Thirteen- the 52/250 Flash Quarterly

Thirteen weeks have passed since the 52/250 Flash Challenge began: Thirteen weeks of submitting flash fiction based on themes from the site, thirteen weeks of writing 250 words based on a different prompt each week, thirteen weeks of some GREAT flash fiction.

The time passed pretty quickly, though I often wrote a story early in the week and then tweaked it for the rest of the week until the very last minute. When the editors of the 52/250 Flash site asked for a non fiction bio (life summary or one scene), I was happy to submit one though a little perplexed as to how to approach it. My husband helped me out by suggesting something that happened when we lived in Germany. The bio made it into the Quarterly along with my story, Perfect Vision, which was an editors’ choice. I’m very honored.

So if you want to read some awesome short fiction, please check out Thirteen. You won’t regret it.

*image courtesy of Bigfoto.com

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

First I would like to thank both

Angie Capozello (techtigger) of Techtigger’s Soapbox for the Fabulous Flash Award

and

Joanie Michelle Rich (Nightcrafter) of Tales of a Nightcrafter for the One Lovely Blog Award.

I apologize that it’s taken me so long to get around to this post. Lately, time’s been slipping through my fingers. Cliche’ but true nonetheless. Between mini vacations, business trips, and homeschooling, life keeps getting in the way. No longer though!

The awards come with a few stipulations, and anyone who knows me knows that I fully intend to warp the rules to suit my own purposes – Namely I’m going to combine the rules and awardees. So consider yourselves forewarned.

For the Fabulous Flash Award, Jon Strother,  founder of FridayFlash said:“I have decided to start the Fabulous Flash Award to spotlight some folks I feel deserve recognition for their, well… fabulous flash fiction.”

*
The rules for the Fabulous Flash Award are:

1. acknowledge receiving the award in a blog post
2. link back to the person who awarded it
3. select four other fabulous flashers to receive the award to keep spreading the joy
4. write one or two short lines explaining why you’ve chosen each recipient

My four choices for the Fabulous Flash Award are:

1. Anthony Venutolo of Bukowski’s Basement. He’s writes regularly for #FridayFlash as well as #SpokenSunday. His fiction is sometimes funny, sometimes serious, but always entertaining.

2. Icy Sedgwick (icypop) of  IcySedgwick.com. A fellow Nanowrimo-er (Wrimo?) who writes slightly disturbing but delightful fiction for #FridayFlash and #TuesdaySerial. Her accent in her #SpokenSunday fiction is lovely too.

3. Jim Bronyaur of Soft Whispers. He’s a father with so many projects on his plate in addition to a full time job that he’s one of my online heroes. I honestly don’t know how he finds the time, but you definitely should find time to check out his site. It’s currently undergoing a revamp, so in the meantime follow him on Twitter or read Soft Whispers.

4. mazzz_in_Leeds of mazzz_in_Leeds.com. She writes flash and I just love her fiction. That is all you need to know.

The rules for One Lovely Blog Award are:

*
1.) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

3.) Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

My 15 4 choices for the One Lovely Blog Award (not necessarily in order) are:

1. Tom Allman of The Vorpal Spork for a great gaming blog. He writes funny posts about newbies wetting their feet in the world on Dark Sun as well as frequent articles in Kobold magazine. He’s an avid gamer as well as an awesome Dungeon Master.

2. Galen (profile), founder of the SixMinuteStory.com. The site is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s wonderful. In the spirit of other great inspirational sites, Six minute story encourages you to write a story in less than six minutes. Timer and story prompt provided, and no peeking ahead! All stories are licensed under Creative Commons.

3. Fred Van Patten of Backlist Books for his wonderful book blog. The site for my very, very, VERY favorite independent bookstore offers video reviews of books and magazines as well as posts events for local knitters and gamers (no, I didn’t type that wrong).  If you’re in the Massillon, Ohio area, this store is a must. Otherwise, you’ll just have to settle for their excellent site and order your literature from there.

4. Susie McCray of Poetry for Your Senses. She writes poetry about relationships and  every day feelings and experiences. The poems are wonderful, and you should definitely check her site out!

Go enjoy some fabulous blogs, and have a great week!

Audio: Working in the Digital Age

Original story text: HERE

This story, Working in the Digital Age, was inspired by the theme Busy at Work for the 52/250 flash challenge.

Tech Stuff:

Since Audioboo decided it doesn’t like me anymore, my very generous tech support helped set up audio on my blog. So from now on I’ll be posting my weekly #SpokenSunday audio on my blog along with any other audio I record.

Also, since new stories for the 52/250 flash challenge now post on Fridays – the same day as #FridayFlash – my #Spoken Sunday stories will be audio versions of my 52/250 stories. Every Sunday I plan to post a new blogpost highlighting this, followed throughout the week by one or two writing prompts or information.

Have a great week!

SANCTUARY

The undead beat upon the door of the church. The sun glared upon their torn and damaged limbs while flowering vines clung to the brick walls of the edifice like dead men’s fingers. Neither daylight, cross, nor holy water detered them from the thick wooden door.

The nearby fae heard the cries of despair with cold, unyielding hearts. The pleas for mercy went unheeded by the pastor and his flock – safe within their brick sanctuary.

The sun’s heat soon sapped the unfortunate souls of all strength. Sensing their desolation, the fairies left the hive, hovered for a moment above their prey, then swooped down for the feast. Shrieks of pain and torment rent the air.

Inside the church, the congregation prayed.

THE END.

I love the idea of having a six minute timer and a prompt that you don’t see until the timer starts. Obviously this doesn’t produce the best prose, but it makes for some great creativity. I plan on rewriting some of my attempts from the Six Minute Story site on my blog to see how I can improve from the raw material I produce there.

The story behind this is pretty short. About three minutes into writing this the phone rang. I felt cheated of my chance, so I picked this as my first rewrite. Also, Monsterbat suggested that fairies would be a scary-but-funny ending. So – thank you, Monsterbat!

*This story is a rewrite of a story I wrote for the Six Minute Story site. The original can be found here. It is licensed through the site under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0.

**Also, please don’t forget to check out the 52/250 Flash Challenge. My newest story there, Working in the Digital Age, was written for the theme ‘Busy at Work.’ I have a lot of trouble writing about things I care about, and so I’m not sure the story comes across very well or if it seems too cliché. But…  Slavery isn’t history.  I’m not being metaphorical. Modern Slaves outnumber the slaves during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and the majority of them are used in the sex industry. I drew upon that fact as the basis of my story.

*** For more info on modern abolitionism, please check out

Polaris Project

-activist group focusing on sexual slavery (especially of women and children)

Not for sale

-campaign to fight the global slave trade by training people to recognize it in their own backyards

Free the Slaves

-abolitionist organization with information about the modern slave trade, free newsletters, FAQ, and more

As always, feedback is begged for welcome. Thank you for your time.

This prompt is courtesy of my husband…

A woman searches in her handbag and moves aside the small revolver to get to her lipstick…

*image courtesy The Library of Congress via The Commons at Flicker.

No known copyright restrictions.

This week began the first week of 4th grade for my son, Monsterbat.  Mommy things take priority, so I haven’t had time to write something for #FridayFlash. Last night however, as I read a post by the brilliant and talented Jim Bronyaur, a wonderful idea struck me - I’ll repost my original #FridayFlash too as a gauge of my progress over the course of the past year! It’ll be a bit embarrassing because it’s not terribly well written, but that’ll show my progress over the past year… So, Jim, thanks for letting me steal… um, I mean BE INSPIRED BY your idea.

So, below is my very first #Friday Flash, ‘Of Penguins and Men,’ originally posted August 28th of 2009.  I wrote it as a children’s story for my little boy. At the time my writing experience was very limited, and I had absolutely no experience writing flash fiction. So please… be kind.

Of Penguins and Men

Once upon a time, there was a penguin that dreamed of attending a fancy party. Specifically, the fanciest kind of party. The kind where you had to wear black ties and tuxedos. He had seen enough sitcoms to know that tuxedos made people look like penguins, so he thought he’d fit right in. In fact, he’d be the life of the party.

The only problem was that he wasn’t. At a party, that is. He wasn’t able to go to a party, because he was stuck here in these tiny little rooms. Rick kept the fridge stocked, well- the mini fridge anyway, with plenty of raw fish for him to snack on. His bedroom was kept very cool and stocked with the finest television series available on DVD. So, Charlie really felt that he had little to complain about. Still, there must be more to do than sit in a chilly room watching sitcoms and eating raw fish. At the moment he wasn’t sure what, but the party idea seemed like a good place to start.

He needed a black tie. Didn’t everyone call these fancy wear-a-tuxedo parties  “black tie?” That was the one thing he wasn’t equipped with. Tuxedo looking body, sure. Black tie? Nope.

These were the thoughts going through his head as he rummaged through Rick’s closet. Shoe boxes, crates, piles of old clothes and smelly socks went flying. Rick entered the room to a barrage of laundry and airborne clothes hangers. A sock caught him squarely in the eye.

“Anything you need help with, Charlie?” asked Rick, removing the sock and holding it at arm’s length.

“Do you have a black tie?” asked the penguin.

“Um…I don’t think so. Why?”

“Because I need one.”

“Um… guess I have to ask the obvious here. WHY do you need one?”

Charlie looked at him for a moment, shocked. “For a fancy dress party, of course! Why else would I need one?”

“Because you’re becoming a magician? I don’t know. I just work here.”

The cotton and polyester hurricane subsided as Charlie reached the closet’s bottom. “Nothing? Nothing! I can’t believe you haven’t got a black tie. Have you no sense of decorum or style?”

Rick looked at the disheveled room, the soda cans littered on the ground, and his little black and white friend sitting there in Hawaiian shorts. “Clearly not,” he replied.

“Why are we here, Rick?” asked Charlie in shrill, high tones. “Why can’t I leave?”

“What? The room?”

“No… I mean, YES! LEAVE leave. Go outside!”

“Well, you could if you really wanted to. Do you?”

Charlie nodded vehemently. “Is a jellyfish an invertebrate? Of course, I want to go!”

“Well, finish getting dressed then. This place has a strict ‘No shirt, no pants, no entrance policy.’”

Charlie grinned, as much as it’s possible for a talking aquatic bird, and quickly ran to his room for his suit.

Penguins, thought Rick, sometimes there’s simply no reasoning with them.

Within 20 minutes, they both stood on the surface, taking in the sights.

“Happy now?” asked Rick, punching the mike button in his helmet.

The Earth’s reflection made it hard to judge Charlie’s expression through the helmet, but he looked disappointed. His space suit seemed to sag. He started to waddle back to the hatch. Rick stood for another moment, gazing at the blasted planet, shrugged and then followed.

“You didn’t really think there’d be anything to see out there, did you?” asked Rick, removing his helmet and beginning to undress.

“Well, no… not as such,” evaded the penguin.

“I told you, it’s going to take years for us to make it to the colony,” said Rick.

Charlie hung his head.

“But don’t worry! We’ll get there eventually! What about that black-tie idea of yours?”

“Well, your culture is fascinating, really. But truth-be-told, I was getting really BORED just sitting there while you did all that work. I wanted to have a little fun, even if it was just pretend.”

“Well, once we get to your planet, you can have your own fancy dress party. Hey, I’ll introduce you to my family. They should have quarters set up nicely by now.”

“Are you sure? Your technology is so much more primitive; I’m not sure they’d be comfortable with so much unfamiliar machinery. And we don’t have fancy dress parties.”

“Hey, you guys are helping us out, taking us in. The least I can do is help you throw a party. Besides, I’m sure my family will feel more than comfortable. Your people, well- penguins in general, are very hospitable.”

“If only I could repair the FTL drive, we could get there so much sooner, and I wouldn’t be so darned BORED,” whined Charlie.

“Well, do you have the parts?”

“No, I was trying to be cheap and didn’t get spares,” admitted the bird.

“Then sit back, my friend, and enjoy the fish. Want me to replicate some more?”

“No thanks. I’m stuffed. Hey, do you want to watch ‘Stellar Trek’ again?”

“Sure thing,” answered Rick, plopping into another lazyboy and popping open another soda.

“Fizzy bubble drinks,” laughed Charlie. “What’ll you humans think up next?”

They both reclined in their chairs to watch Ruddenburry’s classic show.

The ship flew silently through the great void.

THE END.

*I hope that you enjoyed that. I like to think that I’ve improved a lot in the past year, in large part thanks to #FridayFlash – the brainchild of author J.M. Strothers at Mad Utopia. Friday Flash is a wonderful community, and I’m very grateful for the support and stories available through this wonderful community.

As a direct result of my involvement in #FridayFlash, I now have a story, Hell of a Job,  published in the wonderful Best of Friday Flash Anthology, as well as my story, Doomed, published at Flash Me magazine. I really encourage you to check out both these publications. They are absolutely wonderful. Did I mention they were wonderful?

Also, just a quick reminder – For the theme, Sleep, I posted another story, ‘Morpheus‘ up at the 52/250 flash challenge site.

Update: Click Morpheus to hear this story in audio (for #SpokenSunday) or visit my Audioboo account for my other short audio stories. Due to technical difficulties with Audioboo, I will most likely be posting my audio stories and poems directly from my blog. Thank you for your time.

Retell a fairy tale or fable, but tell it as the real events that evolved into the tale. For instance, the basis of Hansel and Gretel could be an old woman who gave treats to the neighborhood kids and was accused of witchcraft when they disappeared. Tell it from the villain’s point of view.

This week I’m catching up on writing as well as adjusting to a new school schedule for Monsterbat, so my blog posts may be erratic for the next two to three weeks. I’m starting to fall behind in my other objectives, and I need to take the time to accomplish work at home as well as my writing goals.

I have received two blog awards in the past month, and I fully intend to write a post about them. I just haven’t had the time yet – Sorry! I will write about them and thank the generous people who awarded them when I get the time to do it properly. In the meantime, I will post my usual #FridayFlash and links to the 52/250 flash challenge and Audioboo. Photos will probably not accompany them though, because they are very time intensive.

Hopefully, I’ll get back to normal posting after a couple weeks. In the meantime, if I don’t respond to a post or comment right away, I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience.

Middle School

The ‘Do Over’

The mean boys hung around the bicycle rack behind the school. Rachael Wentworth dreaded the inevitable confrontation when she went to retrieve her wheels – the taunts, the jeers, the unending humiliation that came with being the school pariah. Newly christened Rachael ‘Worthless’ by her classmates, the brand followed her throughout the school year.

She slung the heavy backpack over her uniform – hating this school, hating the ugly black and gold plaid she was forced to wear, hating her brown leather moccasins – but most of all hating herself for not standing up to her tormentors. She detested bullies as well as her own cowardice, which made her feel guilty for not standing up for herself. As a Catholic schoolgirl, she was well versed in guilt.

Sister Sarah must be on a roll this week. Rachael’s backpack weighed less than 20 pounds today. She had never actually weighed it, but even on ‘light’ homework days she knew it weighed a hell of a lot. By the time she finished her daily bike ride home, her back ached from the strain.

Puberty had not been kind. Besides an overabundance of acne, greasy hair, and a bad perm, the uniform threw all her least attractive features into sharp relief. Her head down wherever she went, her hair strategically hung over that week’s most obvious blemishes, she slumped her shoulders as she plodded from class to class. Her loneliness bore her down, though her dearest hope – even more than friendship – was simply to be left alone. However, her weakness and desperation attracted bullies like moths to a flame.

She breathed deeply, clutching the key to her bike lock, and turned the corner. She was already untangling the chain before she heard the first taunt. Mike Marachino walked out from behind a tree, followed closely by his minions. He sat on the rack and kicked his legs back and forth beside her head. She tried not to flinch as she pulled the chain from the spokes of her bike.

“Oh, hey guys, look! It’s Worthless. Hey there, Worthless, what’s your hurry?”

Rachael was torn. She wanted to put the chain away, but fumbling with her backpack would mess up her quick getaway. She settled for wrapping it around her palm, which she then used to steer the bike out and away from her persecutors. As she sought to adjust the backpack onto the other shoulder, she felt a clot of earth hit the back of her head.

“Oops,” said Mike.

Something in her broke. Behind the tears that threatened to burst forth from her closed eyes, she felt something inside her swell up, bursting through the wall of her fear and dread. She stopped and opened her eyes.

Before the boys had time to react, she’d turned and swung the heavy backpack in a high arc, catching the three boys across their faces, knocking them to the ground. While two of them lay stunned in the dirt, their leader held his arms up to shield his face from Rachael’s pulverizing blows. She rained her years of shame, regret, and rage upon him in a fury that made her weak frame momentarily strong.

By the time Sister Sarah pulled her off Mike, he resembled a marachino cherry in more than name. The other two boys had run off, avoiding punishment. (She was no tattle tale.)

For the next two weeks, Rachael and Mike both served detention after school. She sat in the same room as her former bully, but from that point on – he was the one who cringed.

She smiled.

Then her mother called her into dinner, breaking her reverie, and her grin faded. She pulled a greasy strand over her face, closed her bedroom door, and left her daydream behind.

THE END.

The above story was inspired by the prompt, If you were writing it, How would your story end?, from the Are You a Healer? site. Sadly, this story is very personal, though the actual writing felt quite liberating. The last paragraph makes the difference between fantasy and something more realistic, so I felt ambivalent about it. I realize the prompt was to ‘rewrite’ something from the past, but it seems like better flash with the additional paragraph.

Today also begins week #14 of the 52|250 challenge with stories inspired by the prompt, I Can’t Wait. This week I decided to do something different by submitting a poem instead of prose. My submission, “2 a.m.” can be found at the 52|250 challenge under the name Catherine Russell. Enjoy!

Also, one quick reminder- Don’t forget to buy your copy of The Best of Friday Flash: Volume One, now available at Smashwords for the extremely reasonable price of $2.99.  When you do, be sure to check out my story, A Hell of a Job, published in the anthology! Many thanks to J.M. Strother, the brilliance behind Friday Flash, for allowing me to be a part of this wonderful project. Having read each of the stories, I can honestly say that this anthology would be one of my all time favorites – even if I’d never heard of Friday Flash. It’s *that* awesome.

As always, I beg for welcome feedback.

*Photo courtesy of Keene and Chesire County (NH) Historical Photos via Flicker.

No known copyright restrictions.

The Best of Friday Flash: Volume One is now available at Smashwords for the extremely reasonable price of $2.99.  I’m unbelievably excited about this! Not only is one of my stories, A Hell of a Job, published in the anthology, but J.M. Strother also credited me as an Associate Editor. I’m very honoured and flattered to have been part of such a wonderful project.

In fact, last night at the (online) Book Birthday party, I fear I had a little too much champagne and cigars.  So I apologize for the late posting.  I need to go rest now. All the excitement is making me dizzy.

Seriously though, the book contains 67 ridiculously good stories – all of them short enough to enjoy whenever you have a spare few minutes. The proceeds from the sale will go to further promote Friday Flash as an online writing community. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Now, what are you waiting for?