Please say hello to M.T. Aspen who wrote
Asking For Trouble
for the Dreamspinner Press ONE PULSE Charity Anthology
Monday June 13, 2016
Dear Authors, we are seeking positive stories that show how love triumphs over any obstacles.
All proceeds of the Love Wins Anthologies will benefit the victims and families of the Orlando shooting.
Regards,
Dreamspinner Press
July 15, 2016
Dearest Dreamspinner,
Do please forgive my informal address, but I feel I already know you better than perhaps I strictly ought. Though we are formally acquainted through only a single short story, I already find myself so very in tune with your way of thinking. Your charitable efforts in regard to Orlando have recently captured all my attention.
Truly, I would much rather type than nod through morning calls, or curl up with one of your volumes than dance away any given night.
Though it may give both of us cause to blush, you must allow me my plain speech. For in this, as in all the best relationships, we must stand true in one another’s eyes. Love demands no less.
I thank you with all my heart for favoring my story, Asking for Trouble. I am proud and humbled to add to the One Pulse anthology.
Love,
Melanie
M.T. Aspen
September 29, 2016
Dear Everyone at, and Readers of, My Fiction Nook,
Thank you so much for featuring, and (hopefully) checking out, the
One Pulse anthology. I’m feeling more than a little bit nervous at being asked to represent my peers here. (You should see the typos currently flying as I type because of this. That way lies hilarious entertainment for anyone who has ever glared or laughed at an auto-correct before in turn true-correct [ing] it.)
The anthology is, as it should be, diverse. We have family, we have friends turned lovers, we have angels and demons. We have weddings, tragedy, and communities pulling together. We have magic, long lost lovers, and cicadas (don’t ask, just read). We have pride parades, ranchers, and shifters. We have the most devoted of courtships, space opera, and even King Arthur.
I promise you that we in fact have even more than that, and I truly hope (and believe) that One Pulse will not only satisfy readers on many levels, but become a cherished reread for all of you as well.
The ménage à trois of lesbians who inhabit
Asking for Trouble are here to stand for both impossible love and the children who would not exist, or would not grow up in loving homes, in the absence of that love.
Because love is about family. Whether you are a family of just two or of many. Whether you count yourself a member of one family or a dozen. No family comes into being, nor continues to exist, without love.
And for so long we have done not only ourselves but, much more gravely, also our children an injustice by teaching them to believe in the narrowest possible definition of family. Neither gender nor sexual orientation have anything to do with family. Family is about love.
Love...Family
Family...Love
Listen and you can hear it.
Love...Family...Love...Family
Family...Love...Family...Love...Family...Love...Family...Love
One Pulse.
Blurb:
Stories drive life. Sometimes life is good; sometimes life is bad. But it’s the nature of our community that in the aftermath of an act of hatred, we respond with love. Because darkness cannot exist in the presence of light. Cruelty cannot stand against compassion. Negativity will never overcome hope.
To show our support for those affected by the Orlando shooting, our authors, editors, artists, and staff have volunteered their talents to create this anthology. All proceeds will be donated to LGBT organizations in central Florida. Join us as we celebrate the triumph of love over every obstacle.
Asking for Trouble by M.T. Aspen
Dancers Mel and Bree are young when they fall in love, though time and tragedy pull them apart. When Mel finds new happiness with pop princess Annie, a link is also forged with Bree, because each of them loves Mel and is sure she can never have her. Finding a solution isn't simple, but family and love trump fear and hate every time.
Additional stories by:
Jon Keys—A Single Night
Alicia Nordwell—About Best Friends & Boyfriends
Mickie B. Ashling—AdÃos
M.A. Church—Chasing Tyme
Caitlin Ricci—Coming Out
George Seaton—Cucurrucucú
Jayce Ellis—Dance
Bree Cariad—Everyday Miracles
Chrissy Munder—Everything I Need
Ellis Carrington—For the First Time
Felicitas Ivey—Get Me to the Church Town Hall on Time
John Amory—Happy Pride
Grace R. Duncan—Hope
John Goode—Let Them Eat Cake
J. C. Long—Magical Boys Just Wanna Have Fun
Elizabeth Noble—Magicicada
Renee Stevens—More Than a Pact
Troy Storm—One Big Happy… Bunch
Connie Bailey—One Heart at a Time
Dev Bentham—Perfection
Andrea Speed—Pride
Laura Lascarso—Pull
Lila Leigh Hunter—Raffled Kiss
Emery C. Walters—Ranch Dressing
C.C. Dado—Read My Lips
Sera Kane—The Stag's Bane
KC Burn—The Tithe
Vicktor Alexander—The Wooing of the Marqués de Sierra de Outes
Edmond Manning—They Danced
Excerpt from Asking for Trouble: