Short Feats of Scribomancy, Volume 1

By Tanya Rusheon

An Exercise in Penance - A disgraced former CEO must bring his new boss a cup of coffee.
A Horse For Hunter - A gunslinger takes a break from bounty hunting to see a man about a horse.
Prosopagnosia - A private investigator faces complications when he can no longer see faces.
Another Man's Albatross - A man comes face to face with a personal demon miles out at sea.
The Happiest Place - A war veteran tries desperately to reconnect with his wife.
Midnight Deadline - A tired mom just wants to get her school work done.
A Pie For Poltergeist - A woman inherits a bakery shop along with the ghost that haunts it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tanya Rusheon
• Release date: May 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9780463570760

Tanya Rusheon

They say that fiction writers are the best liars in the world. That is not true in my case. I can’t lie to save my life — but I can craft a believable fiction when the occasion calls for it.I once created a fiction so believable that I honestly had myself fooled for six solid months. I was telling friends and family (and myself) that basic military training would be easy, a walk in the park, only six weeks long, absolutely nothing to worry about. I had created such a believable fiction that I didn’t begin to question the truth of it until the day I graduated training and became an Airman in the United States Air Force. That was the day that I finally started thinking, “I’m not tough enough to do this, I can’t possibly succeed! I would be crazy even to try!” Of course, that sort of talk loses it’s power when it begins the day after you’ve already accomplished your goals. I could never have imagined that my skill as a writer would help me run faster, do more push-ups, or propel me through the Warrior Week obstacle course, but a well-crafted story can move mountains—and Airmen as it happens.I served in the military as an avionics technician for just long enough to realize that I am more passionate about writing. Navigation instruments are interesting, but they don’t offer much in the way of storytelling. It was an invaluable life experience and a priceless opportunity to research the military lifestyle. Research just happens to be my other speciality.I write character driven stories that tend to fall within interesting venues. Medieval Europe, the American West, Victorian London, and the Age of Sail are all places and time periods that I’ve fallen in love with. I want my readers to experience the same passion for these exotic locales that I have. To that end, I am a tenacious researcher and can spend hours in a library collecting obscure facts and fascinating details.My specialties include Fantasy, Romance, Historical, Paranormal, and Transformative fiction.

Book preview

Short Feats of Scribomancy

Volume 1

by Tanya Rusheon

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2016 Tanya Rusheon

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Title Page

License Notes

An Exercise in Penance

A Horse For Hunter

Prosopagnosia

Another Man's Albatross

The Happiest Place

Midnight Deadline

A Pie For Poltergeist

About the Author

Connect With Me

An Exercise In Penance

Sam might as well have been climbing Everest. He trudged, every step up the industrial fire stairs taking even more effort than the one before. His legs had lost feeling and it was only resignation and locked knees that kept them from jellifying underneath him. Only two more flights to go, he comforted himself, too tired and weary to disbelieve the lie. He rounded the corner, both relieved and sickened by the painted 19 by the door and another mountain peak of stairs just beyond. Sam continued to trudge. 

He’d stopped feeling the paper cup in his hand five flights before; the cardboard liner had done nothing to relieve the 205 degrees of scalding coffee. Now, Sam didn’t know if the coffee had cooled too much or if the nerves in his fingertips had simply burned to numbness. He would find out shortly. Only one more to go...

Finally, he could see the 20 by the door and the blank wall with no stairs. His body ached, his legs quivered, his breath struggled to keep up with his pounding heart. He didn’t bother celebrating his triumph; the inevitable disappointment would only be that much more painful. He wanted to slither to the floor and allow his gelatin legs to quiver and tremble without supporting the weight of the world on them, but he no longer had the courage to fail in the tasks he’d been given. It was only bitter defeat that kept him going.

Sam pushed open the door, wearily glancing at the Out of Order sign by the elevator.