Fiction: Wishes and Hurricanes

This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are provided by Wisewebwoman and posted at River's blog over here. This week's prompts are: luscious, motel, wheelbarrow, jogging trail and/or suspicion, speedboat, graveyard, iris.

Fiction: Wishes and Hurricanes
For five dollars, the fortune teller will answer one question. Rose Koa asked if she will see her family again. His reply was, "Follow the black cat with bits of white fur on his nose. He will lead you to what you wish for." The charlatan smelled like he hadn't showered nor combed his wild hair and beard with his black, long-sleeve shirt and pants all wrinkled and even the crystal ball between them on the table was dusty and worn and yet, when he spoke those two sentences, his grey eyes had a strange light in them though the single candle barely lit the incense-smelling tent. She left and didn't think much about it. 

My Best & Worst Books of 2025

I don't read much in December so I'm making this list early. But if I happen to read a really good or really bad book, I'll edit this but it's unlikely since every time I make these lists, none of my best of or worst of are read in December. Apparently, I seem to be reading a lot of murder mysteries now and less fantasy and middle grade which don't know if this is good or bad but at least, I read a lot more this year than last. Here are the worst and best books I read in 2025 in the order of from worst to best.

The Worst

01 - The Bangalore Detectives Club (#1) by Harini Nagendra
What's it about: sari, Indian food, something about a murder mystery
Thoughts: The writing is clumsy with awkward transitions between scenes, some chapters ending abruptly or they seemed to be cut off for no reason, long run-on sentences that probably could be broken up, small actions/events that are out of order or that they contradict each other, characters recapped events/happenings to other characters instead of readers witnessing it (this was written with a man reading a journal of sorts so readers are reading what the man is reading so it's like readers are getting third-hand accounts) and this didn't seem to have been touched by an editor. And yes, this is the author's debut but that's no excuse. As for the mystery - it was mediocre.

Fiction: A Home for a Castaway

This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are provided by Wisewebwoman and posted at River's blog over here. This week's prompts are: ambulance, bluebell, Sacristy, fountain and/or magnificent, Connemara, castaway, trumpet. I didn't fit sacristy in there. 

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Fiction: A Home for a Castaway
Bluebell acquired his new name when he was brought by a young lady for a mere hundred dollars but he didn't fret. If there was anyone who should fret, it was the lady, Stevie Knight, but she was as calm as a stone even as she tried to climb onto Bluebell's back.
    Looking on, Bluebell's former owner laughed. After the lady had succeeded on the third try and was on his back, Bluebell showed him his teeth as he rode past. The old man grimaced and probably in remembrance from all the ambulance calls he had to made. Bluebell never bit lightly, not on humans who dared to believe he could be tamed with cruelty. Once a Connemara, Bluebell was old by human standards. He was born small and frail and didn't grow much bigger but if humans tested him, they would know he wasn't a weakling.