#SnippetSunday – As Yet Unnamed WIP (Vigilante/Noir) – July 27, 2014

Snippet Sunday is a Facebook group for writers I’ve been privileged enough to have been accepted into.

From the group guidelines;

“Welcome to Snippet Sunday, where writers come together to share a few sentences of their current project–whether it’s a recently released novel, a WIP (work in progress), or an older manuscript that’s being revived. Intended to hook readers, gather feedback and build an author’s fan base, Snippet Sunday is the FB group that does all three.”

We meet my MCs mentor in this week’s snippet…

Danny Bergleson, gnarled and knotty as he was, was the toughest guy I’d ever met.
Treblinka couldn’t kill him.
Tuberculosis couldn’t kill him.
The North Koreans couldn’t kill him.
Twelve years of walking a beat in the South Bronx cost him the use of his right arm, but it couldn’t kill him.
Two subsequent muggings, a hit and run incident, and one outright assault with a deadly weapon couldn’t kill him.
It took the bottle to bring him down. John Barleycorn gave him the fight of his life, and in the end, Danny Bergleson beat that bastard too.

Thanks for stopping by!

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#SnippetSunday – As Yet Unnamed WIP (Vigilante/Noir) – July 20, 2014

Snippet Sunday is a Facebook group for writers I’ve been privileged enough to have been accepted into.

From the group guidelines;

“Welcome to Snippet Sunday, where writers come together to share a few sentences of their current project–whether it’s a recently released novel, a WIP (work in progress), or an older manuscript that’s being revived. Intended to hook readers, gather feedback and build an author’s fan base, Snippet Sunday is the FB group that does all three.”

This week’s snippet comes from a short piece of prologue in the work I’ve been posting from lately. It’s a vision, the themes of which will run throughout the book. Those of you who have read my last few snippets will understand what’s going on.
And welcome to anyone who’s checking me out for the first time!

Here goes nuthin’…

A simple wooden fence, swing gate secured with an ancient-looking black metal lock, barred my entry into the field.
I ran my fingertips across the surface of the top plank, following the grain of the dark gray wood. It felt harder than a piece of planed lumber should have, harder and colder. A perfect match for the harsh gray sky above.
The wheat on the other side of the fence was also gray, and dark enough to be mistaken for black. Each tendril, each frond– perfect in every detail– stood rigid and still.
I reached through the fence and closed my hand around some wheat. Like the plank, the wheat felt cold to the touch. I tried to crush it, then let go, shaking away the burning in my palm.
The pain started a trickle of memories.
Fear. Paralysis. Disorientation. Shame. Blood. Cold. And then nothing.
Nothing at all.

Thanks for stopping by….

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.17 WINNERS

Week 2.17 is in the books…
This will mark the final MWBB for the immediate future. I’m freezing the MWBB in carbonite & hanging it on Jabba’s wall until… who knows?
Thanks to everyone who made this a fun ride…

Here are Judge Nick Johns’ decisions…

With the holiday season in full swing, another low turnout, but some really interesting writing for me to peruse! In view of the song of the week, these were all road tales of one kind or another, but varied in their approach.
@kingsleycw13 wrote a dark, brooding soliloquy in a voice as world-weary and down trodden as you could wish to listen to. Good hints of a backstory and a sense of a man in trouble that was only going to get worse.
Miranda-Kate’s tale introduced us to another of life’s losers, a rootless, shiftless, self centred character whose chief preoccupation was the continuation (or not) of his relationship. It also continued the parade of losers as he got his comeuppance from an unexpected source.
Bryan’s MC Malcolm is another in this week’s parade of characters that are out of their depth but who don’t quite know how or why. We are also introduced to Felix, a far more dangerous inhabitant of our underworld. This story also has a distinct tone and sense of place.
Jim, like Miranda-Kate, brings us a switch story, that works well without ever describing the protagonists because the other details contained in the tale carry it along beautifully. The mood of the piece is deliciously brooding and develops almost cinematically.
So, to this week’s honours. In the finest traditions of the modern English education system – all shall have prizes! Winner this week – Jim Lockett Runner up – Miranda-Kate Third – Bryan Honourable mention – @kingsleycw13 Thanks guys, and well done!

Mazel tov to… everyone!
See you when I see you…

#SnippetSunday – As Yet Unnamed WIP (Vigilante/Noir – July 13, 2014

Snippet Sunday is a Facebook group for writers I’ve been privileged enough to have been accepted into.

From the group guidelines;

“Welcome to Snippet Sunday, where writers come together to share a few sentences of their current project–whether it’s a recently released novel, a WIP (work in progress), or an older manuscript that’s being revived. Intended to hook readers, gather feedback and build an author’s fan base, Snippet Sunday is the FB group that does all three.”

This week’s snippet sheds a little more light on that, “ex-dead guy”, thing explored in my snippet from last week.
Again, I’m cheating… it’s more than 12 sentences. Such is life.

Here goes nuthin’…

Rushing bodies closed in on all sides. Five o’clock. Half the city was on Broadway, running to catch a downtown train.
My thoughts ran to the night of the shooting. Dense crowds had that effect on me.

I saw the soles of a woman’s stockinged feet at the edge of my darkening field of vision. A pair of bright red pumps lay on the ground near the mouth of the alley.
Her blood had begun to collect in the left shoe.
The ache of failure returned as I saw myself, stumbling drunk and useless, as the bullets tore into her body.
Then I saw the gun, felt the impact of the bullet. I felt the fall.
I remembered the warmth, impossible warmth, as I laid, face down, in an icy puddle of filth, bleeding out in an Alphabet City alley.

A fragrant breeze, rich with work sweat, meaty grill smoke, a little truck exhaust, and a lot of garbage, chased the memory as I fell into step.

Thanks for stopping by…

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.17

Welcome to the Mid-Week Blues-Buster Flash Fiction Challenge, Year 2, Week 17.

This is a flash fiction challenge. The prompt is a song. You are not required to write about or even mention the song. It’s there only to get the ideas moving around in your brain pan. If you want to write about the song (or the video- it’s all good here) go for it but don’t feel like you have to.
The rules;
500 words, but it’s a slushy 500, meaning you can go up to 700 or as low as 300.
Post your entry right in the comments section of this post.

MAKE SURE TO PUT YOUR TWITTER HANDLE NEXT TO YOUR WORD COUNT AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR POST. IF YOU’RE NOT ON TWITTER GIVE ME AN EMAIL ADDRESS OR SOME OTHER WAY TO GET A HOLD OF YOU!

The challenge starts whenever I post this on Tuesday and ends at MIDNIGHT Pacific Time on Friday. You read that right. Pacific Time.

This week’s song prompt is an ode to shady business. It’s, “Going Southbound”, by Stan Ridgway.
Here’s the link; http://youtu.be/r3QJxgVpxgs

This week’s Judge is flash fictioneer extraordinare… back by popular demand… Nick Johns.

The challenge opens the moment you read this post and runs through MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME on FRIDAY JULY 11th.

Now… go write!!!!

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.16 WINNERS

Low turnout this week at the Blues-Buster but Judge Miranda Kate had four excellent stories to read.
Let’s get right to it…
So speaketh Judge Miranda;

A low turn out this week – just four entries, but they all offered so much. Quite a variety on the theme, all with a little bit of mysterious. Due to there being only four everyone gets a mention.
First place – and overall Winner is

Mark Ethridge

– @Lurchmunster This appealed to me through its genre; a perfect dark tale. The horror is in the objective and detached way the MC goes about making his ‘art’ and the fact we are left with knowing it won’t be the last leaves the final chill. Beautifully executed in the writing, with glimpses of the MC’s disturbed mindset and even background – even a bit of Norman Bates and his mum with the photo, there was nothing I didn’t like about this piece.
Second place goes to

Catherine Connolly

– @fallintofiction Initially thrown by the name Seth being used for a female, I was totally drawn in and intrigued by the box, and the idea of all those people lost in it – the ultimate magician’s trick. And then the end with its bitter revenge – nicely done.
Third place goes to

Jim Lockett

The atmosphere of this piece matched the song well, and I liked the vibe, and the twist on religion and drugs, and the idea of Lucifer taking the eternal flame away, but subduing them with a superior drug – pacifying the masses. I liked the intrigue and how it story played on the lyrics.
Honourable Mention goes to

Jenn Monty

@BrewedBohemian An interesting tale of attraction, murder, with an added paranormal edge of summoning demons. The atmosphere of the bar came across well, and the end offered intrigue. I felt like this was a piece in something much bigger.

Mazel tov to… everyone!

Thanks to all of our readers & writers, and thanks to Judge Miranda.
See you on Tuesday…

#SnippetSunday – As Yet Unnamed WIP (Noir/Vigilante) – July 6, 2014

Snippet Sunday is a Facebook group for writers I’ve been privileged enough to have been accepted into.

From the group guidelines;

“Welcome to Snippet Sunday, where writers come together to share a few sentences of their current project–whether it’s a recently released novel, a WIP (work in progress), or an older manuscript that’s being revived. Intended to hook readers, gather feedback and build an author’s fan base, Snippet Sunday is the FB group that does all three.”

This week’s snippet sheds a little more light on that, “ex-dead guy”, thing alluded to in my snippet from last week.

Here goes nuthin’…

Twelve minutes.
That’s what the people at the hospital told me.
I croaked in the ambulance and stayed dead for twelve minutes. It was the cold that saved me, they said. The hypothermia. It slowed down cell death and prevented brain damage while I stumbled around in the dark, looking for the way back.
The emergency room doc who worked on me– a young Chinese woman with a grip like a vise– dropped by the next day. She told me more about the preservative qualities of hypothermia, about how sometimes doctors will even induce hypothermia to buy themselves more time for resuscitation efforts.
Getting shot in the winter had been a lucky thing, lucky being a relative term.
“Like we say in the ER,” she’d joked, “you’re not really dead ’til you’re warm and dead.”
Then we laughed like a couple of idiots. Laughing hurt like hell that day, but I did it anyway. It kept me from screaming.

Thanks for stopping by….

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.16

Welcome to the Mid-Week Blues-Buster Flash Fiction Challenge, Year 2, Week 16.

This is a flash fiction challenge. The prompt is a song. You are not required to write about or even mention the song. It’s there only to get the ideas moving around in your brain pan. If you want to write about the song (or the video- it’s all good here) go for it but don’t feel like you have to.

The rules;

500 words, but it’s a slushy 500, meaning you can go up to 700 or as low as 300.

Post your entry right in the comments section of this post.

MAKE SURE TO PUT YOUR TWITTER HANDLE NEXT TO YOUR WORD COUNT AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR POST. IF YOU’RE NOT ON TWITTER GIVE ME AN EMAIL ADDRESS OR SOME OTHER WAY TO GET A HOLD OF YOU!

The challenge starts whenever I post this on Tuesday and ends at MIDNIGHT Pacific Time on Friday. You read that right. Pacific Time.

This week’s song prompt comes to us from a band I can’t believe I haven’t used at the MWBB before– Morphine!

The tune is… “Buena”. Here’s the link; http://youtu.be/kZjZBe6o78M

This week’s Judge is our own Purple Queen… Miranda Kate!

The challenge opens the moment you read this post and runs through MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME on Friday July 4th.

Now… go write!