Friday 24 April 2015

U is for Uxorious, and Once Upon a Nightmare: A Collection


For this year's A-Z Challenge I have selected a word from the dictionary for each day and written a story around it with a 100 word limit. For extra interest I have chosen words that are unknown or unfamiliar to me. All definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007 Edition. Today's word is: Uxorious.

Uxorious: (of a man) very or excessively fond of his wife.

Douglas was extremely uxorious, his friends had always said; or would have, if their vocabulary was as wide as his. Fenella was his everything. That’s why, when the terminal cancer diagnosis came, he hadn’t wanted her to be humiliated and subjected to endless rounds of fruitless chemotherapy.

He’d come up with a plan so they’d never be apart, and be as one in the most intimate sense.

He savoured another delicious mouthful, her flesh tasting even sweeter than it had when she was alive. The gun sat alongside for after, waiting.

“Here’s to you, darling,” he said, raising his glass.

* * *

U is also for Once Upon a Nightmare: A Collection by Cherie Reich (yes, it is!) I read this superbly creepy collection on its initial release, and I look forward to seeing it get even more exposure in this new, revised edition.



A monster hunts us. After hibernating for a decade, it’s ravenous. We long to stop this nightmare, but the end of the road is far. There is no waking up once a legend sets its sights on you.

Disappearances every ten or so years make little impact on the small town of New Haven, Virginia. Hikers get lost. Hunters lose the trail. Even when a body is discovered, the inhabitants’ memories last about as long as the newspaper articles.

No one connects the cases. No one notices the disappearances go back beyond Civil War times. No one believes a legendary monster roams the forests in Southwestern Virginia.

I don’t either until the truck breaks down on an old mountain trail. Cell phones won’t work in this neck of the woods. It’s amazing how much a person can see by starlight alone. So what if we can’t feel our fingers or toes as we hike toward the main road. How many more miles left to go?

Crrraaack!

Hear that noise?

Purchase Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection by Cherie Reich at Amazon. The ebook is on sale for $0.99 until April 30th.

Cherie Reich is a speculative fiction author and library assistant living in Virginia. Visit her website and blog for more information.

36 comments:

Blogoratti said...

That was quite interesting to read!

Sophie Duncan said...

That is a very masticated interpretation on uxorious :)
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
FB3X
Wittegen Press

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

Ewwwww ... I think Douglas found the line and then long-jumped over it! Nicely done - did not see that coming :).
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

JeffO said...

Gross! But well done. And best of luck to Cherie.

Christine Rains said...

Oh wow. What a twist! Nicely done. And yay for Cherie! :)

Jennifer Hawes said...

Eww! He liked her way too much.

Sarah Foster said...

Eek!! Quite an unexpected twist! I actually gasped :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That is sick and creepy.
Congratulations to Cherie!

Tamara Narayan said...

Your story made me laugh. I don't know if that's appropriate, but I did.

Cherie's book sounds right up my ally. Thanks for the info.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Eww that's gross and creepy. Yet, I LIKE this story. :)

Chrys Fey said...

That is gross! And I just ate too. Ew.

Congratulations to Cherie!

Anonymous said...

I was thinking my little sister's hubby is quite uxorious for her, but not that much. Holy crap. That had the dark twist.

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

Tyrean Martinson said...

Oh, that's horrifying, and extremely good writing!
Great showcase of Cherie's book, too - which is another scary good read. :)

Melissa said...

Yikes! What a twist!

Love the theme. :)

Cherie Reich said...

Wow! What a twist! I guess that's one way to keep her with him--at least for a little while.

Thank you so much for featuring my collection, Nick!

Sherry Ellis said...

Ewww. My stomach is sick reading about that uxorious man!

diedre Knight said...

Gads! That one gave me the chills!

Stephanie Faris said...

I need to read that one by Cherie. It sounds awesome!

Sara C. Snider said...

Well... gross, haha. Definitely didn't see that coming. Wonderfully creepy. :)

jaybird said...

Congrats to Cherie! Seeing her book all over this week.

And wow, I was shocked at that ending. Not anywhere near what I thought of "uxorious" love for your wife would mean!! Your mind goes to crazy, creative places Nick Wilford. I like it!

Mark said...

Love that word. I first came across it in Chaucer's "The Merchant's Tale" and have remembered it ever since:)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick - yes that was OTT .. but an horrendous twist ... and very very creepy .. ghastly thought -

Then Cherie's book about a nightmare .. good luck to her ..

Cheers Hilary

cleemckenzie said...

I swear this U day has triggered something in the AtoZers unlike any other letter.

I've read about murder most foul, the undead, with more detail than I ever needed to know, but fascinating, and now cannibalism?

I hate to think what kinds of stories these post will generate in the coming months. :-)

djinnia said...

Omfg! I was Not expecting that! Holy expletive! Amazing in shock value!

J Lenni Dorner said...

Ah... eww on one hand, on the other... you've basically gone Hitchcock here. Love it! Great job. Bravo.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Ewww. That is crazy.

Liz A. said...

Ick. Thanks for saving this for today. Perfect timing. I'm not eating. It helps to make the appetite flee.

Jay Noel said...

Um...oh wow. Was not expecting that.

Did he eat her with some Grey Poupon?

Nick Wilford said...

Thanks, everyone! Sorry if I grossed anyone out. I don't know what took me here. Do I need help? Probably just more sleep!

J E Oneil said...

Whoa. That's taking "uxorious" to the extreme. Some of your stories have such nasty twists!

betty said...

Book sounds interesting; might have to purchse it to read after the challenge :)

oh my gosh this story! Over pretty quickly as compared to long and suffering; hard to say what is really the best....

betty

Unknown said...

Oh wow! Firstly, interesting word and then the story...wow...totally took me by surprise!

Sanch @ Living my Imperfect Life

Shell Flower said...

Wow. You definitely brought on the darkness with that one. Mere murder-suicide is so passe. Very creative and well done connecting it to Cherie's creepy collection. Good luck to her, as well.

Jean Davis said...

Creepy! Well done!

Anonymous said...

That was chilling.

I can't wait to read Cherie's book.

Michelle Wallace said...

So would it be a situation of "tasty" uxoria?
Creepy but great use of the word.