More short short fiction

I posted about the one drabble that went live on January 31, but I forgot to mention that I actually sold 7 drabbles to SpeckLit to appear during the first quarter of this year. The second one, “Future Sight,” went up on Wednesday.

Future drabbles will go up on February 14, February 22, March 4, March 8, and March 14.

In other news, I think we’ve hit the part of the year where I don’t see the grass for more than a month. Fortunately, the roads are mostly clear, although there are places where the ice has built up and seems like it will never melt. (Also, some corners get to be a bit hazardous, as the snowplows pile up the white stuff and you can’t see whether a car’s coming.)

Thus, we’re trying to keep the bird feeders stocked for our feathered friends. They seem to appreciate it, even the ones who are camera shy. I’ve been trying to get a picture of this red-bellied woodpecker for a while now, but every time I moved toward the window, he would fly away. Today, I resorted to crawling below the window ledge until I got into a position where I could take his picture.
red-bellied woodpecker

Friday flash: Hot Stuff

Hot Stuff

Competition got stiffer as Andi advanced through the elimination rounds. The berries flambé in the previous round had been particularly vicious, but Andi was a better cook. Her creations were unexpected, vibrant.

Looking around the room at the other cooking stations, she caught glimpses of sharks making fin soup, lobsters boiling (she didn’t want to know what), and ghosts making ectoplasm cheese.

She finished dicing peppers and dropped them into her bowl. Done! This salsa wouldn’t just bite back; it would bite first.

Andi set the salsa loose. The other contestants on the Monster Food Circuit didn’t stand a chance.


100 words

My blog is participating in the Forward Motion Flash Friday Blog Group, a weekly flash fiction exercise (not that I’m managing weekly!). Check out the other participating blogs for more flash.

Friday flash: Pull the Sword

Pull the Sword

The country without a king lost battle after battle. Whether the winter or the invaders took a heavier toll, none could say. Villagers huddled together, staring at the Winter Sword buried to its hilt in the market square. If only . . . but none could pull it, even the old king’s half-brother’s cousin’s bastard.

Then, one day, the hilt dripped.

Spring came, and there was no longer a sword to claim. The country pledged to its new queen, and life went on. Still, for generations after, ice flowers grew in the market square, and villagers waited for their king to return.

— The End —


100 words

My blog is participating in the Forward Motion Flash Friday Blog Group, a weekly flash fiction exercise (not that I’m managing weekly!). Check out the other participating blogs for more flash.