“The Odessa Chronicles” is a book of short stories, the main characters being Dewey (cat), Jaxon (Jackalope) and Odessa (Barn Owl). They all moved into an old and unoccupied farm together.

Joshua (human – later to be known as the man-servant), was looking to buy a farm so he could live out his retirement years in total peace. Can you guess which farm he purchased?

The following is an excerpt from “The Odessa Chronicles”. The man-servant had met, and befriended a lady named Florence, who was very familiar with Moonbeam Farm as it used to be owned by her grandparents, and she visited on a regular basis as a child. Florence was readily accepted by everybody, and a decision had just been made to allow her the ability to communicate with all of them (assuming that she agreed to it of course). All it would take would be for Jaxon to spend a few moments with his magic, and then she would understand what everybody said!

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The next time that Florence visited, the man-servant called everybody over. “Florence,” he said, “the four of us here had a discussion about you, and we would like to tell you what we decided.”

“Oh dear,” said Florence, “I hope it is going to be good news, because I have a question for you guys.”

The man-servant became thoughtful. “Okay, Florence, as a matter of courtesy, why don’t you ask your question first?”

She was obviously thinking about the best way to present her question. The man-servant, Dewey, Jaxon, and Odessa were all looking at her and waiting. Suddenly, she said, “Well … I’ve really enjoyed coming here, and we all seem to be getting along really well, and so … I was wondering if …”

There was total silence.

Odessa looked at the man-servant. “What’s your problem? Can’t you see that she is having difficulties? Encourage her! She is one of your species … in case you had not noticed.”

The man-servant turned to Florence. “Please continue. We have thoroughly enjoyed your visits. What’s on your mind?”

Florence looked around the room for a few moments, and then looked at Dewey, Jaxon, Odessa, and finally the man-servant. “Could I live here? You’re not using my old bedroom for anything, and I would love to use it again. I wouldn’t be here too much, because my work takes me away for weeks at a time, but it would be lovely to stay with you all when I am back in the area, and I could help out with the costs of running this farm.”

The man-servant looked at her. “It’s a nice idea, Florence, and we would all love to have you live here, but there is a major problem. We will be leaving Moonbeam Farm before the end of this year.”

Florence was saddened by the news. “Why would you want to leave here?” she asked.

“We don’t have a choice, as far as I can tell,” said the man-servant. “The farm is being purchased by the town, and then demolished in preparation for a road that is planned to come through here.”

“Joshua,” she said, “that does surprise me, but I think that I may be able to assist with resolving that problem. Would you like me to get involved?”

Odessa, Dewey, and Jaxon had all moved in a little closer, and waited for the man-servant’s response. He didn’t say anything. Odessa jumped up onto the man-servant’s shoulder and shouted into his right ear, “Why aren’t you answering? Here you have a female human who obviously knows what she is talking about … and you sit there pondering something or other! Tell her, ‘Yes! Please get involved!’”

Florence had watched Odessa’s performance. “My word, Joshua,” she said, “Odessa certainly gave you a good talking to!”

The man-servant looked at Florence. “Yes, she certainly did. She wanted to know why I didn’t say ‘yes please’ to your offer.”

Florence looked at the man-servant. “Well … why didn’t you?”

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For more information about “The Odessa Chronicles”, please click/select the book cover in the column at right.  Book reviews are available at amazon.com, and it is available from all the usual on-line book retailers, in eBook, paperback and hard cover formats.

For other excerpts from the book, please select the “Odessa Chronicles” Posts Category. Link below to one example:

An Odessa excerpt!