Persistence Pays

Series · 2 books · 2010-2011

By Mara Ismine

Books in series

Persistence Pays

2010

Asa Hartvigsen has his life arranged to his liking. He has a tolerable job at the University Library, his apartment arranged the way he wants it, and his parents live four hours away, which isn't quite far enough in Asa's opinion. Asa has nice sensible plans for the evening, and he's not that happy to have his reading disrupted by the arrival of Tan Gordon, a self-admitted party boy who reminds Asa of a stray cat. Freelance journalist Tan has decided to be Asa's friend despite Asa's opposition to the plan. Tonight Tan comes over to remind Asa about a TV special, only to arrive soaked to the skin and wanting to spend the night. Asa is sure that his day off is going to be horrendous when his parents arrive for a surprise visit. Especially as Tan is still asleep on the couch and Asa's mother, who wants to be supportive since Asa announced he was gay, has been researching the subject. Asa is sure that disaster is looming.

Scary Package

2011

Asa and Tan are settling into their changed relationship. Asa is mildly annoyed to get a phone call at work. Fortunately there is no one around to notice his reaction to the vibration in his pocket or to overhear the conversation. Tan has called to warn Asa about a large pink parcel that has arrived addressed to both of them at Asa’s apartment. It is scary, Tan tells him. Asa can think of only one person who would send them a joint parcel in February. Tan confirms that the parcel is from Asa’s Mom, which makes it positively terrifying.

Author

Mara Ismine

Author · 12 books

I’ll start with the general facts. I live in England. East Anglia to be more precise - the rounded lumpy bit on the right, for anyone picturing their school globe. The part where I live is fairly dry and fairly flat, about the closest thing we have to a desert in the UK. I have been married for a lifetime or two and have two sons. My sons have reached the useful stage where they can fetch and carry with suitable persuasion and I should start work on getting them to leave home now. Reading has always been a big part of my life, I don’t remember not being able to read. Writing took a while longer to get to grips with. I like computers, although the feeling is not always mutual. In between Writing and Real Life I am trying to get to grips with basic web design and build my own website. For anyone willing to brave the not-yet-perfect layout there are a variety of my free short stories available here - http://maraismine.bravehost.com/MaraS... Please let me know if something doesn’t work! Email: ismine.mara@btinternet.com I can also be found on Dreamwidth, LJ and Insane Journal as Marasmine (no “I” in the middle), which has been my on-line ID for several years. I made up the name because I had a character called Mara; and then found out, after I had been using it for a while, that marasmine is a malodorous chemical compound found in things like onions. That amused me and I stayed with the name. I decided to adapt it to a ‘proper’ pen name so that my online friends could recognize me. I can be lured away from reading, writing or swearing at fiddling with a computer by chocolate or trips to the beach - chocolate ice cream on the beach is a guaranteed winner. Mara