Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.39

Welcome to the Mid-Week Blues-Buster Flash Fiction Challenge, Year 2, Week 39.

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 killer tune by Irish chanteuse Imelda May.

The song is… “Bury My Troubles”. Here’s the link; http://youtu.be/MKqQysq_8Qs

This week’s Judge is flash fictioneer Lori Fetters Lopez.

The challenge opens the moment you read this post and runs through MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME on Friday February 27th.

Now… Go Write!!!

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Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.38 WINNERS – This One Goes to Eleven

What a week!

We ended up with eleven (this one goes to 11) entries this week. That’s more than some months here at the MWBB…

Good thing we had veteran Judge Ruth Long on the bench for this one.

So speaketh Judge Ruth;

Great song and great turnout. Always so darn hard to narrow it down to three. But that was the job I was assigned, so here’s my short list.

1st Place – Cara Michaels – There is so much meat in these 696 words. A world waiting to crack wide. Characters straining against the reins. Hope grasped onto and then smashed. I certainly hope there is more of this story in store.

2nd Place – Jennie C – There are elements of wonder and anticipation in this piece. My curiosity and imagination were roused and happily held captive. I continued to think about Thomas and the possibilities before him long after I’d finished the story.

3rd Place – Charles W. Short – There was a tension in this that pulled me through, in a hurry to get to the end to find out WHO and WHAT. Another story that had me considering what had happened and what could happen for some time after my initial reading.

Mazel tov to all of our Winners.

Cara – here’s a Winner’s Badge for your collection;

Thanks to all of our writers & readers, and thanks to Judge Ruth Long!

See you all on Tuesday for another exciting episode of… The Mid-Week Blues-Buster!

#SnippetSunday – Hard-Boiled/Noir WIP – February 22, 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 moves forward in the story. In an earlier snippet, I shared a slice of an intimate scene featuring our hero, Jake, and the femme fatale, Marisa. This snippet is from the scene in which they first meet… Jake’s enjoying a quiet afternoon on the beach as the action opens…

“Anyone sitting here?”

A woman’s voice, low, with a hint of a drawl, seasoned by what sounded like a pack-a-day habit.

I looked over the rims of my sunglasses.

Medium height. Curves. A turquoise one-piece bathing suit that showed neither too much nor too little.

The afternoon sun brought out the fire in her tangled red hair, casting an amber glow on the parts of her face that showed around her shades.

She held a pair of sandals that matched her swimsuit and a sheer white cover-up in one hand and a canvas tote bag in the other.

I scanned the thirty yards of empty beach in every direction around my chair.

“Make yourself at home,” I said.

“Thanks,” she replied, dropping her stuff next to my chair.

I watched her kneel and pull a beach towel out of her bag.

The word, ‘Fearless’, tattooed in blue cursive on the instep of her right foot, caught my attention.

She gave me a wary, conspiratorial kind of smile as she settled down on the towel.

“You’re not one of those foot freaks, are you?” she asked.

“Can’t say I ever thought about it,” forcing myself to look away from her feet.

“There’s nothing wrong with it if you are,” she said, stretching her legs out in front of her. “We like what we like.”

I liked looking at that tattoo. Maybe I was one of those foot freaks.

I busted the 12 sentence limit by a few… Sorry. I kept looking for a good stopping place and this one was the one that made the most sense.

As always, thanks for stopping by & thanks for any feedback you feel inclined to leave for me.

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.38

Welcome to the Mid-Week Blues-Buster Flash Fiction Challenge, Year 2, Week 38.

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 tune finds its way to us from the weird ’80s.

The band is Shriekback. The tune is, “Faded Flowers”.

Here’s the link; http://youtu.be/fOSC3RXG25s

This week’s Judge is none other than our beloved Mortuary Mama… Ruth Long!

The challenge opens the moment you read this post and runs through MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME on Friday February 20th.

Now… Go write!!!!

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.37 – The Valentine’s Day Edition – WINNERS

Better late than never, yea?

I finally got a chance to read this week’s MWBB entries. Nice work all around!

Here are this week’s Winners;

3rd place goes to… @drmagoo

Yikes. Nuff said.

2nd place goes to… @laurenegreene

Loving the crisp, clean prose & the way this story unfolds.

1st place goes to… @AlexBrightsmith

The imagery is fantastic and the ebbs and flows of the narrative drew me in and held my attention to the end.

Mazel tov to all of our Winners.

Alex – here’s a Winner’s Badge for your collection;

Thanks to all of our readers & writers…

See you all on Tuesday for another edition of… the Mid-Week Blues-Buster!

#SnippetSunday – Hard-Boiled/Noir WIP – February 15, 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.”

In this week’s snippet… Jake has settled in at Beau’s Bar & Grill. He’s been enjoying the juke box selections– classic blues & some ’60s rock & roll (George Thorogood, Koko Taylor, Robert Cray, Alvin Lee, Jimi Hendrix, & Bessie Smith to be exact). He’s also noted the Confederate flag etched into Beau’s bar mirror. After finishing his dinner, Jake takes a second look at the bar patrons…

“I’m trying to figure out who loaded up the juke box,” I said.

“That’d be me,” he replied. “My bar, my juke box, my tunes.”

“Doesn’t quite fit with the décor.”

He looked over his shoulder at the Confederate flag etching.

“This? Sucker was here when I bought the place.”

“Mean much to you?”

“The War’s over, friend.”

“That’s what I’ve heard.”

“Hope you’re not easily offended. You’re gonna see a lot of those flags flying ’round here.”

“I’m hard to offend.”

Beau chuckled, then set a new pint of beer in front of me.

“I’ll take a shot with that,” I said. “And pour one for yourself. My tab.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” he replied, reaching for the Bushmill’s.

We toasted to being hard to offend.

As always, thank you for stopping by to read my work. Any feedback or comments you feel inclined to leave will be appreciated…

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.37 – The Valentine’s Day Edition

Welcome to the Mid-Week Blues-Buster Flash Fiction Challenge, Year 2, Week 37 – The Valentine’s Day Edition

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 one of those tunes that can be interpreted in many different ways.

The song is, “In the Dark”, by Tracy Chapman.

Here’s the link; http://youtu.be/HhGvVIISL1o

This week’s Judge is… well, it’s me. Last time I judged the MWBB I was expecting our usual four entries. We got sixteen.

Make it rain, blues-busters… Make it rain!

The challenge opens the moment you read this post and runs through Friday February 13th.

Now… Go write!!!

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.36 WINNERS

Week 2.36 of the Mid-Week Blues-Buster was a special one, what with the Dark Fairy Queen herself, Anna Meade, serving as Judge.

We managed eight entries for Judge Anna… here are her decisions;

• As always, people never make it easy on me. So much excellence in one place. I love the song this week and so many people found creative ways to interpret the music.

  1st place: Miranda Kate

  I really loved the economy of this piece. It felt like a full story, but said a lot in a short space. There was some evocative imagery – well done!

  2nd place:

  Ruth Long – Ruth has a great sense of fairy tale and a whimsy that makes her writing very easy to read. I always love her sidhe tales

  3rd: Lisa Shambrook.

  I love the lyricism of Lisa’s writing and she really used the imagery of the long black curl to beautiful effect.

  Mazel tov to all our our Winners.

  Miranda — here’s another Winner’s Badge for you;

  

  Thanks to all of our readers & writers… and thanks to Judge Anna Meade.

  See you all next week for the Valentine’s Day Edition of the Mid-Week Blues-Buster, featuring Judge… me!

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.36

Welcome to the Mid-Week Blues-Buster Flash Fiction Challenge, Year 2, Week 36.

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.

We’re going to switch gears on the tone & tenor of the song prompt this week.

This week, we’ll be writing to the ethereal, fae-kissed music of neo-pagan band Tuatha Dae.

The song is, “Long Black Curl”. Here’s the link; http://youtu.be/4R8HJYUXw4A

This week’s Judge… well, she needs no introduction. Who else would be judging the stories inspired by this tune?

Straight from the mouth of the Wombat Cannon… it’s the Dark Fairy Queen herself… Anna Meade!

The challenge opens the moment you read this post and runs through MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME on Friday February 6th.

Now… Go write!!!!! (This means you, my lost, lamented MWBB regulars!)

Mid-Week Blues-Buster Week 2.35 WINNERS

Week 2.35 was another light turnout week for us at the MWBB.

Once again, our usual MWBB suspects were conspicuously absent from the proceedings. We hope to see them among us again in the near future.

To those of you joining in on the MWBB for the first time… welcome!

Anyway– lack of quantity has nothing to do with quality. Judge Lisa McCourt Hollar had some great stories to read.

Here’s Judge Lisa;

First Place @RL_Ames. This story was beautiful. I could picture the scene, feel the air as wings spread and flight was achieved. Felt the anticipation as the bus lumbered towards the unsuspecting man, and satisfaction at the conclusion. The author did so much in a short space of time.

Second place, @disturbiakiss. I am a sucker for good zombie stories, and this is one of them. My favorite part, the description of how humans smell. I almost feel sad that he has never been able to catch one.

Third Place, susanOReilly3. This was a nice take on copy cat killing. Lord knows I have felt like doing in a few simpering girls myself when at the movies.

Thank you for allowing me the privilege of judging this week.

Mazel tov to all of our Winners.

Here’s a Winner’s Badge for @RL_Ames;

Thanks to all of our readers & writers, and thanks to Judge Lisa McCourt Hollar.

See you all on Tuesday for another thrilling edition of the Mid-Week Blues-Buster.