Elvis jumped onto Stacey's lap and nuzzled into her clasped hands, trying to pry them apart with his peachlike nose, to interrupt her prayers with his purring. With eyes closed, Stacey gave him a few pets and resumed her silent prayer. Elvis wasn't having it. He gave another, more urgent poke into her hands and …
Tag: flash fiction
MTO Jenna
Road Rage The plan: Leave work early, pick up Charlie from the groomer, and make it to the Dojang in time for taekwondo class. Simple, right? Wrong. First, the groomer wasn't finished with Charlie. Would Jenna like to wait while they dried Charlie a little better? "Hate to send you off with a wet dog." …
MTO Heather Stahley
Appalachian Apprehension Heather's feet were killing her. Sixteen miles yesterday, tracking to do twenty today. When she and her fiance decided to thru-hike the Appalachian trail, it was all so romantic. She envisioned them holding hands on an exciting and energetic ramble through the wild and untouched woodlands, refreshed by the aroma of azaleas and …
MTO Diane Decaprio
Dream On 2 AM. Mom hustled five-year-old Diane awake for her roller skating competition. Normally, Diane was a bear on those mornings, but today she was relieved. Waking released her from the nightmare. Sort of. On the long car ride, Diane tried to review her routine, but each time she imagined roller skating, the clearer …
Announcing Made-to-Order Horror Stories
I'd like to bring YOU into my writing journey. And I enjoy a challenge. Here's the deal: you send me a fact about your life. Any fact-- good, bad, or indifferent. I'll take that piece of information and turn it into a horror vignette. Each Wednesday, I'll publish one MTO Horror. If you send a …
Post from the Past: a Mystery
Howdy friends. Or shall I say, friend? I have a mystery one of you can help me solve. In order for me to explain this mystery, I'll be revealing some author-underbelly. Specifically, as it relates to blogging. See, we bloggers have a dashboard, and like a car's, it tells us all sorts of things. I …
We Want YOU…
...to vote for your favorite flash fiction. I teach writing to homeschooled students. Readers, would you be willing to help out? All you need to do is click the thumbs-up to cast your vote for a flash, and if you can't choose just one, feel free to choose more. And if you REALLY feel moved …
Everyone Wants to be a Writer
But almost no one wants to write. Even writers don't always want to. Let's define a writer, shall we? Because I've met people who write my socks off, yet they don't consider themselves "writers" because they've never been published. (Nevermind the fact that they've not actually submitted anything!) Any person who writes regularly is a …
5000 Words Fall Flash Contest Winners!
Who doesn't love a contest? AND...awesome writerly judges?! We have both. I would like to introduce Kathleen Joyce and Cynthia Hilston, local authors who, between the two of them, have published a whole shelf of books. Cynthia Hilston is a thirty-something-year-old stay-at-home mom of three young kids, happily married. Writing has always been like another …
Flash Fiction Contest
Uncertainty is the only certainty there is. - John Allen Paulos One must be able to adjust to uncertainty, and since the weekly Microcosms contest is down, I've scrounged up my very favorite story-prompt of all time, the above image. I invite students and fellow bloggers to participate in a little flash contest of our …
KL Griffiths 