Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.35

Welcome to the Mid-Week Blues-Buster Flash Fiction Challenge, Year 2, Week 35.

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 continues the darker theme established by Emiliana Torrini last week.

The tune is, “Not of This World”, by Danzig.

Here’s the link; http://youtu.be/UdUtPdu7lXE

This week’s Judge is acclaimed author of all things horror… Lisa McCourt Hollar.

The challenge opens the moment you read this post and runs through MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME on Friday January 30th.

Now… Go write!!!

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Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.34 WINNERS

Judge Miranda Kate had some great stories to read this week…

Here are her decisions;

This week we had 6 entries, along with a great song. I did want to write for it – and actually have, but will be posting it to my blog as it was inadmissible. As always you guys don’t make it easy to pick.

First place – and overall Winner – Lisa Shambrook @LastKrystallos

This tale allowed the reader to feel every single second and moment of emotion and tension. And we are pulled through the story not quite sure what the situation is, what the main character has done and is going to do, until the end, completed the full arc of the story. It was powerful and succinct, using all the senses. Loved it.

Second place goes to Susan O’Reilly @susanOReilly3

I was totally taken with the rhyme in this one, I love the rhythm it strikes up. It aided to the flow and the story and I am impressed at how it can be achieved. And being written in first person it also brought me closer to the story and the MC. I liked the moral high ground the killer walks on, and also the outcome. Good piece. 

Third place goes to Mona Bliss @MissBliss

Ah, the voices that haunt us in life, and control us, however much we want to fight against them. The repetition in this really worked for me, and the tension came across well as the story unfolded, watching someone try and hold onto their sanity. Good stuff. 

Mazel tov to all of our Winners.

Lisa… here’s another Winner’s Badge for you;

Thanks to all of our writers & readers and thanks to Judge Miranda Kate.

See you on Tuesday!

#SnippetSunday – Hard-Boiled/Noir WIP – January 25, 2015

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 opens with our hungry hero about to enter Beau’s Bar & Grill…

Inside, Beau’s décor echoed the no-frills simplicity of the building’s exterior. A polished maplewood bar and a collection of barstools took up the right side of the room. A row of booths filled the opposite wall. Two pool tables were set up in the dark back corner, behind the booths. A brand new dartboard, glorious in red and black and set high in the middle of the back wall, pulled the whole room together.

The man himself stood behind the bar, holding court with a couple of guys in matching white t-shirts and blue denim coveralls.

Beau was a tall man who filled out the Redskins jersey he wore under his apron. He had a lot of forehead and a wide, flat nose. A shock of dark hair crowned the very top of his head. An unfortunate clump of brown weeds on the point of his chin ruined an otherwise good jaw.

As always, thanks for reading & thanks for any feedback you feel inclined to leave…

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.34

Welcome to the Mid-Week Blues-Buster Flash Fiction Challenge, Year 2, Week 34.

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 a dark one (shocker, I know). It’s a great tune by Emiliana Torrini called, “Gun”.

Here’s the link; http://youtu.be/QOLCXPRg650

This week’s Judge is the Purple Queen herself… Miranda Kate!

The challenge opens the moment you read this post and runs through MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME on Friday January 23rd.

Now… Go write!!!

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.33 WINNERS

Four days, five entries. Not too shabby.

I’d like to welcome several first-timers to the MWBB family. We managed five entries with nary a peep from any of our usual suspects.

Judge Mark Ethridge had good stuff to read.

Here’s Judge Mark;

And, here’s the results, as I felt them.

And, here I go, reading the five stories this week.

@susanORielly3 – Ah. Women. More dangerous than men any day.

@StacyFileccia – The short memories of children are a wonderful thing, aren’t they?

@RL_Ames – One unpleasant male with a shovel, a car, and a now ex-girlfriend. And no guilt at all.

@beckyfyfe – One mother outsmarts her two daughters. Once more. Women. More dangerous than men any day.

@alexbrightsmith – Sometimes, a guy has to learn things the hard way, doesn’t he?

Five well done stories, all of them winning. So, we’re changing the rules this week, so everyones stories get the recognition they deserve.

Honorable Mentions – These go to @StacyFileccia (I wanted more of the children, more of the misery, more of the bleak summer, and more of the dancing in the rain.) and @RL_Ames (724 words, oops. Otherwise, one rather nasty dude in this story.).

3rd Place – @alexbrightsmith (Love the story. Just felt like I was missing some detail somewhere).

2nd Place – @susanORielly3 (Wanted more detail in what the former girlfriend did in retaliation. Is it a dead body thing?)

And 1st Place – @beckyfyfe (The wisdom of motherhood, and the magic ability mothers have to change everything).

There you have it guys. No one lost this week. Thank you all for writing stories I had such fun reading.

Mazel tov to all of our Winners.

Becky– here’s a Winner’s Badge for your collection.

Thanks to all of our writers and readers, and thanks to Judge Mark Ethridge.

See you on Tuesday…

#SnippetSunday – Hard-Boiled/Noir WIP – January 18, 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 continues the early slice of the WIP I posted from last week. Our hero, Jake, has just rolled into town and is checking out the accommodations. The narrative picks up exactly where last week’s left off…

She laughed while I scribbled my name and license plate number down. She had a nice laugh, throaty and well-used.

“What brings you all the way out here, Mr. Tunner?” she asked, glancing at the register.

“Ran out of eastbound road,” I replied. “And please, call me Jake.”

I spun the register book around and slid it her way.

“Fair enough, Jake. I’m Evangeline.”

She did not offer to shake hands.

“Most folks who call me home are in town working for the summer,” she continued. “We don’t get much tourist trade, especially after season.”

“That’s good,” I said. “Never thought of myself as a tourist. I’m more, I don’t know, how can I put this?”

She leaned forward, resting her arms on her side of the desk.

“You’re looking for something, Jake. You probably don’t even know what it is you’re looking for, but you’re looking just the same.”

“That’s… That’s exactly it.”

She dropped a conspiratorial smile on me. I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Mind if I steal that line from you?” I asked her.

“Mi casa es su casa,” she said, turning to select a room key from the board behind her. “That goes double if you break anything.”

I paid her for a week’s stay. She handed over the key to room fourteen.

Thanks, as always for stopping by… Leave me some feedback if you’re so inclined…

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.33

Welcome to the Mid-Week Blues-Buster Flash Fiction Challenge, Year 2, Week 33.

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 from Scottish post-punk heroes The Jesus and Mary Chain.

The tune is… “Happy When It Rains”. Here’s the link; http://youtu.be/G5x1F9ohRa4

This week’s Judge is flash fictioneer extraordinaire… Mark Ethridge!

The challenge opens the moment you read this post and runs through MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME on Friday January 16th.

Now… Go write!!!

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.32 WINNERS

Another edition of the Mid-Week Blues-Buster is in the books.

Judge Laura James had six great entries to review.

Here’s Laura;

What can I say, it was privilege to read such great stories inspired from an amazing song. Thanks to all who entered, it was a really hard decision.  So on to the results :

In First place goes to Drmagoo. I just loved this, the journey, the awkwardness of fellow passengers (so been there lol) and then that ending. Wow, total punch in the guts, great stuff.

My Second place goes to Lisa Shambrook. As always Lisa’s way with words helps me get her characters and then when we find out the hidden person is actually not a person at all, brilliant.

Finally Third to Ruth Long. What I thought was a simple tale of moving on turned out to be much darker. The interactions between the women are perfect, so well written.

I’m also giving a wee Honourable Mention to Nick Johns, very clever writing – I didn’t truly get it till the last line.

As I never seem able to write for the Blues Buster I’m in awe of all who attempt this, congratulations to everyone.

Laura xx

Mazel tov to all of our WINNERS.

Eric – here’s a Winner’s Badge;

Thanks to all of our writers & readers, and thanks to Judge Laura James…

See you on Tuesday…

#SnippetSunday – Hard-Boiled/Noir WIP – January 11, 2015

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 continues the early slice of the WIP I posted from last week. Our hero, Jake, has just rolled into town and is checking out the accommodations. The narrative picks up exactly where last week’s left off. We’re about to meet one of the cast of characters…

Note- I’m pretty sure I busted the 10-12 sentence limit. Sorry. Didn’t make sense to chop this bit in two.

A cloud of warm, humid air from within hit me full in the face even before I had the screen door all the way open.

The room smelled of mulch, sweetened by incense and decades of accumulated sea spray.

The ceiling was white– sort of. The carpet was orange. The walls, hidden behind two rows of potted palms and other forms of tropical plant life, could have been painted any color.

Battered wicker and rattan chairs filled every space where the walls dared to peek through the greenery.

The mulch and the humidity had done wonders for the foliage. I had to hack my way down the middle of the room to reach the desk.

A tall woman with steel-gray dreadlocks and fantastic shoulders awaited my arrival.

Her orange tank top fell nicely over her curves. A pair of faded blue jeans picked up where the shirt left off.

A thick green candle sat on the desk, in front of a rusted rack of picture postcards. The flickering light cast a glow on the woman’s warm brown skin.

She eyeballed me from top to bottom.

“You sure you’re in the right place, mister?” she asked.

“You got a fridge in the room?” I countered.

She crossed her arms.

“Sure do.”

“Doors lock?”

That question earned me a slow nod. I noticed she had a bit of a cauliflower ear thing going on on the right side.

“Beds clean?”

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that,” she growled.

“Bathrooms work?”

“Of course.”

I stepped up to the desk and picked up the pen that lived next to the open register.

“Sounds like I’m in the right place.”

As always, thanks for stopping by to check out my work. Consider leaving me some feedback if you’re into such things…

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.32

Welcome to the Mid-Week Blues-Buster Flash Fiction Challenge, Year 2, Week 32.

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 courtesy of singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz.

The tune is… “Dark Road”. Here’s the link; http://youtu.be/IAdRcQGTmgs

This week’s Judge is the proprietor of the Office Mango blog, flash fictioneer pro… Laura James.The challenge opens the moment you read this post and runs through MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME on Friday January 9th.Now… Go write!!!