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Flash Fiction Challenge: Friend or Foe

Photo by K.S. Brooks

Being a guardian isn’t easy. My people are remarkably unaware. I honestly don’t know how they ever got along without me. I rarely see them sniff anything—not even each other.

And here is another situation. There comes a stranger and what do my people do? They make goo-goo sounds at it. Really? That is the first impression you want to make?

Cats are notoriously psychotic. There is no telling what this character is up to. I guess I’ll have to check this out myself.

In 250 words or less, tell me a story incorporating the elements in the picture. The 250 word limit will be strictly enforced. Continue reading “Flash Fiction Challenge: Friend or Foe”

Book Brief: Serial Date

Serial Date
by DV Berkom
Genre: Thriller/satire
65,000 words

A retired assassin. A serial killer with a social agenda.

A politician with a fondness for free-range livestock.

Determined to leave her old life behind, retired assassin Leine Basso accepts a job working security at one of television’s most popular reality shows, SerialDate. When a contestant is found dead in the prop closet, it appears the killer is one of the ‘bachelors’ on the show- an ex-con billed as a serial killer- but the detective in charge of the case isn’t so sure.

When Leine’s estranged daughter is abducted by a man claiming to be the real killer, she’s forced to rely on old skills to find her, and must come to terms with who she really is. She soon realizes the murderer may be a grisly remnant from her past and she’ll need to use all of her cunning to stop him and rescue her daughter.

This title is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. Continue reading “Book Brief: Serial Date”

How “Real” Should A Novel Be? by John Wayne Falbey

Author John Wayne Falbey
Author John Wayne Falbey

Back in April, author James Bruno suggested in these pages what he believes are the two essential ingredients for a successful novel. One of these is knowledge of the subject matter. His point is that successful works of fiction utilize characters and story lines that closely resemble reality; in other words, they achieve verisimilitude.

The other critical ingredient lies in crafting a good story. Attorneys have a label for something this obvious: sine qua non; which means the thing speaks for itself. Readers of fiction invariably are in search of a good story. They want to be entertained by the written word. Shallow characters, inadequate descriptive passages, choppy or overly verbose dialog, and weak plots won’t attract large numbers of readers or build a fan base.

With regard to the first point, unless the novel falls into the genres of fantasy, horror, or science fiction, the writer has to create a scenario that could be real. Verisimilitude is achieved when the reader suspends disbelief. This means the writer has to fully understand the subject matter about which he or she is writing. There are a limited number of ways to accomplish this. Continue reading “How “Real” Should A Novel Be? by John Wayne Falbey”

Congrats to our Weekly Flash Fiction Winner, Dick Waters

Today we’re pleased to announce Dick Waters as the winner of the Indies Unlimited weekly Flash Fiction competition.

The winning entry is rewarded with a special feature here today and a place in our collection of winners which will be published as an e-book at year end.

Congratulations to Dick, and thanks to everyone who participated – excellent entries! Now, without further ado, here’s the winning entry: Continue reading “Congrats to our Weekly Flash Fiction Winner, Dick Waters”