (when I was married) an occupational Therapist working with the mentally ill on a secure unit. I love reading and writing and meeting people. I hate offal, seafood and intolerance. I keep dog, cat, polecats, rats and reptiles. And for seven years ran the second largest reptile sanctuary in Britain. Apart from having my lads, I think that's probably the most worthwhile thing I've ever done. Writing wise, I've been the main fiction writer for Legends magazine for three years.And have two books published 'Lizard's Leap' published by Quillusers, and 'Better the Devil You Know' soon to be released by Bestbooks.Um I drive a knackered old Astra, and ride a two litre trike. I live in the lake district of England, and am happy. :-) [January 2003]
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (84) A Fork In The Road. (Short Stories) A paradox revolving round the lonely Holker Mosses in the dead of night. [2,835 words] [Mystery] A Twist In The Tail (Short Stories) - [963 words] Agony (Short Stories) The First in a series of Agony columns written by the unstoppable Aunt Nasty. (May be deemed offensive) [1,200 words] [Comedy] Agony 2 (Short Stories) Morew from the irrepresible Aunt Nasty (May be deemed offensive). [1,077 words] [Comedy] Angel Stew (Short Stories) The kitchens are in uproar. [826 words] [Comedy] Anne (Short Stories) - [707 words] Apple Of His Eye (Short Stories) Daddy's little girl, Daddy's little sweetheart. (May be deemed offensive). [1,742 words] [Drama] Attractions (Short Stories) People stared at the sisters and called them freaks. [678 words] [Drama] Bandit At Twelve-O-Clock (Short Stories) A sinister note drops through her letter box, but who is it from and what's it all about? [2,144 words] [Drama] Barriers (Short Stories) Everybody's frightened of the prisoner in the cell at the end of the block. [2,913 words] [Thriller] Breakfast In Bed (Short Stories) She loved her husband so much, and a sepcial man deserves a special breakfast. [1,633 words] [Horror] Car Trouble (Short Stories) Boys will be boys. [496 words] [Comedy] Cat's Chorus (Short Stories) - [1,332 words] Cherry Blossom (Short Stories) - [435 words] Cold, Cold Night.. (Short Stories) The night was beautiful but biting, she had to make her final farewells, a cigarette would help. [630 words] [Drama] Dark Solitude. (Short Stories) A woman alone on the moors when a storm threatens, but this is no ordinanry storm and that is no ordinary lady. [1,434 words] [Drama] Dawn Rising (Short Stories) He looked at his own personal sunrise every morning, yet longed for the warmth of the sun. [1,069 words] [Drama] Deadly Persuit (Short Stories) Nature at its most cruel .. when it's interfered with by man. [1,541 words] [Drama] Deep Blue Eastern Light (Poetry) I've never been to Budapest, but I saw an image on a postcard, it was misty and had a sort of dreamy quality about it. I wondered about the spirit of Budapest. Hope I've done her justicce. [204 words] Different Road (Short Stories) Charlie is running scared. Will he find his way before his precious time runs out? [521 words] Empty House (Short Stories) This had been her domain, now it was only a shadow. [649 words] [Drama] Find Me A Place (Poetry) Everybody needs somewhere to run. [193 words] [Drama] Finding Fleur (Short Stories) Katy desperately wants to find Fleur, but does Fleur want to be found? [1,727 words] [Drama] Four Minute Warning (Short Stories) - [476 words] [Comedy] Freedom By Another Name (Short Stories) He's an imposter [557 words] [Drama] Furtive Glances (Short Stories) Always the last to know! [891 words] [Drama] Galaxy (Poetry) Let Venus bear witness and Mars be our guide. [139 words] Hickory, Dickory, Dock (Short Stories) - [991 words] [Drama] Is The Toilet Roll Half Full Or Half Empty (Short Stories) It's hard when you're at bursting point. [423 words] [Comedy] I've Always Wanted To Write... But! (Short Stories) There's always an excuse if you want to find one. [510 words] [Mind] Jasmine And Gardenia Love (Poetry) - [417 words] [Erotic] Jinny (Poetry) - [176 words] Just The Ticket (Short Stories) You pays your money and you takes your chances. [5,177 words] [Drama] Knockers (Short Stories) It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. [2,210 words] [Drama] Little Bird (Short Stories) He liked fragile things [1,406 words] [Drama] Lizards Leap (Novels) Four children buy an intricately carved frame from a school fair. A crazy old woman chases them desperately wanting the carving for herself. What is the mystery surrounding the strange frame? [5,753 words] [Adventure] Long Walk Back To Jurassica (Poetry) Evolution and progress or three million steps backwards? [323 words] [Drama] Lookingthrough The Window (Short Stories) - [401 words] Madness Becomes You (Short Stories) She used to be someone, now she's several people, or maybe she's nobody at all, it makes no difference. [394 words] [Drama] Making My Way Back To You. (Short Stories) She'd told them a thousand times to keep the front door closed, now tragedy had struck. [1,926 words] [Drama] Memberwhen (Poetry) Memberwhen that mystical word of long ago memories. [189 words] [Drama] Mortar Doesn't Breathe. (Short Stories) The house was inanimate, dead ... because her child was gone. [1,114 words] [Drama] Mourning Glory (Short Stories) One of my favourite pieces. Please note *This is not a children's story* It's the tale of a little girl trying to be a child. [1,786 words] [Drama] Mumbles From The Madhouse (Novels) It was her first day on the secure unit and somehow she had to see it through. [2,215 words] [Drama] My Friend The Tiger And Me (Poetry) I wrote this for my little boy when he was having trouble at school. [942 words] [Animal] Naughty Bunny Goes To Ibiza (Short Stories) - [552 words] One-Man Race (Short Stories) He had only his nerves to rely on. One slip and the race would be lost. [664 words] [Drama] Out Of Print (Short Stories) A man, a boy, a love of reading and echoes of the past. [2,007 words] [Drama] Outrun The River (Poetry) The snow was melting fast and he owed it to himself and his seld of dogs to make it to safety. [145 words] [Action] Pact Of Joy. (Short Stories) Don't we all just want to be happy? [2,497 words] [Drama] Play With Me Please. (Short Stories) - [322 words] Return Of The Hellcat (Erotica May Be Offensive) (Short Stories) Please do not read this one if easily offended. Or even not so easily offended. Continuing sexploits of Dark Solitude. [3,390 words] [Erotic] Room For One More (Short Stories) The dream was haunting and wouldn't leave Mike alone. [1,728 words] [Drama] Rush Hour (Short Stories) - [419 words] Sally (Short Stories) - [2,268 words] Sinister Music (Novels) She had no psychic ability, so why had fate chosen her to foretell of the spate of brutal murders? [6,114 words] [Drama] So This Is My Life Then (Short Stories) - [517 words] [Comedy] Space Walk (Short Stories) May Cause offense. [1,290 words] [Drama] Spirit Dancer (Poetry) - [514 words] Sweet Child Of Mine (Short Stories) The old lady had been brutally mugged, her son was sucjh a good boy, but would his thoughts now turn to revenge? [1,843 words] [Drama] Tangled Web (Short Stories) Treat `em mean and keep `em keen. [596 words] [Drama] The Band Played On (Short Stories) - [1,486 words] [Drama] The Big Picture (Short Stories) The little girl was a great artist, but her subject matter was giving cause for concern. [776 words] [Drama] The Comet. (Short Stories) Remember! [796 words] [Drama] The Dinosaur (Short Stories) - [1,523 words] The Half Empty Glass. (Short Stories) They had no idea of the horror they were walking into. [3,030 words] [Drama] The Hhmmm Efect (Poetry) - [783 words] The Iceberg (Short Stories) She had to break the hold they had on him... release him from his parents grip. [410 words] [Drama] The Joker (Short Stories) - [2,032 words] The Lovers (Poetry) - [124 words] The Mark Of Jack (Short Stories) The start of something maybe. [1,044 words] [Drama] The Old Enemy (Short Stories) I just hope I've got the names right. [253 words] [Drama] The Rosary (Short Stories) May cause offense. [422 words] The Spark (Short Stories) - [557 words] The Thirteenth Station (Short Stories) - [8,024 words] [Horror] The Village Green. (Short Stories) - [559 words] [Drama] Three Mile Gap (Poetry) So close and yet... [285 words] [Drama] Tomorrow Lies Beside Us (Poetry) - [239 words] [Drama] Tusk (Short Stories) - [1,012 words] [Drama] Under The Whether (Short Stories) - [1,626 words] Watching And Waiting (Short Stories) - [1,253 words] [Drama] White Icing (Short Stories) - [1,385 words] Worlds Biggest Loser (Short Stories) - [114 words] You Are My Sunshine (Short Stories) - [1,285 words]
Creeping Up From Behind. Sue (Sooz) Simpson
Creeping up from behind
She sat on the boulder looking out at the ocean. She was pensive and the sea was unsympathetic to the weight beneath her thoughts. The waves buffeted her hopes and took them far beyond the breakers to swim with the dolphins. In her dreams she would love to swim with the dolphins.
He was a good man, kind and gentle. She had been drawn to his shy demeanour, his awkwardness around women, and his lack of savvy in the wicked ways of the world. She was amused and delighted by his clumsy way with words, as he tripped and stumbled over the cobbled syllables of the simplest phrases. She smiled as she remembered telling him that she liked him and was glad he was her friend, and of how he muttered and mumbled that he liked her too. She felt happy as she saw in her memory the fierce blush that had darkened his cheeks. He hadn't the slightest notion of how attractive that spread of colour had appeared to her. Such was his naivety.
It was this and so much more that had crept up on her from behind, catching her unawares. How odd that this man had drawn from her feelings of tenderness and, yes eventually arousal. He was so different from the other men in her life, who were brash and confident. Powerful in their musk of manhood. With classic looks and hard bodies.
She had been younger then, Slimmer. Less worn by a world that still had ugliness to show her. When her insecurity had forced her to probe his thoughts, he had said that he was unconcerned by her lack of beauty. She grinned as she had said it was just as well. Her feelings for him rose along with her admiration.
They talked everyday, each a rock to support the other in times of trouble. She was strong. He was gentle. Both providing the words the other needed. As their friendship grew they discovered shared interests, A love of art, music, literature. The man and woman harbouring a desire to be liked and accepted by each other and the world.
They had come here that day and had sat on the rock that she now rested on alone. Separately and together, they sent their dreams out to sea to swim on the back of dolphins. The dreams returned to them refreshed.
His hand had rested loosely on his denim clad knee as they talked of their tomorrows. Made brave by the swell of the sea, and the romance of the moment, she took her forefinger and brushed it gently across the back of his hand. It was a barely perceptible stroke, Just the breeze of a caress. His hand went rigid, tensed; she looked into his eyes, worried at the lack of response. She was amused to see that he looked terrified, not repulsed.
“Are you Happy?” She asked, her breath halted in anticipation of his answer.
“Oh yes”
She relaxed her breathing and smiled at him.
“Come here” he said opening his arms to allow her within.
She moulded into his big body that she had always known would be comfortable.
He smelled nice, male with a waft of sea.
She breathed him. Moving closer into the strength of his arms. Her lips danced lightly across his neck just below the ear and she smiled as she felt his breath catch in his chest.
They stayed like that a little time, each adrift with their thoughts.
Sitting alone on the rock again she tried to remember who had broken the magic of the embrace but all she could remember was moving into a looser hold and being held by his warm brown eyes. Those eyes came to her mind again now. Eyes that were oval portals of perceptive intelligence. That day all she had seen was her own reflection moving towards him.
Their mouths met in a kiss that was long and pleasurable. His hands stroked in rhythmic circles on her back, hers slid into his hairline, caressing his head and neck.
It was not the kiss she had intended. She had wanted their first kiss to be gentle, a mere brush of her barely parted lips to his. A soft kiss, perfect in its innocence and simplicity.
All too soon it was time to leave. She kissed him again as they said their goodbyes.
He was gone, and time shifted its cogs adjusted its settings and it was as though he had never been.
Darkness snuffed out the warmth within her. She could feel it inside her. A tear rolled unhampered down her cheek.
She thought back to his frigid hand, stiff and unyielding beneath her most tender touch. Shame burned her cheeks as she remembered his blush. She had mistaken his distaste for a delicious fear of anticipation, and had taken his disgust to be the shy sensitivity that had so attracted her.
She bit down on her lip to hold back a sob, as she relived the moment he had held his breath when her lips had touched his neck. Had they felt like the icy kiss of dread to him?
He had held her and met her kiss firmly; there was no denying that. Maybe he just wanted to see if any physical feelings could emerge.
She admired his honesty when he told her that he hadn’t felt any romantic feelings towards her. She hated deceit above all else. Yet she had been all too willing to deceive herself.
She sent out her hopes and dreams to swim with the dolphins. Her dreams did not return and rejection crept up from behind.
READER'S REVIEWS (6) DISCLAIMER: STORYMANIA DOES NOT PROVIDE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWS. ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED BY NON-ASSOCIATED VISITORS, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY CALL THEMSELVES.
"This piece was a quiet but heartfelt piece. You captured my desire to read more for the simple fact it reminded me of myself. I wish I could write such beatiful pieces as you do. " -- Free Bird.
"Thank-you, I'm glad you liked it, I think this one is one that we can all identify with in some way or another. " -- Sooz, Dalton, Cumbria, England.
"Like Free Bird, I wish I could write this well. I was captivated from the first sentence and could see the world through the eyes of the narrator all the way through. I also began to identify strongly with her shy and awkward companion, thinking: yes, that's exactly how I always feel around someone I find super-attractive, and the ending came as a completely unexpected shock. I see now that the theme of the piece is in fact self-delusion. A superb piece of writing." -- David Gardiner, London, England.
"Thanks David You can be quite a toughie to please ,which is of course a god thing. Glad you liked this one. Not one of my faovurites but it's okay for what it's trying to say. Thanks for liking it. Oh and I can do self-selusion to the hilt. " -- Sooz, Dalton, England, Cumbria.
"Archmage_Darksphere’s Review: Wow, that was just totally 'creeping', as the title suggested. It crept up on me in the ending. Well written, clear and easy to read. I've never read this kind of fiction, so i guess that's just a first impression. " -- Cam Davis.
"Glad you liked it Arch. If it made you think then it did its job Ta, and thanks to Cam. " -- Sooz, Dalton-in-Furness, England, Cumbria.
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