Excerpts of Robynn Clairday's Published Works/ AFRAID OF THE WATER--short horror/ HIS SECRET PAST--teen romance/THE SIXTH SISTER - children's fiction/ POSTCARDS FROM WORLD WAR II - adult nonfiction/
AFRAID OF THE WATER, short horror story published in New Traditions of Terror, Shadow Feast, Honorable Mention in St. Martin's Press's Year's Best Fantasy & Horror, P&E Reader's Award Nominee She studied the water with dread. The waves were relentless, but she didn't want to let him down. He said it was a matter of trust. As far back as she could remember, she hated the water. She trusted him, though, and she would let him teach her to swim. She shivered, hating and fearing the brown, greedy waves. Her earliest memory of water was the terrible pressure, the burning explosion inside of her chest. She had fought hard to free herself from the enslavement of the water, her head held under by a relentless hand. Viciously, she'd dug her nails into Timmy Walter's bare leg. Blood erupted from the scores in his flesh and he freed her immediately. When she surfaced, gasping and blowing, he'd been indignant, howling and clutching his bloody leg, aquiver with moral outrage. He'd called her names and swam off. Weak and barely able to paddle to the side, she crawled out of the chlorine dense pool. She was eight years old, and she had always been terrified of being submerged in water. Even baths. The helpless, naked feeling of being smothered and captured by water.
SWEET VALLEY UNIVERSITY - HIS SECRET PAST, #27, by Robynn Clairday, under pen name Laurie John. BANTAM I'm going to faint, Jessica thought dreamily. But, I don't care. She and Nick had been kissing passionately for so long, she was out of breath. Nick's lips moved across to her cheek, lingering at the dimple on the left side of her mouth, and then returned to her trembling, waiting lips. Her limbs felt like honey, her head like cotton candy. This was bliss. "This is terrible, Jess," he said softly, with a teasing gleam in his deep green eyes. "For some reason, I have to keep kissing you...and kissing you." He scooped up her hand and traced each finger with his lips. Nick and Jessica were curled together on a king-sized blanket in front of the ocean, the sand soft as whipped cream beneath them. The surf crashed and hissed in the background. The air was balmy and tangy, the liquid black sky lit with ice-white stars. "I think I need help," he murmured, pulling her closer and kissing her forehead. His voice touched with gentle humor. "Somebody stop me." "You're out of luck," Jessica declared, snuggling against his shoulder. She peeked up at him through her lashes, her eyes sparkling. "There's no one around to save you. I guess you'll just have to keep on kissing me." Nick chuckled and sat up. His thick lashes lowered and his white teeth flashed against his tanned skin. He looks like a Greek statue in the moonlight, Jessica thought hazily. Nick settled her against his chest and reached for a bottle of soda from the open picnic basket. "You know, we're supposed to be looking at the stars," Jessica jokingly reminded him, pulling the blanket around her feet. "Oh, yeah," Nick agreed. "I forgot." He laughed and took a sip from the bottle. Their hamper was opened, the sandwiches and fruit half-eaten. The late night beach picnic had turned into a total lip-locking fest. Even while Nick drank his soda with one hand, he stroked Jessica's long silken hair with the other. We just can't get enough of each other, Jessica thought in delight. She was happy, almost purring. Who needed food when you had this? She stretched out her long, slender legs and sighed. It was hard to believe that only a short while ago she'd been rotting in a horrible jail, convinced she'd spend the rest of her young life incarcerated. And she'd been innocent--nosy, but totally innocent. Jessica had been so intrigued by the secretive Nick Fox that somehow she'd convinced herself he was a double-agent. She'd listened in on one of his phone conversations, disabled his car and set out to meet with the "operative" who'd hand her the papers that would prove Nick was a spy. Jessica had been totally unprepared for what she discovered. In seconds, she'd been blinded by lights and surrounded by cops who treated her like dirt. She'd been handcuffed and dragged to the police station like a common criminal. The biggest shock had been Nick. He turned out to be an undercover drug agent who'd been trying to expose a campus drug ring. Jessica had fallen right into the thick of it! At first, Nick had been convinced she was a druggie herself and had turned his back on her. But then, luckily, Nick had discovered the real culprit: witchy Celine Boudreau At the last second, he stormed the courtroom to save Jessica from a certain prison sentence. Jessica sighed loudly. Nick was her hero. Still unbelievably sexy and elusive, but mature and smart too. And now she knew he was respectable and not some spy-or worse. Somehow the whole fiasco had only drawn them closer. Jessica knew she could count on Nick. Usually, her twin sister came to her rescue, but now she had Nick. Nick.... "Nick," she said his name out loud. "What, Jess?" He sounded dreamy himself. He was leaning his head back and examining the star-studded sky. "Look, Jess, there's Crab Nebula--" Jessica sat up straight, annoyed that his attention had shifted from her. Who cared about astronomy? Her voice was a tiny bit sharper. "Are you listening to me?" He gave her a hug. "Always. What's up, Sunshine?" Jessica smiled and relaxed against him. Everything was perfect--almost. "I was just wondering if we're going to get together tomorrow night? After all, it is the weekend." Nick hesitated. Jessica turned to stare at him. "You can't be working," she said quickly. Though with Nick, she never knew. The guy practically lived at the police station. Nick shook his head. "No, it's not that. I promised the folks I'd get together and have dinner with them." He released a tiny puff of air from his lips and set the soda bottle down. "They've been after me for weeks, insisting they never get to see me." Nick grinned at her and pulled her close for another squeeze. "I love them and everything, but my mother, especially, can be awfully persistent--and vocal." Jessica felt her lower lip jut out and her brows draw together in a scowl. I can't believe this; he didn't even ask me to be part of his dinner plans. Surely, he's not going to meet his parents and not bring me along. I have to be invited. She tossed her hair back, her eyes glittering indignantly. "I'm coming too, I hope. Saturday is one of the few days I ever get to see you. Besides, I'd like to meet your parents." Nick shook his head quickly. "Sorry, Jess, but I don't think so." He seemed to catch the stormy expression on her face. "Wait--before you attack me, let me explain." He sighed again, this time more heavily. "My parents--well, really--my mother is not the easiest person to get along with. I mean, she's great, and I love her, but she's--um--how shall I say--difficult." "But, Nick, I'm great with difficult people. They're my specialty." She fluttered her long lashes at him. "I can handle people, ask anyone. There isn't a difficult person in this world that I couldn't charm. Honest." Nick laughed briefly. "I'm sure you could, but the timing's just not right." "I don't see why not," Jessica argued. "Tomorrow night is the perfect time for all of us to get to know each other." "Look, Jess, I want to prepare my parents before they meet you--" Nick began. "Prepare!" Jessica pulled herself from Nick's arms and jumped to her feet, her face reddening with humiliation. "Just what do you mean? " "My parents are a little overprotective--a little fussy," Nick said quickly. "My mother can be hard to please and unpredictable--" "Is this about my false arrest, Nick? Because you know I was totally innocent!" Nick shook his head and opened his mouth to speak again, but Jessica didn't grant him the luxury. "So what you're saying is I'm such a terrible, unworthy person that you have to explain me to your fussy parents! How dare you say that!" Jessica spat out the words, her eyes narrowed into slits. Nick got up. "Calm down, Jess, that's not exactly what I meant--"
THE SIXTH SISTER, produced on video by Chip Taylor Communications Kara-Mara was the sixth and last daughter of Galan and Queen Mayo. She was a funny little girl with wild red hair and a good mind that could add up numbers very quickly. Kara-Mara was so good at mathematics that her father had her keep account of the Royal Treasury, though she was given no official title. But she wasn't happy, and sometimes she was quite sad. "Why are you sulking, Kara-Mara?" the Queen asked impatiently one day. Kara-Mara rubbed her wet eyes and stamped her foot. "It's not fair! Lilla, Jenecia, Fawn, Iris and Flora are so very pretty. And I'm the only plain one. Who do the people of the Kingdom come to admire?--not me, always my sisters! I never get flowers and presents as they do. And I'm the Royal Accountant." Kara-Mara tossed her red curls imperiously. Queen Mayo pursed her lips. "Your father has not given you the official title, and it would be best if you would remember that. I don't want to see another frown on your face. Princesses are supposed to have smiling faces." Years passed by slowly, and Kara-Mara was no happier with her face. She scowled into the mirror. It was not a bad face, and was quite nice when she smiled. But she hated her red, curly hair, her olive skin and the mushroom-shaped birthmark on her left cheek. She just was not happy. The only one who seemed to admire her was her beloved golden jackal, Cobbs.
POSTCARDS FROM WORLD WAR II by SQUARE ONE PUBLISHING 1941 Pressures were mounting in 1941, and it became apparent that the United States was drawing closer and closer to direct involvement in the war. Europe had all but crumpled under Germany's relentless military machine, and Britain was struggling mightily to withstand the onslaught. Japan was attempting full domination of China, Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific. The triad, Germany, Italy and Japan, seemed almost unstoppable, and countries were falling throughout the world. On March 11, President Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act, which meant the US could send military supplies and resources, to their allies, allegedly without compromising their neutrality. In May, battles on the water raged on, and both the British Hood and the German Bismarck were sunk at sea. In June, the United States froze German and Italian assets. In June, German attacked the Soviet Union and later suffered through the brutal wintry weather. Later that summer, Roosevelt froze Japanese assets in the US, and by August 1st, a US oil embargo was issued against enemy states. In September, Nazis decreed that Jews wear yellow stars, and gas chambers were used for the first time at Auschwitz. In November, the US learned that the Japanese fleet of fifty ships were leaving Shanghai and moving towards the Philippines. On December 5, the Germans had retreated from Moscow. On December 7, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The next day, The US and Britain declared war on Japan, and three days later Germany declared war on the US. A massive and intensive military expansion was set in motion by Roosevelt, as the United States geared up to plunge into War World Two.