Bill W

Whew! I just finished reading this first set of incredible stories. Kudos to all of the wonderful authors that created thrilling and thoroughly enjoyable stories with unique interpretations of the theme "Creature Feature)!

If you're familiar with any of Lee Wilson's other stories, then you're probably familiar with how he can take a simple mundane idea and use it to create a wonderful story and this one is no exception. Although hellbender salamanders don't grow to sizes such as those in this story, it doesn't mean that Lee won't use them and the scenario surrounding their existence seem both interesting and believable. This story is about two sets of brothers that encounter hellbender salamanders that have grown to enormous sizes, between six to ten feet (1.8 to 3 meters), at different times. And being curious youngsters, it gets them into interesting, exciting, and even frightening situations. If you wish to find out what those situations include, then click on the link and then sit back to enjoy a wonderfully exciting tale.

Ian is a real spitfire, but he's also very mature for his age, acting as quickly as he did to save Hunter and later to kill the hellbender and retrieve Hunter's fingers. Must be that hellbender doesn't swallow. Only Lee Wilson can create such a wild and interesting story, with plenty on tension, action, and humor. Kudos, my friend. A job well done.

That's a brave guy standing that close to the gator. They can move much more quickly than you might imagine.

Including Jeffrey Dahmer!

Lee exaggerates everything, and not just in his stories. 😵

You've already got me hooked, Lee. I can wait to read the story you created.

This is a marvelously crafted romantic story utilizing werefoxes as the main characters. Keon, the focus of this story, is a dominant alpha who has a problem that both makes him a threat to some, while at the same time marking him as a target for others. He is forced to navigate his way through life as a recluse, deeply concerned about the reactions he might arouses in others. If you love a romantic story with plenty of tension and a happy ending, then make sure to read this enchanting tale.

What a fascinating and wonderful story, and I love the fact that you used werefoxes, instead of werewolves. Somehow it made the Keon, Gage, and the others more unique, less threatening, and very relatable. I also enjoyed how you crafted their world and the various tribes, as well as how you portrayed Keon's struggle with his overwhelming challenge and the threats it posed, both to him and others. Thank you for this intriguing story!

The word "charlatan" comes from the Italian charlatano, meaning "quack" or "mountebank", and is related to the verb cialare, "to prate" or "to gabble". The ultimate origin is Italian, likely a blend of ciarlare ("to chatter") and cerretano ("a native of Cerreto," a town known for quacks). The word passed into English through the French charlatan and around the early 17th century the word initially referred to a traveling medical quack who used patter and schemes to sell fake remedies. It later came to describe someone who pretends to have knowledge or skill they don't possess. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the earliest use of the word "charlatan" in English was around 1576, in a work by Arthur Hall. Examples of "charlatan" used in a sentence: "The fraudulent miracle healer was exposed as a charlatan who had tricked thousands of people out of their savings." "Some are charlatans soaking the rubes for a few drachmas." "He was exposed as a charlatan after his promised medical cures failed." "Beware of charlatans who try to sell you access to the fountain of youth." "Many believed the Wizard was a great and powerful wizard, but in reality, he was just a charlatan."

Don't read the story description and assume it's another Harry and the Hendersons. And don't let the stiff, high-brow writing style in the first section scare you away. It's my guess the author used this style to reflect the pompous and self-centered lifestyles of Rowan and Matt at that point in their lives. Once you get past the first break and have read through the background information, you'll find a remarkable, intriguing, and wonderfully crafted story about two "creatures" that find themselves in an highly unusual and complex situation. Over time, Rowan and Sam reach a comfortable, caring, and tender coexistence, complete with a few moment of levity. However, at one point all of this caring relationship comes crashing down as reality interferes with their comfortable cohabitation. If you wish to find out more about what happens, you'll have to read this marvelous, heartwarming, and tender short story. Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

What a delightful, fascinating, and tender story. I truly loved it. I take it the pompous, stiff, and high-brow language at the beginning of the story was to imitate Rowan and Matt's pompous and pretentious lives they were living. I loved some of the descriptions you so marvelously crafted in the introductory segment, but I fear the writing style used in that section may have turned some potential readers away before they gave the story a chance. However, once Rowan found himself in the cave, things started to become more real, except for Sam's imitating the newscaster style of speaking that he'd learned and was mimicking from watching the news and weather channel on the solar powered TV. I was more than a little concerned following the scene with the helicopter that Rowan was going to leave and possibly never return. Even if he did venture back to the cave, I feared it would only be for a weekend or holiday visit, so I was glad that things worked out for them. Kudos, this was a brilliant take on the Anthology theme.

Oops, my bad. I guess I've got to be more observant. Since there are usually only one author, I didn't check that out very closely.

All of this information is enlightening, but who's this Chris that inspired you to write this story?

If you spelled "herbs" with a capital H, the sentence would have had an entirely different meaning. 😜

The English word "hobble" likely originated in the 14th century from the Middle English verb hobblen, meaning "to rock back and forth" or "toss up and down". It is related to the Middle Dutch word hobbelen and the dialectal German word hoppeln, both meaning to jolt or move unevenly. The word reflects an idea of unsteady movement, possibly from an expressive formation based on the base of the verb "to hop". The word "hobble" can be used as a verb or noun. both with basically the same meaning: "to walk in an awkward way, typically because of pain from an injury" or "to tie or strap together (the legs of a horse or other animal) to prevent it from straying". As a noun, it can also be used to mean "to restrict the activity or restrict the development of an activity. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the verb "hobble" was first used in English around 1390 to mean walking awkwardly or with an unsteady gait, appearing in the Middle English work Piers Plowman. Earlier forms of the word, such as Middle English hoblen, are also found in the 14th century, suggesting the word was in use by then, though the specific first usage of the "walk lamely" sense is cited by the OED as late 14th century. Examples of "hobble" used in a sentence: "I could tell by her hobble that she had just put her heels on." "After a painful hobble to the bench, I sat and watched out the clock." "It would hobble the product and hobble the marketing at the same time." "She picked up her cane and hobbled across the room." "He has been hobbled by a knee injury." "She is sometimes hobbled by self-doubt." "But the current COVID-19 wave may hobble growth in the months ahead."

This is a truly remarkable story, in a supernatural setting, although the main characters, a set of twins, are dealing with a very human emotion - anger! You'll be pulled into a world where one twin's anger causes intense outbursts, and after one such event, their parents take them to a camp to learn how to control these unexpected bouts of rage. Unfortunately, it does go quite as expected, but to find out what happens, you'll have to read this marvelous story. In fact, if it was possible, I would have given it six stars, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐, but alas that wasn't possible.

I found this a marvelous, riveting, and stress filled story in a supernatural setting, although the theme of controlling one's anger is part of our everyday lives, although not necessarily to that extreme. I also found the naming of the characters interesting as well. Naming the twins Demon and Angel was shocking at first, although their portrayals were an antithesis of their names, since Angel was shrouded in demonic anger, while Demon had more of the calming and caring attitude. 😵 Making Steve and Val the parents wasn't a pairing I would have envisioned, but Val would probably have made a protective mother who transformed into a female Viking warrior whenever her children were threatened or in danger. 😜 However, I kept waiting for Steve to suddenly change into an otter. I also thought Cia would make a wonderful principal, and your choice of names for the other boys at the camp were interesting as well. 🤪 However, I think that killing Myr and Talon might have you looking over your shoulder from now on. You'd better be on the lookout for a huge bird with sharp talons preparing to swoop down at you 🦅, and you'll probably also start dealing with unexpected glitches when you go to post your stories in the future. Part of your library might also suddenly disappear, because it is never wise to mess with or cause the death of a wizard. All-in-all, I found this to be a truly inspired story.

This short story is about a comic working the mic at a political event that is being viewed by millions, but how will his jokes go over. Will he end up angering one group or another, or will his jokes even out so he skewered each side effectively, much to the delight of the other party. In order to learn how his act goes over, you'll have to read this well written story to find out.

You brought us to a marvelous crescendo, but I was anticipating another very old joke. "Has your spouse or significant other ever farted while sitting on your lap?" I wonder how all of those highbrows would have reacted? Even though you used a different joke, it was very well done.

A unique and informative take on the Anthology theme: Creature Feature. If you ever wanted to know a little about Aditus' life and what he's like, this is the short story you need to read.

A day in the life of an obsessive-compulsive man and the chef he sleeps with. Very interesting and informative. Well done!

The word "divvy" comes from the 19th century American slang term "dividend," meaning a share of something. It was initially used as a noun to refer to a dividend or a share of something, but later evolved into the verb "to divvy up" (to divide and share), first appearing around 1877. The word's root is the Latin verb dividere, meaning "to divide". In British slang, "divvy" or "divvie" can mean a stupid or foolish person, similar to "dimwit". It can also be used as a verb meaning to divide or share something, as in "divvy up the profits". According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the verb "divvy" was first used in English in the 1870s, with the earliest known evidence dating to 1877 in the writings of L. Grover. It first appeared in American English as a noun in the mid-1860s, referring to a dividend, with the earliest documented evidence dating to 1872. Examples of the word "divvy" used in a sentence: To share resources: "The team agreed to divvy the costs of the new equipment equally." or "The group of friends decided to divvy the cost of the spring break trip." To distribute items: "The workers were told to divvy the stolen goods among themselves." or "The pirates will divvy the stolen treasure amongst themselves." To allocate responsibilities: "The manager asked each employee to divvy up the daily tasks." or "The work of analyzing the data was divvied up among the researchers. Referring to a share: "We each got a small divvy of the profits." or "The friends decided to divvy up the pizza slices." In British English, it can be used humorously to call someone a foolish or silly person: "You're such a divvy if you think that will work." Examples of "divvy" (as a noun) in a sentence: "He received a small divvy from his stock, but it wasn't much." or "The raiders met to divvy the loot." Examples of "divvy" (as an adjective) in a sentence: "I'm expecting a divvy from the building society." or "He's such a divvy for forgetting his keys again."

It's just playing peek-a-boo with you and won't remain there permanently - at least I don't think it will. 😵

The adjective "pernicious" comes from the Latin word pernicies, meaning "ruin" or ""destruction", which is formed from the prefix per- (meaning "completely") and the root nec- (related to "death" or "murder"). It entered Old French as pernicios, from the Latin word perniciosus meaning "destructive", which is formed from the prefix per- (meaning "completely") and nex, meaning "slaughter" or "death". It entered English, around the early 15th century, meaning "evil" or "wicked," and was later used to describe things or conditions that are highly injurious or destructive, often in a gradual or subtle way. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word "pernicious" was first used in English during the Middle English period, with the earliest evidence dating to before 1425, in the medical text Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie. Examples of "pernicious" used in a sentence: "Yet this fear of the pernicious effects of property rights did not last for long." "The cuts in government funding have had a pernicious effect on local health services." "Yet some faculty perceive the pernicious effects of these forms and want to end them." "She thinks television has a pernicious influence on our children." "Some of those forms are even more pernicious than the old forms." "And on the raging ocean main, Amid the stormy waves of death, And in the desert hurricane, And in the Plague's pernicious breath."