What do you think?
Rate this book
Tea Time
Come, have a seat…
Meet Ms. May and Ms. Joyce Anderson two loveable, spunky residents of the Crossroads Nursing Home as they sit together for afternoon tea. But keep your wits about you, there’s more to this place than meets the eye.
“Tea Time” is a Saki Short Story and to say any more would give too much away, but one thing’s for certain, this is a tea party you will never forget.
*Disturbing subject matter. Not overly graphic but weak stomachs be advised!
Meet Ms. May and Ms. Joyce Anderson two loveable, spunky residents of the Crossroads Nursing Home as they sit together for afternoon tea. But keep your wits about you, there’s more to this place than meets the eye.
“Tea Time” is a Saki Short Story and to say any more would give too much away, but one thing’s for certain, this is a tea party you will never forget.
*Disturbing subject matter. Not overly graphic but weak stomachs be advised!
15 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 16, 2012
6 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Darnell "Saki" Dickerson
3 books2 followersDarnell "Saki" Dickerson has been writing fiction since he learned how to hold a pencil and hasn't stopped since. He goes by the Pen Name "Saki" which was the name revealed to him by his muse in eighth grade. Darnell will usually be found working through his backlog of "to read" books, planning a "next" book or story before even finishing the current one, spending time with his lovely girlfriend or doing what most people his age are good at - wasting time on Youtube.
Darnell has had some of his fiction and poetry published in high school and at his local library and has even won a few scholarships for it. He has a strong love of reading and writing Fantasy and Sci-fi fiction as well as a deep, morbid fascination with the darker side of the Horror/Thriller genre.
He is currently publishing short fiction and going through final revisions of his first novel.
You can visit his website here: http://www.darnellsakidickerson.com/
And his blog here: http://darnellsakidickerson.blogspot....
Darnell has had some of his fiction and poetry published in high school and at his local library and has even won a few scholarships for it. He has a strong love of reading and writing Fantasy and Sci-fi fiction as well as a deep, morbid fascination with the darker side of the Horror/Thriller genre.
He is currently publishing short fiction and going through final revisions of his first novel.
You can visit his website here: http://www.darnellsakidickerson.com/
And his blog here: http://darnellsakidickerson.blogspot....
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 22, 2014
Two little old ladies enjoying tea in the *rest home*.
I could imagine them sitting there, bantering back and forth, sipping tea, listening to the radio, becoming drowsy .....
I really loved this book ... well, except for the *Ewww Factor* ending.
I could imagine them sitting there, bantering back and forth, sipping tea, listening to the radio, becoming drowsy .....
I really loved this book ... well, except for the *Ewww Factor* ending.
July 29, 2025
Ms. May and Joyce Anderson live at the Crossroads Nursing Home.
Drinking lemon tea, the older women listen to the news on the radio.
They also share their hot takes on the issues of the day.
Rob, the caretaker. 😮
Well…that’s quite the surprise of a conclusion.
Rife with typos and mistakes; missing commas and punctuation marks…
The whole story is a setup for the shock value of the ending.
Drinking lemon tea, the older women listen to the news on the radio.
They also share their hot takes on the issues of the day.
Rob, the caretaker. 😮
Well…that’s quite the surprise of a conclusion.
Rife with typos and mistakes; missing commas and punctuation marks…
The whole story is a setup for the shock value of the ending.
March 19, 2024
You Intrigued Me
I wish I could give a 3.5 star rating. Wow, this is an interesting story. I loved it, the characters were well portrayed, and fascinating. The ending, including the author's note was the most interesting of all.
I wish I could give a 3.5 star rating. Wow, this is an interesting story. I loved it, the characters were well portrayed, and fascinating. The ending, including the author's note was the most interesting of all.
July 31, 2018
ETA: Regarding the term ‘Grammar Nazi’ which is bandied about so casually:
(1) I personally detest that term b/c it trivialises a horrific & shameful part of recent human history. It’s also lazy & hyperbolic.
(2) GR is for book lovers, no? Books, no matter the genre, consist of sentences. Sentences are comprised of words—words which require proper order & structure to make sense. Thus, proper grammar, punctuation & syntax are basic building blocks. And analogised to construction, the lack = a shoddily-built house w/ unreliable foundation & leaky roof.
Think a missing comma is stupid? Here’s the oft-favoured comeback:
If someone doesn’t notice or can’t see the difference, then I question her/his reading comprehension. Especially if things are ‘glossed over’.
(3) Of course, the above is hopelessly lost on anyone who doesn’t know when to capitalise proper terms or the difference b/n possessive and plural.
So fuck off, learn some courtesy & go back to grammar school.
~~~ ORIGINAL REVIEW ~~~
Storytelling is one thing; competent writing is quite another.
It shocked me that I almost didn't finish what turned out to be a story of only 6 Kindle pages/screen (15 pages must include all the post-story info). But the author sought reviews so I finished it. Very short story, so short review.
There is the bare concept of a story here, and I commend Mr. Dickerson for having the courage to put it out into the world. One could argue that the length is too short for tension to ramp up sufficiently before the "quick knife to the gut" (the author's words, not mine), but that's the author's prerogative. And the ending certainly confirmed my nasty, growing suspicion.
However, it is not a good sign when the first technical error occurs four words into the story and the second one occurs in the very next paragraph. I'd like to think that most of the errors are more the edit/proof variety but repeated instances show that the problem is more fundamental.
TEA TIME is too short to even contemplate Mr. Dickerson's merits as a storyteller. But no story, however unique or clever, can withstand weak technical writing skills. Proper grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure are among the most basic and important tools to an author. And AFAIK, there are additional rules to fiction writing (e.g., for dialogue). One could argue that it's possibly "beginner's mistake" but frankly, that doesn't hold much water. Have new authors never read a properly written book prior to publishing their own work?
Perhaps other readers can ignore and/or place less emphasis on such things but for me, they are distracting and severely diminish my reading experience/enjoyment. I'd much rather focus on the plot and the characters.
(1) I personally detest that term b/c it trivialises a horrific & shameful part of recent human history. It’s also lazy & hyperbolic.
(2) GR is for book lovers, no? Books, no matter the genre, consist of sentences. Sentences are comprised of words—words which require proper order & structure to make sense. Thus, proper grammar, punctuation & syntax are basic building blocks. And analogised to construction, the lack = a shoddily-built house w/ unreliable foundation & leaky roof.
Think a missing comma is stupid? Here’s the oft-favoured comeback:
“Let’s eat, Grandpa.”
“Let’s eat Grandpa.”
If someone doesn’t notice or can’t see the difference, then I question her/his reading comprehension. Especially if things are ‘glossed over’.
(3) Of course, the above is hopelessly lost on anyone who doesn’t know when to capitalise proper terms or the difference b/n possessive and plural.
So fuck off, learn some courtesy & go back to grammar school.
~~~ ORIGINAL REVIEW ~~~
Storytelling is one thing; competent writing is quite another.
It shocked me that I almost didn't finish what turned out to be a story of only 6 Kindle pages/screen (15 pages must include all the post-story info). But the author sought reviews so I finished it. Very short story, so short review.
There is the bare concept of a story here, and I commend Mr. Dickerson for having the courage to put it out into the world. One could argue that the length is too short for tension to ramp up sufficiently before the "quick knife to the gut" (the author's words, not mine), but that's the author's prerogative. And the ending certainly confirmed my nasty, growing suspicion.
However, it is not a good sign when the first technical error occurs four words into the story and the second one occurs in the very next paragraph. I'd like to think that most of the errors are more the edit/proof variety but repeated instances show that the problem is more fundamental.
TEA TIME is too short to even contemplate Mr. Dickerson's merits as a storyteller. But no story, however unique or clever, can withstand weak technical writing skills. Proper grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure are among the most basic and important tools to an author. And AFAIK, there are additional rules to fiction writing (e.g., for dialogue). One could argue that it's possibly "beginner's mistake" but frankly, that doesn't hold much water. Have new authors never read a properly written book prior to publishing their own work?
Perhaps other readers can ignore and/or place less emphasis on such things but for me, they are distracting and severely diminish my reading experience/enjoyment. I'd much rather focus on the plot and the characters.
September 15, 2012
Ms. May and Ms. Joyce are elderly residents at Crossroads Nursing Home, and we visit them during an afternoon tea served by their caretaker Rob. The ladies chat, listen to the radio, and tsk-tsk about the sad state of affairs in the world:
--Silly woman’s lib protesters wanting more than their proper place? Scandalous.
--Sports clothing in woman’s sizes? Outrageous.
--A local high school teacher having sex with her students? Harlot.
Something about their tea makes them so forgetful. Why, it puts them right to sleep. What happens to May and Joyce when Rob comes back to collect their tea things during their drugged afternoon nap? Unspeakable.
My favorite type of horror story should make me squirm without showing the splatter and blow-by-blow of the monster’s savagery. This story is it. Tea Time delivers a charming façade over the disturbing evil of elderly abuse. I read it, cringed, and was enraged at the monster lurking beneath.
This story is an excellent effort from new indie author Darnell “Saki” Dickerson. I enjoy stories that take me to another place, if only for a short while. I imagined the women smelled of lavender soap. A wall clock ticked away their lives. I could also smell the lady’s Oolong Tea. Rob’s drug made the tea taste too sweet.
The things to improve were nits--a couple of trivial punctuation and formatting clean-ups is all the story needs. Oh, and it needs a way for me to punch out that “caretaker” Rob.
Warning: Tea Time has an adult topic. Don’t complain that I didn’t tell you.
--Silly woman’s lib protesters wanting more than their proper place? Scandalous.
--Sports clothing in woman’s sizes? Outrageous.
--A local high school teacher having sex with her students? Harlot.
Something about their tea makes them so forgetful. Why, it puts them right to sleep. What happens to May and Joyce when Rob comes back to collect their tea things during their drugged afternoon nap? Unspeakable.
My favorite type of horror story should make me squirm without showing the splatter and blow-by-blow of the monster’s savagery. This story is it. Tea Time delivers a charming façade over the disturbing evil of elderly abuse. I read it, cringed, and was enraged at the monster lurking beneath.
This story is an excellent effort from new indie author Darnell “Saki” Dickerson. I enjoy stories that take me to another place, if only for a short while. I imagined the women smelled of lavender soap. A wall clock ticked away their lives. I could also smell the lady’s Oolong Tea. Rob’s drug made the tea taste too sweet.
The things to improve were nits--a couple of trivial punctuation and formatting clean-ups is all the story needs. Oh, and it needs a way for me to punch out that “caretaker” Rob.
Warning: Tea Time has an adult topic. Don’t complain that I didn’t tell you.
December 21, 2014
I gave this story four stars because I see a lot of potential in his writing style. I really enjoyed the banter between the elderly women and he set quite a nice picture. The ending will shock some, but its nothing you haven't already seen on the news. And I really enjoyed his personal banter as well after the story. He seems like a real person :)
Read
June 13, 2016Tea Time is a very short story about two elderly women bantering over tea in their nursing home until they fall asleep. Once they're knocked out, something horrible happens to them.
I think the author could have added more details and/or expanded the story, but it was a decent read. I give this 2.5 stars.
I think the author could have added more details and/or expanded the story, but it was a decent read. I give this 2.5 stars.
June 8, 2016
It was ok. The writing was good. I can totally picture two sweet little old ladies sitting and enjoying tea. & theat cover design is just gorgeous. But it wasn't really horror-ish if that makes sense. It wasn't scary. More like.... "Ew! What the fuck?"
2 stars for not being particularly scary or very memorable, but still a quick, entertaining read.
2 stars for not being particularly scary or very memorable, but still a quick, entertaining read.
February 8, 2016
Horrible
The story was ridiculous. Very misleading. Would not recommend to anyone. Don't waste your time with this one. Don't do it!
The story was ridiculous. Very misleading. Would not recommend to anyone. Don't waste your time with this one. Don't do it!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews