Saturday 28 February 2015

And here we are.

Good afternoon,

Life seems to have taken both RR and I hostage this last week.  We both apologize for the delay!

Right to it, then!

Our winner this week is Sandra Davies with Problems with mother-in-law:  Smooth use of the prompts, but truthfully, it was the last line that clinched it for me!  Very clever and just really funny.  Thank you.

Also in the winner's circle this week is Michael B. Fletcher with Guardian:  I just like the flow of this, and a ginger werewolf?  A rare thing indeed, in my experience.

The Tome has been growling at me and chewing at my boot.  As my foot happens to be still in it, I'll go ahead and give the little darling leave to give us this week’s words.

Key
Fur
Damnation

The usual rules apply: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialized fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine.

Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social media best pleases you and, if you like, remind your friends that we are open to new and returning writers.

You have until Friday, March 6th.  Winners and words on Saturday, March 7th.

Sunday 15 February 2015

Snow Blind.

Good afternoon.

I am beginning to firmly believe that whatever creatures might have come out into the snows of New England to stalk and haunt the darkest recesses of  the mind, have given up the whole notion.  I've lost count of how many inches of snow we now have, though I have just shoveled the walk, and I can tell you that the snow was just about up to my hips. I'm thinking about 3 feet and we're NOT talking drifts here.  

Mind, body and soul feel bone white, ice cold, and dryly brittle, these days.  

However, there are have been stories to read, and an internet connection to argue with, so I've been kept busy!

Our winner this week is  Patricia Purvis with Le Rue Le Veut:  A truly touching little tale of horror.  More so, because of the truth of it.  Thank you!

And now the Tome, which is as fed up with snow as I, has given us some new words.

Ginger
Measure
Sentry

The usual rules apply: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialized fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine.

Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social media best pleases you and, if you like, remind your friends that we are open to new and returning writers.

You have until Friday, February 20th.  Winners and words on Saturday, February 21st.

Sunday 8 February 2015

Stir Crazy

This is the part of winter I find the hardest. Snow is no longer a pretty surprise (if it ever really was), but instead a regular inconvenience. While my house is nicely insulated and comfortable, I grow weary of having to spend so much time indoors. Alas, I don't have the tolerance for cold that Colleen enjoys, so the result is that I get a bad case of cabin fever starting about mid-February and lasting until the earth wakes up with that particular warming dirt smell it has here in the Midwest. A couple of months off, that is, so instead, I shall keep myself amused by writing and reading dark tales here.

The winner this week is Foxxglove with her tale of bloodthirsty ambition, Fiddle-Dee-Dee. Thank for your sharing that delightfully dark story!

Honorable mention goes to David Barber, whose Untitled tale of an unknown assailant was chilling indeed. Welcome back, David!

And now for the words I hope will spark more great stories from you all:

Comparison
Express
Responsible

The usual rules apply: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialized fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine.

Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social media best pleases you and, if you like, remind your friends that we are open to new and returning writers.

You have until Friday, February 13th (oooh, spooky!).  Winners and words on Saturday, February 14th (also spooky, in a different way!).

The Gates are Open!

Thursday 5 February 2015

Flash Fool Contest

Evening all,
Not sure how many of you enter writing contests, but I came across this one and I thought I'd post it up here in case anyone's interesed.

Flash Fool Contest



Here's the blurb on the splash page.  From there you can get links to submit.  They are charging $6.00 as an entry fee.


"Flash Future is now in the past, and we’re moving on to our next quarterly contest. This go-round we’re cooking up a contest with the theme of#FlashFool that will appear in a mega-issue on (you guessed it) April Fool’s Day. That also just so happens to be The Molotov Cocktail‘s 5-year anniversary, so, yeah, it’s kind of a big deal.
The key to this contest will be a twist ending. Genre is wide open. Scare us, make us laugh, blow our minds, makes us feel all ushy-gushy… whatever. We simply require some kind of unexpected ending.
What’s in it for all you little M. Night Shyamalans out there? The following, as long as you can pull off a far less-contrived twist than that hack M. Night Shyamalan:"

$200 for Flash Fool winner
$75 for runner-up
$50 for second runner-up
(We also give mad props to 4th-10th place, publishing them as
Honorable Mentions in our April Fool’s Day mega-issue!)

Sunday 1 February 2015

Winners and Words ! Week ending Friday, January 30, 2015

Good afternoon!
I'm going to get right to it, as my connection is still a bit wonky and has made me late.

Our winner this week is Antonia Woodville with Infinity 85: This installment is smooth as silk and delicious as the finest chocolate!  Brilliant use of the prompts.  A sheer joy to read.  Thank you!

Also winning this week is Sandra Davies with Rallying [Threshold 52]:  Sandra, I honestly had a difficult time deciding which of your installments this week to choose.  Both were grand, but I just loved how you used the prompts in this.  I'm dying to find out what happens next.  Thank you!

And now on to the "other" good part!  The Tome has provided new words!

Baton
Cry
Frost

The usual rules apply: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialized fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine.

Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social media best pleases you and, if you like, remind your friends that we are open to new and returning writers.

You have until Friday, February 6th.  Winners and words on Saturday, February 7th.

The Gates are Open!