Magpies Getting Very Excited (July 2025)

The magpies were getting pretty excited yesterday afternoon. My wife Helena said that they were arguing and getting very angry, whether at each other or something else, she wasn’t sure. She said that it seemed like one “dropped out of the air”, after which the birds went kind of nuts.

We do have a large nest in a tree near the house (it has been named “the condo”), which seems to have had babies in it this year. Perhaps a fledgling tried its luck flying a bit too early?

However, I have seen some hawks around lately, so it could be that which got the magpies going. In addition, I encountered neighborhood cat on our back porch yesterday, when I went out to hit some golf balls into the backyard net. So, perhaps the cat got the magpies excited, earlier in the day.

Edmonton declared the magpie to be winner of the vote for “official city bird” a few days ago, so maybe they were celebrating that.

 Love at the Lake, Part 2, now on Audiobook (Amazon)

One way to forgive and forget, after the events in Love at the Lake (Part 1).  Now on audible, on Amazon.  It's about an hour's listening.

Love at the Lake Part 2 - A Mid-Summer Morning's Dream at the Lake

Here is another wonderful story by writer Helena Puumala, one of her warm, emotional “at the Lake” stories. It is a sequel to “Love at the Lake”, which involved the consequences of marital infidelity, real and imagined, within the relationships of two young couples. 

What happens next? Can love be recovered after thoughtless betrayal? Perhaps, but only with a little help from a mysterious dark haired woman, in this modern-day spin of a fairy tale for adults.

This is a short story, of about 9000 words, suitable to be read in about 45 minutes to an hour, by a typical reader. It is priced at 99 cents U.S., equivalent price in other currencies. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited and is periodically offered as a free promotion.

Amazon U.S.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0125Y7O1Q
Amazon U.K. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0125Y7O1Q
Amazon Canada http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0125Y7O1Q
Amazon Australia http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0125Y7O1Q 
Amazon Germany http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0125Y7O1Q
Amazon France http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B0125Y7O1Q
Amazon Japan http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B0125Y7O1Q 

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0125Y7O1Q

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0125Y7O1Q

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0125Y7O1Q

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0125Y7O1Q

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0125Y7O1Q

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0125Y7O1Q

 Terminal Lucidity, Now on Audiobook (Amazon)

The short science fiction story “Terminal Lucidity” is now on audiobook, via Amazon, as well as in ebook format. It is also something of a whodunit mystery, set on a distant planet.

It is about a bit over an hour of listening on audiobook, somewhat less when read in ebook form.

Terminal Lucidity – SF Short Fiction, on Amazon

A lone agent is discovered orbiting a newly discovered exoplanet. Though his mind has been badly damaged, it is believed to hold vital secrets about a threatening alien species. But, can the medical staff uncover these secrets in time to prevent an interstellar war? Might one of them be a saboteur, working for the other side? And will their efforts, if successful, mean death for the agent and tragedy for his young daughter?

 

“We have reason to believe that the last expedition had made contact with the aliens and had gained some vital intelligence about them. We know that, but that’s all we know. All other contact with the expedition was lost before we received any of the details.

“Agent X was the only surviving member of that expedition. A rescue team found him on a small craft, orbiting Mendel. He couldn’t even speak and he soon fell into a coma, the state in which he was when you began your treatments. His mind was very diseased.”

“And you need us to dig that information out of his diseased mind,” Louise said.

The General nodded.

“Yes, the loss of our missions now seem to indicate that we are in a state of undeclared war with this species, a cold war if you will. But there are signs of hyper-space disruption in this system, all out of proportion to the limited activities of our spacecraft. We fear that the alien species may be mobilizing. A hot war may follow at any time. Earth may even be a target, as they could have calculated our originating location from the trail of our own spacecrafts’ hyper-space disruptions. If not from that, then perhaps from our electromagnetic signals, whether in hyper-space or normal space. We just don’t know.”

“Thus, the urgency,” Charles said. “Thus, Terminal Lucidity.”

The story is about 13,000 words, or about 60 or so minutes at typical reading speeds.

It’s 99 cents U.S., equivalent price in other currencies. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited and is periodically on a free promotion.

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SCV6284

Amazon U.K.: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09SCV6284

Amazon Germany: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B09SCV6284

Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B09SCV6284

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09SCV6284

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09SCV6284

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B09SCV6284

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B09SCV6284

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B09SCV6284

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B09SCV6284

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B09SCV6284

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B09SCV6284

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B09SCV6284

The Boathouse Christ, Now on Audiobook (Amazon)

The Boathouse Christ is now on audiobook, via Amazon. It is an engaging tale of a young woman coming to terms with herself and the efforts of family and friends to assist her in that journey. It is about forty minutes of listening on audiobook, somewhat less when read in ebook form.

 

The Boathouse Christ

A teenage girl inadvertently materializes the image of a Christ on the Cross on the outside wall of her parents’ boathouse, at their cottage on a Northern Ontario lake. She spends hours praying to the figure while her parents and their neighbours express their distress. Then it is discovered that the girl, Terese, also has marks on her body, recreating the wounds of the Christ.

What is to be done?

Discover what happens as the uncanny events unfold, during one week in October, which just happens to include Halloween.

This is a short story of approximately 6000 words.

U.S. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JBRD90Q
U.K. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JBRD90Q
Can: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00JBRD90Q

Germany: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00JBRD90Q

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00JBRD90Q

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00JBRD90Q

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00JBRD90Q

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B00JBRD90Q

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00JBRD90Q

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00JBRD90Q

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00JBRD90Q

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00JBRD90Q

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00JBRD90Q

Beyond the Blue Door Part 2 (Behind the Locked Door), Now on Audiobook (Amazon)

Beyond the Blue Door Part 2 (Behind the Locked Door) is now on audiobook, via Amazon. It is a continuation of the Beyond the Blue Door story, but set several decades in the future. The character Jenny is revisited, along with her sister Molly, along with some new parties. In this part of the story, the characters go through some harrowing experiences, but also eventually gain the opportunity for a happier and more hopeful future.

Beyond the Locked Door (Beyond the Blue Door, Part 2)

This story is titled “Beyond the Blue Door, Part 2”, as it is a companion piece to Helena Puumala’s original story “Beyond the Blue Door”. In that story, the teenage girl Jennie takes refuge from domestic abuse in a perhaps illusory, perhaps supernatural, world that she has discovered that exists beyond a hidden blue door in an old farmhouse. The story can be interpreted in many ways – the Blue Door may represent a psychological escape mechanism for a traumatized youth, or it may represent a transition to a hopeful alternative reality. The conclusion to the story can be read either way.

Part 2 of Jennie’s story tends to the latter interpretation and expands on it by introducing several new characters and a new framework for the action. This also opens up the opportunity for the character of Jennie to be explored in a new direction, within which she can exercise a more active role, in concert with the other new characters. It also explores some different perspectives on the nature of good and evil, as well as the potential for love in even the most harrowing of circumstances.

The story stands on its own, but it is perhaps best read after reading Part 1. Together, the two stories clock in at about 20,000 words, independently at about 10,000 each.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0BTBG1ZW6

Part 1 can be obtained via the Amazon link:

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SCV6284

The two stories can be bought together, in a separate ebook, which includes them both:

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG3ZLTHS

Beyond the Blue Door, Now on Audiobook (Amazon)

Beyond the Blue Door is now on audiobook, via Amazon. It is a very well crafted story about a disturbing family situation, which ultimately concludes on an existentially hopeful note.

Beyond the Blue Door

Two haunted houses are involved in this tale.  But where does the greater evil reside - in the safe family domicile of our everyday world or in the creepy old abandoned farmhouse?

On Amazon:

U.S.: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OX60XJU

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OX60XJU

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00OX60XJU

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00OX60XJU

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00OX60XJU

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00OX60XJU

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00OX60XJU

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00OX60XJU

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B00OX60XJU

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00OX60XJU

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00OX60XJU

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00OX60XJU

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00OX60XJU

The Haunted Park, Now on Audiobook (Amazon)

The Haunted Park is now on audiobook, via Amazon. It is a nice little ghost story, fun to listen to, perhaps during a late night drive down an isolated country road.

The Haunted Park

This story is composed of two interconnected narratives, with Part 1 describing a tragic family situation that is resolved by the events in Part 2. The families involved are separated in both time and space, but their fates intertwine in this location which has become known by the locals as "the haunted park". Philosophically, the story explores the notion of a ghosts and the afterlife from a several different perspectives.  And of course, it is just a satisfying ghost story.

The characters in Part 2 are also found in Helena Puumala’s selection of ‘Lake’ stories, entitled Five Holiday Mysteries”. The characters unique and special backgrounds, personalities and abilities are explored more fully in those stories, though this story can be read as a stand-alone ghost story.

The story is about 7500 words, which can be read within about 45 minutes to an hour, at typical reading speeds.

U.S. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYK1MTK4 

U.K. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CYK1MTK4

Can: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CYK1MTK4

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0CYK1MTK4

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0CYK1MTK4

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0CYK1MTK4

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0CYK1MTK4

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0CYK1MTK4

Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0CYK1MTK4

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0CYK1MTK4

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CYK1MTK4

Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B0CYK1MTK4

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CYK1MTK4