All Night by the Rose

By Kevin Newman

City on a Hill
This city is like your own in a time period reminiscent of the 20th century. It is filled with gleeful hedonists out in an urban landscape celebrating ‘Merry Day’. Its narrative is experimental and filled with sharp observations as the characters go about their constant partying lives. I was trying to channel Allen Ginsberg and Dr. Seuss at the same time.

Heartbreaker
The protagonist of this story is a misanthrope out to teach a lesson to a prior lover of his ex-girlfriend. This is an experiment in language. I wrote it after reading ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and wanted to try my hand at non-colloquial vernacular. Since I’m not a linguistic scholar, I chose a language that has been bouncing around in my head. I’d like to imagine that I’m an expert in the linguistic choice within my own mind.

Down with Me
This story takes place at a mental institution and is a slice-of-life narrative. The protagonist and his friend have disorders in which things that cannot be there are for them. It’s an experiment in meta-fiction.

Pave the Planet
This story takes place in the outdoor break area at Honda Manufacturing in Alliston, Ontario. The main characters spend their brief lunch period gossiping while the protagonist compares two time-periods in his life. It’s an experiment of flashbacks and description.

Red Backed Betty
The protagonist of this story is out clubbing. When he meets a beautiful girl, he spends the rest of his night wooing her. How he’s wooing her is reminiscent of the Red Backed Spider with metaphorically similar results. This is an experiment in theme.
Life and Times of 34 Empire Path
The protagonist of this story is a building located at the titled address. The eras span six decades and within the context of these decades a narrative is weaved throughout. It’s an experiment with time.

He’s Really my Brother
In this tale, the protagonist deals with the poor showing he made of being a good brother to a child adopted by his family. It’s a straight-forward story, although it plays with flashbacks and timing.

Kissing Eleanor
This is a modern-day romance between childhood sweethearts. It’s a pretty straight-forward love story, but as with most of what I write, it doesn’t really end up where Hollywood expects it to.

The Great Fall of a Mediocre Man
A Love story: kind of the opposite of Kissing Ellanore in that it doesn’t begin as you’d expect it, but it has a feel-good ending.

Saskatchewan Boulevard
The protagonist reminisces about his childhood friend when he drives by his old house and then imagines what his friend is up to in Afghanistan. Of course, his imagination runs rampant and the reader ends up with a tale of eastern fantasy.

Nabakan and Benikhir
This was written as a counterpoint to the standard western fantasy. It’s set in a fantasy world that is reminiscent of the Middle-East. Nabakan and Benikhir must save the people from the tyrant Po.

Janey Chu
This is a children’s story and a study of theology from that perspective. It’s representative of society and it’s fantastic.

Star Trek: White Trash
This is satire aimed directly at space opera. Captain Hicks and his crew of misfits deal with a new Vulcan communications officer and at the same time, trouble in the Neutral Zone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin Newman
• Release date: May 19, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458106650

Book preview

All Night by the Rose

Kevin Newman

Copyright 2000 by Kevin Newman

Smashwords Edition

Other Novels include:

Fey Girl

Jude Pender has troubles managing his emotions. Case in point: Cecile. He thinks he can bury his thoughts and that the rest of his neurons will naturally grow around them, leaving an obelisk that he can visit as if in a dream. And since he doesn't know when to give up, the result will be an explosive release after a series of betrayals.

You can inquire about obtaining a paperback copy of Fey Girl or All Night by the Rose here:

http://www.voxnewman.com/products.html

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Introduction:

The following are fictional(ized) stories I wrote between 2000 and 2011, with the exception of Star Trek: White Trash which was originally written in 1995, but for the most part, lost and re-written in 2009. I have collected these stories into one volume for the purpose of sharing my writing with the public. If you enjoyed any part of the stories contained within this free ebook, please visit my website (http://www.voxnewman.com/products.html) and check out my other books.

A brief synopses of each story:

City on a Hill

This city is like your own in a time period reminiscent of the 20th century. It is filled with gleeful hedonists out in an urban landscape celebrating ‘Merry Day’. Its narrative is experimental and filled with sharp observations as the characters go about their constant partying lives. I was trying to channel Allen Ginsberg and Dr. Seuss at the same time.

Heartbreaker

The protagonist of this story is a misanthrope out to teach a lesson to a prior lover of his ex-girlfriend. This is an experiment in language. I wrote it after reading ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and wanted to try my hand at non-colloquial vernacular. Since I’m not a linguistic scholar, I chose a language that has been bouncing around in my head. I’d like to imagine that I’m an expert in the linguistic choice within my own mind.

Down with Me

This story takes place at a mental institution and is a slice-of-life narrative. The protagonist and his friend have disorders in which things that cannot be there are for them. It’s an experiment in meta-fiction.

Pave the Planet

This story takes place in the outdoor break area at Honda Manufacturing in Alliston, Ontario. The main characters spend their brief lunch period gossiping while the protagonist compares two time-periods in his life. It’s an experiment of flashbacks and description.

Red Backed Betty

The protagonist of this story is out clubbing. When he meets a beautiful girl, he spends the rest of his night wooing her. How he’s wooing her is reminiscent of the Red Backed Spider with metaphorically similar results. This is an experiment in theme.

Life and Times of 34 Empire Path

The protagonist of this story is a building located at the titled address. The eras span six decades and within the context of these decades a narrative is weaved throughout. It’s an experiment with time.

He’s Really my Brother

In this tale, the protagonist deals with the poor showing he made of being a good brother to a child adopted by his family. It’s a straight-forward story, although it plays with flashbacks and timing.

Kissing Eleanor

This is a modern-day romance between childhood sweethearts. It’s a pretty straight-forward love story, but as with most of what I write, it doesn’t really end up where Hollywood expects it to.

The Great Fall of a Mediocre Man

A Love story: kind of the opposite of Kissing Eleanor in that it doesn’t begin as you’d expect it, but it has a feel-good ending.

Saskatchewan Boulevard

The protagonist reminisces about his childhood friend when he drives by his old house and then imagines what his friend is up to in Afghanistan. Of course, his imagination runs rampant and the reader ends up with a tale of eastern fantasy.

Nabakan and Benikhir

This was written as a counterpoint to the standard western fantasy. It’s set in a fantasy world that is reminiscent of the Middle-East. Nabakan and Benikhir must save the people from the tyrant Po.

Janey Chu

This is a children’s story and a study of theology from that perspective. It’s representative of society and it’s fantastic.

Star Trek: White Trash

This is satire aimed directly at space opera. Captain Hicks and his crew of misfits deal with a new Vulcan communications officer and at the same time, trouble in the Neutral Zone.

Table of Contents

City on a Hill

Heartbreaker

Down with Me

Pave the Planet

Red Backed Betty

Life and Times of 34 Empire Path

He’s Really My Brother

Kissing Eleanor

The Great Fall of a Mediocre Man

Saskatchewan Boulevard

Nabakan and Benikhir

Janey Chu

Star Trek: White Trash

City on a Hill

This is the tale of a city that situated itself salaciously unsilent on a hill with its highways, byways, parkways and overpasses snaking around through, under and above the city as the thundering rumble of various vehicles vroomed, zoomed and entombed the city, imprisoning the sound, smell, sight, taste and touch of every soul who made it their dwelling within a spiring aesthetic of steel, concrete, plastic, glass and 'eat drink and be merry: for tomorrow we die'.

The hill itself being man-made, shared the same sense of exponential escapism encapsulating the city as it had been raised eleventy eight years ago in the face of battles to which no one remembered the name of and that had ravaged women and children as men on an adventure tore through the land taking their own little piece of heaven and defecating on it until the men to oppose them emerged and erected a shining citadel from which they let fly bombs and bullets until all the men of honour were dead and the living were marginally at peace.

Of course this war to unite the land had simply dissolved into internal inspiration within each and every person as they tore their eyes from the blood running in rivers and looked to the shining sun that rose in the sky spreading hope to each individual as they decided to go it alone and call it freedom.

But, even though the times had changed in the heart of society, the world itself rambled along to the beat of its own drum: 'bam bam bam,' it cried, 'here comes industry!' and 'woe are you,' it howled 'here comes collectivization!' even though the people cried out 'no' the answer was 'yes' for many on the periphery.

Not so for those in the nation of the people who lived in the city on a hill, for they soon had planes, trains and automobiles and then came radio, television and the internet whilst all of these events were preceded by a march to the polls every so often to reassert and resurrect freedom.

So, these people bought themselves out of slavery and indebted themselves to freedom, stealing as much as they could from the tightly controlled anarchy.

This, then, is the tale of that city of freedom, that city of splendour: why, it is the tale of many fists raised in defiance of whatever one has a need to defy. When you cross the threshold into this city (Lord Bloodbath's tunnel on the approach to 35th ave) you too will be agape and join in on the rampant revulsion to teetotaling tribalism. And, therefore, into the city we shall go so that you can see for yourself what all the fuss is about.

For instance, on this very day from the suburbs to the corner of Lord Bloodbath and 35th there begins a parade, a procession of individuals come together on this day each year for a collective remembrance of an event to which no one alive experienced and so it has been renamed Merry Day; they take the day off to watch the parade as it marches with enthusiasm and partial nudity toward Central Boulevard where the crowds swell and gather to wait for a show of lights in the sky and merriment in the streets, along the canals and especially in the saloons.

And this is where Angel is, in a saloon called 'the Underground' where freedom loving goths come to canoodle as if in a dank patchouli scented cave possibly filled with vampires and/or zombies but certainly with the expectation of Queen Victoria's imminent arrival. Say, Angel says as she grabs the arm of a passerby, Merry Day to you.

Steel, whose arm it is, looks over his shoulder into her dancing green eyes and notes her crooked smile before he bequeaths upon her a sly smile of his own. Why Angel, says he, myself and the others were wondering where you had gone. Some of us were certain you'd joined the growing ranks of the hipsters.

No, she snorts, skinny jeans are for Saturdays and Sundays and today is but Friday.

Well, he sits atop the stool beside her and caresses her knee lightly, it certainly is. What say do let's get out of here and make merry at my place?

She giggles and covers her mouth with a frilly silk kerchief.

Chucking a thumb over a shoulder he says, My condominium is but a block from here and the night is young and warm.

She withdraws her cell phone from a pocket along the midriff of her corset, glances at the fob watch it is chained to and raises her eyebrow. Her dark purple hair, knotted above her head, shows off the splendour of the nape of her neck in the yesteryear fashion and is held fast by two chopsticks criss-crossed. Hmmm…

He tilts his head and brushes a lock of hair from her eyes. You are intrigued, I can tell.

But you only just arrived and the night is still young.

So we'll cojoin for a short time and soon rejoin the revelling fun.

I would like to join you and see your new place.

Then we’ll head that way now and make it a race.

Before she completes her nod, his thick hand wraps itself around hers and she can feel a caged heat seeping through the lace of her white gloves. He tugs her along behind them and soon they are out into the street. He begins to sprint lightly and she laughs softly, gathering up her skirt and petticoat as she follows at what speed she can muster while her stilettos tap tap tap along the ground behind him. They travel through a cesspool of safe sex and soon are inside the lobby of his building. As she catches her breath, he gathers her toward him, his arms slipping along her waist and gathering