Written in a jolly, tongue-in-cheek style, dark humor horror short story,
EMMA'S DRAGON: A FAIRLY HORRIBLE LOVE STORY recounts how Emma Topp saw a dragon, reported it to the police, and fell in lust. If she'd had more time, it might have blossomed into more, but alas, life--as in love-- often takes its own route to fulfillment.
SYNOPSIS: Famous children's book illustrator, Emma Topp, saw a dragon while camping alone at Tom Bailey Lake. Should she tell anyone? Braving to share her sighting with handsome and dashing Deputy Trevor Lucas, Emma might have bitten off more than she can chew.
REVIEWERS: Love it or hate it. The author calls it "a fairly horrible love story" because of the dark twist at the end. If you want fluffy romance, this snarky tale won't satisfy. But if you like your horror with a giggle and a sexy deputy thrown in for good measure, this will make your lunch hour a hoot.
LOCATION: Emma sees her dragon in Birmingham, Alabama.
EXCERPT:
When she reached her
favorite spot, her watch read 5:30, still three hours until dusk. Emma worked
her pack loose and dropped it to the leafy ground. A flash of movement in her
peripheral vision caught her attention and she peered into the thick brush to
discern what moved. After five seconds, branches swayed as if something had passed
through, and she still hadn’t heard anything. Not yet alarmed, Emma called in
the direction of the movement, “Hey there!”
Immediately, an Auburn
Tigers baseball cap popped into her vision above the lower branches, followed
by a wisp of brown hair, and a pair of luminescent green eyes.
Luminescent? Emma ignored her creative mind and waved at the
deputy, not even wondering at his being there.
“Miss Topp,” he laughed, stepping
into full view, “come to try your luck again?”
“You come to see if I was
yankin’ yer chain?” she replied, putting on a severe southern drawl.
Deputy
Lucas chuckled and shook his head. “You caught me.”
Dressed in relaxed jeans,
decidedly-worn hiking boots, and a light windbreaker over a plain red T-shirt,
the deputy appeared much less official, but no less delicious. Emma winced at
her train of thought and he smiled as if he’d read her thoughts.
“So this is the spot,
huh?” he asked, dropping his pack near hers and planting his feet to take in
the area.
Emma followed his gaze as
it circled around. Besides the tops of chest-high brush, in front of full-grown
birch and oak trees, a roller coaster-shaped mountain range filled the far
horizon. Lovely, quiet, secluded—great place for a dragon to hang...
Check it out on Amazon Kindle ( 99 cents), and leave a review if it moves you! ~ Ellen
