Week 16 Flash Fiction Challenge: The Bandit

Photo by K. S. Brooks

First barbecue of the season. Man this is great. You got the brats and hotdogs done and set on the picnic table. Er… you thought you did. Where are they?

As you walk back to the table with the burgers, the answer to the mystery of the missing meat becomes all too clear.

Tell me what happens now.

In 250 words or less, tell me a story incorporating the elements in the picture. The 250 word limit will be strictly enforced.

Please keep language and subject matter to a PG-13 level.

Use the comment section below to submit your entry. Entries will be accepted until 5:00 PM Pacific Time on Tuesday, April 17th, 2012.

On Wednesday morning, we will open voting to the public with an online poll for the best writing entry accompanying the photo. Voting will be open until 5:00 PM Thursday.

On Friday morning, the winner will be recognized as we post the winning entry along with the picture as a feature. Best of luck to you all in your writing!

Entries only in the comment section. Other comments will be deleted.

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Photograph by K.S. Brooks, used here with the photographer’s permission. Copying or reproduction of any kind without express consent is prohibited. All rights reserved.

For a more detailed explanation of the contest & its workings, please see the post called “Writing Exercises Return with a Twist” from 12/24/11.

By participating in this exercise the contestants agree to the rules of the contest and waive any and all further considerations or permissions otherwise required for any winning entries to be published by Indies Unlimited as an e-book, showcasing all the photos and with the winning expositions credited appropriately and accordingly.

Spotlight on…Jonathan Gould

Reviewer Cathy Speight

Jonathan Gould is a Melbourne-based writer and – as he describes himself – a “doodler”. He refers to his writing as “dag-lit” because it doesn’t quite slot into defined genres. His stories have been described as “comic fantasies or modern fairy tales for the young and young-at-heart”. I can’t imagine anyone not being totally captivated by them. Jonathan is a very gifted writer. He’s creative and has an imagination which he manages to transfer on to his pages to engage you, fascinate you, and make you smile that smug smile that says, “I’m enjoying myself”.

I have turned the pages of three of his wonderful books – two short stories, Doodling and Flidderbugs and one novel, Magnus Opum. I can’t tell you which was my favourite – I loved them all. Continue reading “Spotlight on…Jonathan Gould”

Sneak Peek: The Dark Lake (The Oshkosh Trilogy) by Anthea Carson

Today, we have a sneak peek of Anthea Carson’s book The Dark Lake, available on Amazon:

Jane wanders the shore, unable to leave it because of the voices that call her from the bottom of the lake. She stands still in the quiet darkness listening for them. She can’t just leave them there…

Anthea Carson was born in 1964 and grew up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She has been a tournament chess player, winning such National awards as Female Game 60 champion of 2003, and is frequently listed in the top 100 chess playing women in the U.S. list. She has worked as a chess coach in the schools since 1999. She is the co-author of “How to Play Chess Like an Animal,” a children’s chess book. Anthea has been playing chess and writing fiction since childhood. She has two published novels, one young adult fiction called “Ainsworth,” and “The Dark Lake,” a story about a ghostly woman who haunts Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Continue reading “Sneak Peek: The Dark Lake (The Oshkosh Trilogy) by Anthea Carson“

I Love You

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die." © Blade Runner, 1982

Here, in reverse order, are ten things I like that are related to writing. Sort of. This is a completely random list and may possibly be an early sign of my eventual and catastrophic disintegration. Actually, I’ve reread it and it makes a very abstract kind of sense, after all. If you’re a surrealist. Or a nutbar. Or a strange gelatinous creature from the Aldebaran system.

10. I like hats. Not to wear. Very rarely, in fact, do I wear hats. I am far too proud of my flowing golden locks to hide them. I run my fingers through those locks while mimicking the sound of gentle lovemaking in haylofts. Anyway, hats. I will write about hats until the cows come home. And if, upon arriving home, those same cows eat all the hats, I will create more hats from whole cloth. Only, not. I’ll create them from nothing but thoughts, like Lewis Carroll embracing Khalil Gibran while on acid. The flowing golden locks part was a lie, incidentally. It’s normal guy hair, short and greying, but I still like it. Continue reading “I Love You”