All Comments on 'Pumpkin Spice'

Loved it! at story. Happy ending after happy ending. Even, "the devil went down..." Cheers. Frankie.

Should have came out GREAT. But my damn fingers got in the way. Frankie.

Great Halloween story, loved all of the song and other references. And pumpkin spice definitely comes from The Inferno!

Loved it! Really well done. Terrific Halloween story. And a lovely happy ever happy.

Loved it SC. Hard to believe it was only 20 years ago when portable radios were the way to follow storms. Today, with cell phones, you get to watch the storms as they move over us - or not. What a difference. Right before the end, I was picking up a 'shiny fiddle made of gold' vibe. (RIP - Charlie Daniels). Five Stars. -- Jorunn

Author's Response:

Thanks to all who've voted and commented.

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As Jorunn noted, smart phones weren't yet in style in 2000-2003 (Blackberries, yes, but the first iPhone didn't come out until 2007).

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I also had a few historical/trivia notes that I was originally considered adding in the Endnotes but held off for here.

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Pumpkin production in the U.S. started going up after 2001 and has approximately doubled since that time and 2022 (the latest numbers available), corresponding with approximate timing of the opening of the story.

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Starbucks released the original Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003, coinciding with this jump in production, but I'm not sure how much pumpkin there actually is in it (Starbucks claims there's some in there in their annual "Pumpkin Spice Latte" press release).

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The package also even infers there is a pumpkin seasoning in Starbuck's pumpkin spice creamer sold in grocery stores, but it's not listed in the ingredients so I believe it's in the less than 2% "Natural Ingredients." None of the bazillion (okay, 20?) pumpkin spice creamers I checked list pumpkin at all, though most include "natural ingredients" that might (or might not!) include a bit of pumpkin flavor.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ great Halloween tale!

Good yarn — just the flavor I was hankering for. 5*

i loved the title, "Pumpkin Spice," too!

I really enjoyed it. But I have to be honest and tell you that you really had me worried about Connie at the very end. I figured that since Old Scratch wasn't having any luck with Kenny that he had him pass out because he poisoned him in a bid for Connie's soul. With her being totally in love with Kenny, I could see her selling her soul to save him from being poisoned to death. All the devil needed to do was change targets and he still wins.

I know that you're old fashioned like I am, but I hated the "first chapter" after the prolog with Kenny and his father. The Ken dating Connie was drawn out too far and moved far too slowly. I was bored to tears and actually found myself thinking that you were whipping an already dead cliché. I regret it, but I had to take a point off for that. There's slow burn and then there's bored to tears. But other than that, nice work.

I'm really sad that Maxie doesn't get to have a happily ever after finish. Her heart was true to Kenny and she doesn't deserve to be stuck with asshole Vince or Mike or whoever. 4/5

Usual good story from you! I don't care for pumpkin flavored stuff that abounds in the fall. I generally prefer sweet potato pie to pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.

5

Romance with a devilish twist. Thank you SouthernCrossfire. I enjoyed it immensely.

Update:

Thanks again for the feedback and constructive criticism. That is greatly appreciated.

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In my earlier comment I noted that most pumpkin spice creamers don't include pumpkin except in the natural flavors, but while at the grocery store last night, I found a pumpkin spice creamer in a different cooler that lists real "pumpkin puree" as an ingredient rather than lumping any pumpkin that may be present as a natural flavor or ingredient. Califa Farms Pumpkin Spice Creamer lists pumpkin on the front and pumpkin puree in the ingredients. They also make a premade pumpkin spice latte with pumpkin puree listed in the ingredients.

Really funny! Reminds me of another similar story.

I have a mint copy of the January 1979 Playboy 25th Anniversary magazine, and there's an ABSOLUTE EPIC poem in there by Shel Silverstein titled "The Devil And Billy Markham" which is still one of the most hilarious things I've ever read! The poem is probably longer than this story - 11 double column pages in Playboy! The Devil gets screwed when the Devil's bride and Billy Markham swap souls when they're dancing at the wedding dance and Billy's soul ends up in her body. Her soul ends up in his body and goes to Heaven. The Devil ends up married to her body but Billy Markham's soul down in Hell, and never wants to consumate the marriage!

If you ever see or get a copy of it you'll laugh your head off! Great story here though - 5 stars!

“Got” most of your tie-ins and enjoyed the hell out of this well crafted tale. The interaction with the devil turning into fentanyl poisoning was brilliant. Only crack, if you want to call it that, was after the episode he didn’t reflect on what his father had done. His memory of the ancient document validated the episode may have been real in an ethereal sense. Also, the devil never revealed how he missed getting payment from his father. Minor stuff - LOL! 4,8*

When true love captures the target, Scratcj meets his match, natch. Helluva good story, sir, up to your usual standard.

*Scratch!

I could just scream.

The _REAL_ Old Scratch would have taken credit for "pumpkin spice" everything.

Just Sayin'

Bambi and Thumper ...

I have not heard thoss names in Years.

Loved it. I also enjoyed the "Blondie" reference, aunt Deborah and uncle Harry. Good job.

pumpkin spice is just nasty, so I lost interest very quickly.

Great story! I really liked the sly reference to the group Blondie with aunt DEBORAH and uncle HARRY. Good job.

You clearly had a lot of fun bringing this story idea to life and it shows in the telling. I particularly enjoyed the dialogue between Ken and Old Scratch. A five star effort and a fun read. Thanks for sharing!

Author's Follow-up:

Thanks for all the new reads and comments. Thanks, too, to Shepard506 for pointing out one of the references I missed. That made me recall a couple of others:

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Deb & Harry (Deborah Harry from Blondie), Carol Merrill (from The Price is Right with Bob Barker), Scratch's three doors (from Let's Make a Deal with Monty Hall), and originally the Tastee-Freez from "Jack and Diane" by John Cougar Mellencamp, though this was cut during final edits in favor of the local ice cream shop when I learned that Tastee-Freez had soft serve instead of real ice cream and probably wouldn't have had the mint chocolate chip for the original kiss that, yes, served as the only "actual event" inspiration for the story.

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Finally, did anyone read Scratch's lines in the late Alan Rickman's voice (portraying Hans Gruber from Die Hard)? That's the way it sounded in my head when I wrote his lines. Rest in peace, Mr. Rickman.

Great story and certainly in the running. Bottom line is that true love wins.

Too cute !

Nice Halloween tale. 5^

SC, I finally got around to your Halloween story, on Halloween night, no less. I agree with one of the other commenters, slow start, but great romantic finish. I also feel sorry for Maxine, but as Kenny is apparently not Mormon, two wives would have just been one too many. I did catch most of the musical references, except the Blondie one. I’m sorry, I’m even blank on who or what that is. I liked that Kenny played it slow with Connie at first, and once they started sleeping together, the scenes were realistic and sexy. Thanks for a great Halloween story and Epilogue.

What a fun little kickback. It took me too long to get to it because ... reasons. I missed maybe half the cultural references, but reading your notes and comments, did the "Duh!" facepalm.

Thanks!!

Well written and enjoyable tale. This was perfect for Halloween and entertaining so earned 5 stars!

Please do keep writing and I will keep reading.