Tag: #flashfiction

Week 454 of #ThursThreads had many fantastic tales. I’m honored to see all the writers come to tie a tale as we head toward the end of our ninth year. If you’ve been doing it a while, thank you for sticking with us. If you’ve just found us, welcome! May you come back again and write more great flash. Thousand thanks to Eric Martell for judging this week. Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc. Entries: Richard Gibney | @ragtaggiggagon Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir Nellie Batz | @solimond Eric Martell | @drmag00 Charlene Mertz | @rrats1231 Silver James | @SilverJames_ David A. Ludwig | @DavidALudwig Teresa Eccles| @TeresaMEccles Louisa Bacio | @Louisabacio M.T. Decker | @mishmhem Honorable Mentions Charlene Mertz | @rrats1231 Eric says: Hospital time is slow time (and when it’s not, that’s usually not a good thing). This had a nice nightmarish quality of being stuck in a never-ending time loop. M.T. Decker | @mishmhem Eric says: A feeling I know all-too-well, a tale full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. You could feel her frustration, and more than that, her acceptance that the days might all spiral away.for a tale! winner announcement Week 454 Winner Richard Gibney | @ragtaggiggagon Eric says: I loved the writing style and dialogue… it’s morbid and deep. The last line artfully closes the tales up, twisting the story and its meaning just a bit more, perfectly so. The sounds of splashing came from his en suite, rousing him. Climbing out of bed in the early dawn light, he stood in front of the door, frowning. Water seeped into his bedroom, over the threshold and under the door. It slid a few inches across the floor and touched the tips of his bare toes. “What the…?” He took a step back. He stood alone in front of the closed bathroom door, staring at the corona of light running along its frame. Someone was in there, in his bathroom, using his bath, and flooding the place. He heard humming. He should have been alone. He hadn’t had a visitor to the house in over two weeks – and that had been the social worker, checking him to ensure he wasn’t self-harming. The humming got louder, and then a baritone voice burst into song. “Shut up and take your medicine,” boomed the voice. It was a lyric the man had never heard before, more of a sing-song admonition than a piece of music. He opened the door and pushed it inwards. The bath was running – overflowing, in fact – so he ran to it and turned off both faucets and pulled out the stopper. The bathroom was empty. He collapsed onto the toilet and looked around in dismay at the thick film of water all over the floor, anxious and uncertain. Had he taken his pills the previous evening? “That’s what I’m saying,” the voice said. “You haven’t.” ~~~~~~~ Congratulations Winner Richard, and Honorable Mentions Charlene and M.T.! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, MeWe, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂

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Week 453 of #ThursThreads had many fantastic tales. I’m honored to see all the writers come to tie a tale as we head toward the end of our ninth year. If you’ve been doing it a while, thank you for sticking with us. If you’ve just found us, welcome! May you come back again and write more great flash. Thousand thanks to Silver James for judging this week. Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc. Entries: Miya Kressin | @miya_kressin Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea Joe Hesch | @JAHesch Joseph P. Garland | @JPGarlandAuthor Mark A. Morris Louisa Bacio | @Louisabacio Stacy Bennett | @SBennettWrites Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir David A. Ludwig | @DavidALudwig Silver says: I had to read, reread, reread, and again because every blasted tale is awesome, each in it’s own way. My choices finally came down to the ones that resonated just a little bit more to my inner reader. Honorable Mentions Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea Silver says: Cliches are cliches for a reason and I love it when they are used cleverly. This was a whale of a tale and despite the subject matter, it made me smile. Stacy Bennett | @SBennettWrites Silver says: This tale had all the goods–setting, characterizations, and a sense of emotional urgency in the action. Also, fae for the win! winner announcement Week 453 Winner Joe Hesch | @JAHesch Silver says: All the feels to this tale. It was emotional, heart-wrenching, filled with a sense of desperate loss. Plus, I’m a sucker for metaphysical conversations. Very well done, Joe! In the conversation we never had, you didn’t say, “Life’s subjective. One person’s joy could trigger another’s despair. Like someone else’s woe could bring another cheer.” “We’ve lived each,” I would’ve said. “You, often, the latter,” my eyes would blink in code. But we weren’t really talking about Life (like I said, we weren’t really talking at all), unless you consider just getting out of bed Life. Really about living, opening those eyes, taking that big inhale, letting it go, sometimes with words strung thereto, just to get to the next gulp of existence. “You know, there was a time I didn’t care if my last exhalation, whether preceded by a sob or a snore, was indeed my last. Go to sleep. Wake not. I wouldn’t have considered that failure. THAT might’ve brought someone solace.” I could’ve revealed. “That’s what I’m saying,” you didn’t say. “I wish you would’ve talked to me about it,” I wish I’d said. “There was no point. I wanted to talk to very few people and you weren’t one of them.” Ergo, the non-conversation we’re not having. “Would you like to come talk now?” I might say. “No. I’m not going anywhere with you.” “Yeah (or is it ‘No’), we’ve each made that clear,” I could whisper. “What didn’t you say?” You’d probably ask. There was so much. “I’m not going anywhere with you, either,” I’d say. It’d always been a one-step-toward-and-one-back thing with us, symbiotically going nowhere.~~~~~~~ Congratulations Seven Time Winner Joe, and Honorable Mentions Bill and Stacy! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, MeWe, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂

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Week 452 of #ThursThreads had many fantastic tales. I’m honored to see all the writers come to tie a tale as we head toward the end of our ninth year. If you’ve been doing it a while, thank you for sticking with us. If you’ve just found us, welcome! May you come back again and write more great flash. Thousand thanks to Stacy Bennett for judging this week. Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc. Entries: Daniel Swensen | @daniel_swensen Silver James | @SilverJames_ Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir Mark A. Morris Patty Dump | @pattydump1 Mark Ethridge | @mysoulstears Joseph P. Garland | @JPGarlandAuthor David A. Ludwig | @DavidALudwig Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil Kelly Heinen | @Aightball Katheryn J. Avila | @katheryn_avila M.T. Decker | @mishmhem Honorable Mentions Katheryn J. Avila | @katheryn_avila Stacy says: The mood here was suspenseful and I felt the two characters’ caution. Like any good mystery there were teases of information but not enough to satisfy. I was left wondering about the girl who may have killed her dad (and why), the two “hunters” who were after her, and the other person involved who seemed on par with a mob boss. Good intrigue and conflicting factions. I’d be interested in reading more of this story. Mark A. Morris Stacy says: It took me a moment to latch onto the tone of the story but the body in the trunk brought it home. Then, of course there is the strangeness of the other driver which gave me the creeps, letting me know that the body in the trunk was just the beginning. So… what’s your guess? Aliens or zombies? Either way, good job! Daniel Swensen | @daniel_swensen Stacy says: This one was fun. Those damned thieves. How the hell are you to know if they are saving the day or just covering their own asses and previous mistakes? Never can trust a thing they say. Daniel paints the relationships and tensions between the three characters very well, boding well for more tension as the story moves on. I’d definitely read more if you wrote it! winner announcement Week 452 Winner Silver James | @SilverJames_ Stacy says: Silver gave us such a complete story in so few words. And sometimes that works just as well or better than intriguing ambiguity. This time it worked perfectly. I love the characterization with just a few strokes, the sense of urgency and the hints of the bigger picture. I really enjoyed this smooth immersive read. Nudging the body with my motorcycle boot, I tried to downplay the situation. “Could happen to anybody.” Her upper lip curled into a snarl. “But it happened to me.” I lifted my hands, palms out, as a barrier between us. “Not my fault.” “Then who’s fault was it, Rook?” Her eyes narrowed into a squint so angry I backed up an involuntary step. “Mine?” “No, babe,” I hurried to say. “But it wasn’t mine either.” “So what you’re actually saying—” “Shit happens.” I cut her off. No time for rants. “And we gotta hit the road.” “I’m not going anywhere with you.” “Yeah, babe, you are.” She crossed her arms over her chest and jutted out her chin. Cute. But we didn’t have time for cute shit either. “I’m calling the police.” I stared, not quite sure I’d heard right. She hurried on. “He kidnapped me! I have to make a police—” “No cops, babe. Ever. Club business.” She blinked at me, mouth open on a word that refused to come out. I reached for her, got my hand on the back of her neck and reeled her into my chest before she could react. “Babe,” I whispered into her hair. “The club takes care of our own. This asshole took you. I got you back.” “And that’s all there is?” No, that wasn’t all, but I wasn’t about to explain that the Nightriders would be raining fire down on the Hell Dogs. “You’re safe, babe. That’s all that matters.” ~~~~~~~ Congratulations FORTY-EIGHT TIME WINNER Silver, and Honorable Mentions Katheryn, Mark, and Daniel! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, MeWe, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂

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Week 451 of #ThursThreads had many fantastic tales. I’m honored to see all the writers come to tie a tale as we head toward the end of our ninth year. If you’ve been doing it a while, thank you for sticking with us. If you’ve just found us, welcome! May you come back again and write more great flash. Thousand thanks to Patricia Oak for judging this week. Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc. Entries: Silver James | @SilverJames_ Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea Angora Shade | @AngoraShade Joe Hesch | @JAHesch Joseph P. Garland | @JPGarlandAuthor Mark A. Morris J. Thomas Ganzer | @J_Thomas_Ganzer Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil David A. Ludwig | @DavidALudwig Marci Baun | @MarciBaun Kelly Heinen | @Aightball Patty Dump Patricia says: I have judged this contest a few times over the years. This week was one of the hardest ones, all of the entries were good and deserved to win. Thank you to all of the entries, I had an enjoyable time reading all of them. Keep writing, I will keep reading. Honorable Mentions Joseph P. Garland | @JPGarlandAuthor Patricia says: I like the picture that he created of running a marathon and using this statement as motivation to keep going. Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil Patricia says: Another great visual using one statement to better what life throws at you. Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea Patricia says: There is something about these story that keeps me going back to it. I wish there was more. winner announcement Week 451 Winner Joe Hesch | @JAHesch Patricia says: He took a statement that is supposed to be optimistic and he showed the other side of it. Sometimes hearing those words do not inspire hope but dread. I heard the voice say, “I think you’ll make it.” And so what if I hear that I’m going to live some more when so many others aren’t? What if you go on living and no one’s left you can live with? These are the questions you ask yourself when you get old and you can’t stand to look at the newspaper anymore because you’ll see names there you recognize from when you were young. Or worse, when you weren’t. Began happening in my late teens, but those were accidental checkouts – firearm mishaps, car crashes, war, lightning strikes, mountains falling on them. I was going to say “Could happen to anybody,” until I remembered those. Then parents started dropping all around me, which I recognize is the natural course of things. No one gets out here upright. But it was observing the minds, bodies of some of them going sour, like they’d passed their sell-by dates, that caused me to stare at the mayonnaise at the bottom of my own jar and notice it separating. Then you begin losing your peers, your friends, loved ones, and loss, doubts, pain work you over more than time has. That’s when your mirror becomes like the window through which you watched all those “old” folks fail. “I said I think you’ll make it.” I know. But the bread’s moldy and the shelves are bare. Nothing to make it with anymore. It really does go dark and cold once they shut that door. ~~~~~~~ Congratulations Six Time Winner Joe, and Honorable Mentions Joseph, Sheilagh, and Bill! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, MeWe, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂

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Week 450 of #ThursThreads had many fantastic tales. I’m honored to see all the writers come to tie a tale as we head toward the end of our ninth year. If you’ve been doing it a while, thank you for sticking with us. If you’ve just found us, welcome! May you come back again and write more great flash. Thousand thanks to Luanne Bennett for judging this week. Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc. Entries: Joseph P. Garland | @JPGarlandAuthor Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea Miya Kressin | @miya_kressin Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir Mark A. Morris Kaylee Haynes | @kaylee_hamelink Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil Silver James | @SilverJames_ Patty Dump | @pattydump1 David A. Ludwig | @DavidALudwig M.T. Decker | @mishmhem Luanne says: I would say Siobhan gets an HM…but shes not eligible. I didn’t read who wrote it first, but damn. Honorable Mentions Mark A. Morris Luanne says: Its enough of a start to keep me thinking on the time, species and more. Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil Luanne says: Sweet revenge, and a way to plot staying in charge. Patty Dump | @pattydump1 Luanne says: Drake can suck an egg. He’s an ass. winner announcement Week 450 Winner Miya Kressin | @miya_kressin Luanne says: Seriously I want more. More history and a full story. If Calla thought working in showbiz was hard before the apocalypse, it was a nightmare now. Power outages and additional security to protect the actors from the dead, as well as the living, added new stressors. Reassuring up and coming starlets that they wouldn’t turn out like you took more of her time than she wanted, too. “You’ll be fine. Turned can’t get within fifteen feet. Your scene partner will come up to you, you’ll both say your given lines, and the director and staff will make their decision. They’ve seen three today so far. If you are prepared, I think you’ll make it.” “How do you know?” Calla smiled and lifted her hair to show the scars that made her famous. “I’m the one casting it, my dear.” She rubbed her hands down the actress’ arms, surreptitiously checking for any marks the girl may have tried to hide beneath makeup. “Next audition!” boomed from the row of chairs with the directing team. Calla gave the girl a last smile and then moved down into the pen of Turned for a closer look at the potential stars. Immune and invisible to Turned from her childhood bites, Calla could easily get within their ranks to shepherd the once-men where the director wanted them. She liked that the position let her see how an actress would look to their viewers. This girl…She had a spark. It was a pity she’d be bitten in the last scene. ~~~~~~~ Congratulations Winner Miya, and Honorable Mentions Mark, Sheilagh, and Patty! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, MeWe, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂

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