A collection of art, photos, short stories, sketches, a serialized mystery novel and other things from Abigail, John, Maureen and Jesse Pesta, updated as often as we remember to. Welcome!

WELCOME HOME

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

Karen kicked snow chunks from her boots at the front door and fumbled in the dim porch light for her key. Roger stamped his feet on the mat.

It had been a long day. Ahh, good to be home. She pressed the latch and nudged the door open with her shoulder, brushing against the big, evergreen Christmas wreath hanging there. Setting her purse and keys on the table, she flicked the light switch.

Then it began, the flapping.

SAFELY BURIED ~ IN PAPERBACK, ON KINDLE

We’re thrilled to announce that “Safely Buried,” the John Pesta murder mystery serialized here on Fine Words Butter No Parsnips, is now available on Amazon.com in paperback and on the Kindle e-book reader. The cover illustration is by Maureen O’Hara Pesta, of course.

Many of you have told us that you enjoyed reading the novel, and your positive feedback encouraged us to publish it as a book. Thank you very much.

Click here to see the brand new Amazon page for “Safely Buried.” A paperback makes the perfect gift, as they say. And if you’ve enjoyed the story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon to let the world know!

Sincerely,
John, Maureen, Jesse and Abigail
The Fine Words Butter No Parsnips Team

THE WERLEY BOYS ~ NOW AN E-BOOK

“The Werley Boys,” a short story by John Pesta about two cranky brothers who won't give up their beloved outhouse, is now available as an e-book from the bookseller Smashwords. It can be read easily on all major e-book devices including iPad, iPhone, Kindle and others. At 99 cents, it's priced to sell.

We're thrilled about this short-story publishing experiment ~ please take a moment to check it out. The cover illustration is, as always, by Maureen.

Click below to read an excerpt from the short story.

Sincerely,
John, Maureen, Jesse and Abigail
The Fine Words Butter No Parsnips Team

BORED GIRL

LIBERTY TALKIES

PIANO MAN

JOLLY WORLD

WELCOME TRUCK

by Jesse Pesta

SAFELY BURIED: A MURDER MYSTERY

by John Pesta

John Pesta’s mystery, “Safely Buried,” is now available for purchase as a paperback at Amazon.com and in the Kindle e-book store. The novel was first serialized here on Fine Words Butter No Parsnips in 2010.

Chapter One, "A Woman in a Cast," follows:

It was ten at night. I had just come off I-65, and my high beams lit her up from behind. She was walking along the road between dark, endless cornfields, and her right leg was in a cast. She wore denim shorts and a yellow tank top that didn’t quite reach the shorts. Without crutches, she moved as fast as she could on the gravelly shoulder. She would take a long step with her good leg, stiffly swing the cast forward the same distance, and immediately start the next step. Tilting jerkily, she looked as if she would fall with every stride. I crossed the centerline to give her more room to fall. Just as I was about to pass her, she glanced over her shoulder and stuck out a thumb.

I thought her car must have broken down back up the road. But if that was the problem, why hadn’t she stayed there instead of striking out for Campbellsville, eight miles away? I was tempted to keep on going—I didn’t make a habit of picking up hitchhikers. But there she was, nearly helpless. How could I leave her out here in the middle of nowhere?

BLUE T

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

BIKE BOY

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

LOST BENCH

by Jesse Pesta

PENGUIN

by Jesse Pesta

SEE YOU AGAIN

by Jesse Pesta

PROMISE

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

STONE CARVER

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

TAJ MAHAL

by Jesse Pesta

PEGGY'S ORCHARD

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

PAPER HORSE

by Jesse Pesta

SCHOOLROOM FLOOR

by Jesse Pesta

WELCOME

by Jesse Pesta

FULL MOON

by Jesse Pesta

DAYDREAM

by Jesse Pesta

SOMETHING MADE ME STOP

A short story by Maureen O'Hara Pesta


“Hi, Margaret. Laurie Stanton Carter added you as a friend on Facebook. We need to confirm that you know Laurie in order for you to be friends on Facebook. Thanks, the Facebook Team.”

Laurie? Laurie of 60 years ago?

Once upon a time you met, played Wild West cowboys in your backyard, and went your separate ways. Today that little girl gallops out of the past, all grown up and scaring me again.

GAS METER ANGEL

by Jesse Pesta

STARVED HOLLER LAKE

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

DAY CARE, PHNOM PENH

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

HARBOR STORM

by Jesse Pesta

THIRD WINDOW

by Jesse Pesta

OTHER

by Jesse Pesta

ZAP

by Jesse Pesta

PLEASE

by Jesse Pesta

BONGO

by Jesse Pesta

BARRED WINDOW

by Jesse Pesta

TRAVEL DIARY OF FOODS

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

AUGUST MORNING

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

CITY GIRL

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

READING MATTER

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

MASKED MAN

by Jesse Pesta

CONDENSED LIFE HISTORIES

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

WAIT

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

APOSTOLOS THE LANDLORD

by Abigail Pesta

Another day, another charming letter from my landlord.

"I noticed that you have flowerpots on the windowsills -- make sure you don't leave rings of dirt behind," this one read.

The little notes were arriving with increased frequency, ever since I told him I'd need to break the lease. I had a good enough reason: I was being transferred to Hong Kong by my employer; my time in London was up. To soften the blow, I'd even found him a brand-new tenant for the apartment, so he wouldn't lose a single cent of rent.

Still, he couldn't quite wrap his brain around it. He thought I was getting away with something.

WHAT WOULD BUDDHA DO

by Abigail Pesta

Can there be a more enlightened way to start the new year than by going to a Buddhist brunch?

My friend Cecile invited me to one on New Year's Day, and I said yes right away. It sounded like the perfect chance to regain some dignity after a night of drinking, lunacy and self-reproach. Plus there would be finger food.

I didn't know what exactly to expect at Cecile's party. But one thing's for sure: A Buddhist brunch raises the stakes on the hostess gift. Lots of opportunities for bad karma.

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAT

by Abigail Pesta

I met Emma at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Houston, and we sat for a few minutes on a bench outside the deserted basketball court. It felt like the coldest day of the year. The black city sludge in the gutter was frozen rock solid. Overhead, the branches of a tree -- hopelessly tangled with plastic bags -- were whipped by the bitter wind.

But none of this mattered to Emma, because she was in love and wanted to spend the afternoon telling me about it.

She looked radiant and pixie-like, wearing a striped knit cap with a fuzzy ball swinging on the end of a piece of yarn. "I am so in love!" she declared.

I, on the other hand, had spent the morning composing angry mental letters to an old boyfriend. Perhaps it made me a less-than-ideal sounding board for Emma. But here we were.

WARPLANE

by Jesse Pesta

NEGOTIATING WITH A CAT

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

SKYSCRAPER

by Jesse Pesta

MOVING DAY

by Abigail and Jesse Pesta

In the kitchen, Dad's sitting on the linoleum floor, cussing at a vacuum cleaner. The piece that's supposed to connect the top to the bottom doesn't quite fit. It's August and the apartment is boiling hot.

With sweat pouring down his neck, Dad looks up at a pigeon on the windowsill. The bird is watching him with its creepy pink eye. "God, give me a break," Dad says for the fifth or sixth time. "Please, just one break."

He's so mad at the vacuum cleaner, he's hissing his words. "Just one single break. Is that so much to ask, God?" he implores. The pigeon blinks.

BILLBOARD WITH DECK CHAIR

by Jesse Pesta

YOU NEED TO HAVE A PLAN

by Maureen O'Hara Pesta

The world is divided into two kinds of people.

There are those who will smash a snake with a shovel the instant it shows up their front yard. Smack! Snake problem solved.

Then there are the others. They want the snake to go away, too, but their strategy is more subtle -- it doesn’t go nuclear right out of the gate. It involves flowerpots, tactical retreats and cardboard boxes.

Leann belonged to the second group.