Author Archives: James Pyles

Doorways Fluttering in the Breeze

blankets

© Sarah Whiley

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They reminded him of his childhood when Mom used to hang the wet laundry on the backyard clothes line to dry. Except these were supposed to be art at a small, outdoor fair at a local park.

In his peculiar line of work, Demetrius Lauer traveled all over the world and visited communities from the largest megacities to the smallest rural hamlets. Today, it was Winchester Park in the small but growing commuter city of Kuna, Idaho. Fortunately, bringing his M1911 Colt semi-automatic wasn’t a problem in this part of the U.S. He was probably going to need it, but he had to find his prey first.

Dem was an unusual type of bounty hunter. Yes, he tracked down some of the most dangerous men and women on the planet, but many were just as dangerous on other planets, or in this case alternate realities.

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Book Review of “The Cinder Spires: The Aeronaut’s Windlass”

aeronaut

© James Pyles for photo

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I was at the public library weeks ago looking for another book when I came across Jim Butcher’s novel The Cinder Spires: The Aeronaut’s Windlass. It was published in 2016 as the first of a series, but according to Butcher’s website, the second in this collection will probably be published this year.

I’d never heard of Butcher before, but he’s been Hugo nominated more than once and has written the well-known (to everyone but me) Dresden Files novel series. I’ve been criticized by “real science fiction fans” that I’m not a “true fan” because I don’t have an encyclopedia-like  knowledge of all things SciFi. Oh well.

At 630 pages, it took me a while to read, especially since I can’t always find large blocks of time for reading. So after renewing it once, I finally finished it off this morning. I’m really glad I came across it. I was attracted to the cover mainly and checked it out on a whim.

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Existential Hologram: A Science Fiction Anthology Available Now!

james

Promotional image of my short story “The Simulated Woman.”

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It’s here. Existential Hologram: A Science Fiction Anthology published by Starry Eyed Press is now available on Amazon. It features my cyberpunk short story “The Simulated Woman.” The anthology description is as follows:

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Frank and the Plot of the Hypnotizing Slime, Chapter 6

Chapter 6

© James Pyles

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In the other world, Danaerys had turned Frank into a part of her end table for most of a day. She was really upset that he had used her magic book against her. Since she was only seven, she wasn’t mature enough to see how she was being unfair to Frank or that Frank might have been even slightly right in doing the same to her as she had been doing to him.

Finally, the spell wore off and he spontaneously turned back into a spider. The transform spells didn’t last forever. If they did, she might turn Frank into something and then get distracted and Frank might not come back for weeks or months.

When Frank became a spider again, he hurried into his hideout in her closet. Danaerys had just come back from a sleepover at Bubbe’s and Grandpa’s house. It was a Sunday afternoon and she was downstairs watching TV.

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Hunter

rose bay

PHOTO PROMPT © Rowena Curtin

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Rose Bay was one of those posh Sydney suburbs great for tourist shopping and loaded with outdoor activities. It had golf courses, tennis courts, and of course, the beach. Walking down the narrow alley splashed with color, Demetrius Lauer was not entertained. This was the way he went. Unless Dem could surprise his prey, it would get messy.

Despite Aus’ gun laws, he’d managed to buy a Colt 1911M from a “collector” he knew. Ethan Keating was a dangerous serial killer and fugitive wanted in five countries. The bounty on him was dead or alive. Dem didn’t care which.

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Review of Quantum Leap Ep 15 “Ben Song for the Defense”

defense

QUANTUM LEAP — “Ben Song for the Defense” Episode 115 — Pictured: (l-r) Isaac Arellanes as Leo Diaz, Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Song — (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

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Last night, episode 15 of Quantum Leap called Ben Song for the Defense aired. The synopsis goes:

Ben Leaps into a harried public defender trying to prove one client innocent when everyone else believes he’s guilty, as well as juggle dozens of other case as well as a romantic relationship inadvertently threatened by a corrupt ADA. Jenn is called in as Observer because of her knowledge of the legal system.

Oh, “ADA” just means Assistant District Attorney.

Although the leap centers on a single client of Ben’s (public defender Elena Ramirez), we see Ben trying to juggle several cases feeling as overwhelmed as the real Elena probably did. In the original timeline, 18-year-old Camilo Diaz (Michael Garza) is on trial for the murder of a gang member who was trying to recruit Camilo’s younger brother Leo (Isaac Arellanes). Camilo threatened the gang member and later was seen fleeing the crime scene. No other suspects present.

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Frank and the Plot of the Hypnotizing Slime, Chapter 5

lydia

© James Pyles

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It was a bother, but Leah had managed to blindfold all of Lydia’s eyes so she didn’t see where the evil hideout was. They webbed her to a wall, and Frank insisted that their prisoner be given some of their flies and a drop of water.

“What are you going to do with me,” Lydia wailed. She was really scared since these evil spiders were supposed to be so mean.

“Shush,” demanded Leah. Then Leah turned to Frank and asked, “What are we going to do with her, eat her?”

“You’re always talking about eating other spiders. Would you forget about eating spiders?”

“But if you eat your enemies, they stop being a problem.”

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Grandma’s Birthday Party

jen

© Jennifer Pendergast

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The table had been set with elegance but was overwhelmed by the rather bizarre lighting appliance hanging from the ceiling.

“Do you really think Grandma will like it?” Karla’s voice carried her doubt.

“You know how the old girl adored the Avant Garde.” Cornelius had been the favored grandchild, so he had made all the arrangements.

“Mom, Dad, and the rest of the family will be arriving soon. Grandma aside, I don’t think they will like it at all.”

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Review of Quantum Leap Ep 14 “S.O.S.”

sos1

Scene from the Quantum Leap episode “S.O.S.”

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I just finished watching episode 14 of Quantum Leap: S.O.S.. Ben leaps into Rossi, the operations officer of the U.S. Navy vessel “Montana” during a wargames exercise in the South China Sea on May 2, 1989. The date is important because it is when a generally unknown Naval disaster occurred and when Addison’s Dad, the ship’s executive officer Alexander Augustine (Brandon Routh) ends his career.

Addison discovers her Dad by recognizing the voice of Captain Bill Drake (Alex Carter), her Dad’s mentor in the Navy. The issue in the original timeline is that the Montana receives a fragment of a distress call from the U.S. submarine the Tampa but Augustine chooses to ignore it.

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Quantum Leap: Addison Doesn’t Walk Through Walls

addison

Caitlin Bassett as Addison on Quantum Leap.

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I’ll keep this short. Addison doesn’t walk through walls. In the original Quantum Leap Al (Dean Stockwell) as Sam’s (Scott Bakula) companion and hologram, walked through walls all the time.

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