Uncle Asbestos brings me presents when his tour is done. There are always interesting treats lurking in his pockets. He removes his helmet with a wry smile and dramatic sloth. My fidgeting betrays my impatience. He inside-outs his pockets and a slew of my favorite tiny, multi-colored creatures fall out. I squeal. We play with …
Tag: science fiction
Published! My Alien Perspective.
Sometimes it takes an alien perspective to show us what it means to be human. My story, "The Outrider," published in The Corona Book of Science Fiction, explores a paradoxical culture that condemns a cheerleader for killing her just-born baby and lauds millions of girls for walking into clinics all over the planet to achieve …
Flash Fiction: The Writing on the Wall
Shem's last straw as maintenance man was the locker room. "Not touching that." "Shem, you don't get to choose what you clean around here. Either get going on that or... get going." His boss thumbed toward the exit sign. Shem got. No way was he going to scrub a floor-to-ceiling mural of excrement. A cashier …
Duplicitous: Flash Fiction for Microcosms
As they approached, a big rabbit appeared over the edge of the ditch, looked at them quickly and vanished into the bank. Hazel let out a cry and floundered after as best she could in the cumbersome space suit. "Don't," Tom said. But Hazel didn't listen. Their ship carved the very ditch into which the rabbit, …
Fiction: Hear No Evil
I decided to try my hand at the assignment I gave my 13 & up class this week: 500+ words using one of the seven basic plot types and using the picture to the left as a prompt. Confession: I didn't decide on a plot type first. The picture was inspiration enough. I just began …
Combustible #13
Rick flinched as the doctor tweezed a sliver of marble from his eye. "Stay still if you want to keep that eye," the scruffy sleep-deprived doctor mumbled. Without a trace of mercy, he pried open Rick's eye and plucked out the tiny splinters. If the doctor was impressed by Rick's herculean efforts at not blinking, …
Cracked Flash Fiction – Misfire
This is an entry for the Cracked Flash Fiction weekly writing contest. They provide the first sentence, and writers have 300 words maximum to create some fun. Here's my entry for this week, which is a continuation of the story I wrote for Cracked a few weeks ago, Poker Face: Misfire "This is incredibly disturbing …
Cracked Flash Fiction – Poker Face
Remember that flash fiction contest whose deadline I missed last week? Well, I'm in love- with their prompts, and with the idea of naming my characters after my students. 🙂 Also, wouldn't it be an upset to have my students enter and beat me out of this contest? Consider that a challenge. Deadline's midnight tonight. …
Cracked Fiction Prompt
I found a cool writing site I'd like to share. The folks at Cracked Flash Fiction know how to motivate. Using a 300 word maximum and a 24-hour deadline, they supply you with a first line, and you get creative. Also, you get pithy. It felt like I was chopping the legs off my Frankenstein …
KL Griffiths 