Twas the Night Before Shutdown

‘Twas the night before shut down, and all through our house,
      All the editors were sighing, and letting go of their mouse.

The cover models were hung (hee hee) on the covers with care,
      In hopes that the readers would drool and stare.

The great manuscripts were edited and all have been read,
     As visions of more submissions danced in our heads.

With RJ at her computer, and Rhonda in her pjs,
     The editors are poised for a few easy days.

When over in Crimson there arose such a clatter,
     A villain on the prowl was as mad as a hatter,

Away to the department the editors flew like a flash,
     But the bad man was caught and tied with a sash.

The hand on the breast of the heroine vampire,
     Her body parts tingled, as if on fire.

When what to our unbelieving eyes should appear,
     But one lonely cowboy with all the right gear.

With a mighty stud, so lively and thick,
     We knew in a moment it must be erotic.

More rapid than eagles the senior editors they came,
     And we whistled, and shouted, TWRP would never be the same.

Now Nicole! Now Diana! Now Stacy, Amanda, and Leanne!
     On Callie Lynn! On Lori! On Kathy and Roseann!

To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
     To the faery department we went, to all have a ball!

As elves, ghosts, and other creatures fly,
     When we see these characters we look to the sky

So all around us in the air they flew,
     With a variety of costumes, and some dragons, too.

And then in a twinkling we heard in the hall,
     A Civil War soldier with a lilting southern drawl.

As we were turning our heads and looking around,
     A modern day hero was what we found.

He was dressed in his finest from head to his boot,
     His clothes were tight fitting, and we let out a hoot.

A bundle of manuscripts he had flung on his back,
     The host of good stories TWRP would not lack.

The manuscripts—so many! The plots how they varied.
     Thank goodness, the hero and heroine were not married.

The older heroine is welcome her too.
     Her experiences are old, but her love life is new.

Lords and ladies, and a man in a kilt,
     Oh we love how those Scottish heroes are built.

A sweetheart of a story can warm a reader’s heart,
    But unless behind closed doors the characters are apart.

Give me a cowboy who just rode into town.
     Or a vamp and a were, but please not a clown.

An erotic, oh dear, can make us so hot,
     But please make sure the manuscript has a plot

We looked in the pack for a manuscript to take,
     Saved the stories on our computers for after the break.

Putting our flash drives in a very safe spot,
     The Christmas cheer made us feel like a tiny tot.

We sprang to our computers for one last time.
     We needed to end our little rhyme.

So here us exclaim as we shut down and go out of sight,
     Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

~composed by Allison Byers
    Historical Department Editor