I always arise as the horizon reddens. Rays of sunshine bending round the global curvature urge me up for yet another day. A gentle awakening.

So many days now, so many urges. Her voice of choice was cool and refreshing, like the sound of water in a rushing stream.

You will write this down. Now. Awaken and rise.

Crisp and cool the days are now. Must be early fall. No, it is my birthday this week.

I was born during the hot and muggy month of August on the Delaware River. The rapids were still running. As were the trolleys. My mother said she brought me home on one. Five cents.

Ah yes, the days are cooler now, the summer's shorter.

Excerpted from John Graves’s novel Life by Chance.

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Isaac spotted two empty seats ahead and tapped John’s shoulder. He didn’t want to miss what would happen in this auditorium today. Two minutes later, his eyes met hers, and Isaac didn’t know why, but it stirred something in him, drawing him closer to her, perhaps an urge to know more. His sense of detachment and high intelligence quickly surfaced, urging him to break eye contact immediately.

And yet he kept staring into those ocean-blue eyes, the swirling whirlpool of emotions hidden in the depths, passion on the ice, and Isaac blinked.

After a few minutes, it was Nancy’s turn, and Isaac’s breath hitched higher unknowingly.

Excerpted from Thrall Conspiracy: Genesis by John Sorflaten

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I told my wife she should embrace her mistakes. She hugged me. I liked it.

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