Every February, in honor of Valentine's Day, my theme is "Love and Lust." But this year, the usual January "All Things Lit" issue was moved into February, so this year's "Love and Lust" edition shows up in March. Folks, my writing is usually clean, but "Love and Lust" is not. It's not for the kiddies. If you're easily offended by sexual content, don't read this.

• "Common Decency" - 675 words, utopian/dystopian science fiction
• "Eternal Love" - 630 words, science fiction
• "Cacturbation" - 2,100 words, space-opera science fiction

We had a cold snap here in Maine in January. It was bad enough that, with the wind chill, it hit 24 below zero where I am, but a few days later it was 13 below and the wind chill made it feel like 33 below. I’ve gone through colder, but it wasn’t pleasant. As such, my mind has been on cold lately, so this entry is the opposite of my July 2012 entry, “Hot,” which you can read at http://www.thecud.com.au/live/content/cud-flashes-pan-12 if this cold stuff gets you grumpy. Note: This was supposed to appear in the January edition of The Cud, but that edition was moved to February.

• “Poor Jonathan...” – fantasy humor, 442 words

• “It’s Relatively Cold” – science fiction, 588 words

• “Frozen Dilemma” – superhero, 806 words

• “Frosty” – fantasy/horror, 1,428 words