Stories by Miles Venison
“If you look here,” said Carol, pointing with her pen to one of the graphs on the screen on the wall, “you can see the increase in online sales in the last three years. And then here. Based on market trends, this is our projection going forward. That’s second quarter... third, and so on. We... Continue Reading →
Blue Lightning appeared lost. Sheperd picked up a chair from the floor, brushed it off and set it next to the hero. “Here,” said Sheperd. “Sit down, take a minute.” Blue Lightning stared at the floor. “Blue Lightning?” “Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure.” He sat down. A silent minute passed, and then Blue Lightning sniffed. He... Continue Reading →
Blue Lightning looked about the room. He crossed his arms and grunted to himself. “You know, you must have saved this city a dozen times,” said Sheperd. “You’ve put more criminals behind bars than the entire police force. These past fifteen years we would have been lost without you. We’re all grateful. I sure know... Continue Reading →
Alone with the city’s superhero, Sheperd surveyed the half-demolished room. “You know,” he said, “this reminds me of the midtown diamond heist back in twenty-ten. You remember that one?” Blue Lightning stood with his hands on his hips, his cape rippling in the cold draught spilling in through the shattered entrance. “Midtown… Ah yes, the... Continue Reading →
Red and blue lights pulsed on the corner of Thirty-eighth and Main, fracturing the clear black night. Police tape fenced a wide perimeter around the jewellery store. Police chief Arnold Sheperd heaved himself out of his unmarked sedan with a grunt and adjusted his belt under his belly. Four police cars, two ambulances, a fire... Continue Reading →
Where would we be without Christmas?I suppose we would be all right.We’d survive okay with an ordinary dayOn December twenty-five. We could still have a feast if we wanted,You don’t need a holiday to eat food.Any woman or man may cook a twenty-pound hamAs often as they are in the mood. And yeah, we wouldn’t... Continue Reading →
People rarely think of funeral insurance salespeople battling each other one-on-one with a fifteen-kilogram tuna strapped to each wrist. That’s no accident. The funeral insurance industry keeps the “fish fighting” well and truly behind closed doors; after all, it has a serious image to uphold. If you ask me though, there are few things in... Continue Reading →
When I was nine, I went to my cousin’s wedding. It was at a church. Not an old church, or one with a spire; it wasn’t made from big stones, and it didn’t have a graveyard or stained-glass windows. There were no hard wooden pews or hymn books. It didn’t smell weird. This place was... Continue Reading →
Ernie Velmont, wearing bright red board shorts, an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, aviator sunglasses and a pair of Ugg boots, strode into the veterinary practice on Lime Street. The one next to the hairdressers. He lifted his sunglasses, looked around the waiting room at the young boy with his mother, the old man, the very fat... Continue Reading →
The great bull fled down the slope behind the farmhouse, past Mrs McGinley’s pumpkin patch, turning toward the big round hill where the willow tree grew, and then out across the little cornfield. His enormous frame was moving too fast to stop. By now, pale blue had seeped into the night sky and the smaller... Continue Reading →
In Search of Lost Marbles 