Friday 13 May 2016

Circle to Circle

This Friday I am in Stanton Drew, in Somerset, site of England’s little-known third largest stone circle. Next Friday I'll be on my way to Orkney, home of the ever-fascinating Ring of Brodgar - time for writing may be curtailed.

This necessarily brief, and last week's entries thinner on the ground than usual, but even had there been a dozen I suspect William's entry would have been a winner. Hopefully time and Real Life will be less of a restraint so as to make more use of the words for next week:

Words for the coming week are:  knave, Rioja, boot

Entries by midnight Thursday 19th May, new words and winners posted on Friday 20th

Usual rules: 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.

49 comments:

  1. Congratulations William. I have to agree with Sandra's opening comment in that regardless of the number of submissions last week, I believe your own, somewhat like cream, would have risen to the top. On another note, the ONLY definition of "Rioca" I can find is in reference to the location of a Bosnian village. Am I missing something?

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    1. Patricia - as far as I knew Rioca is a wine from the area of that name in Spain, but Googling it also brought up cheese etc.

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    2. Ahh Rioja, I came across the same issue and listings as Patricia.

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    3. I find that Googling "Rioja" brings up a few more possibilities. Is it acceptable to use either "Rioca" or "Rioja"?

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    4. Whoops - my fault. Of course Rioja! Apologies.

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    5. No apologies necessary, Sandra. Thank for clearing that up. :)

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  2. Woah, I didn't expect that, thank you.

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  3. congrats, William, superb piece of writing.
    Rioja sounds like Rioca in Castillian, not sure what it sounds like in Mexican (old) Spanish. My daughter was trying to learn South American/Mexican Spanish and I speak Castillian Spanish and had to keep adapting my words to fit the pronunciation she she was used to!

    Will be interesting to see if the Captain would like to try Rioja instead of his usual grog...

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  4. El Dia De San Pedro

    Valentina enjoyed the Haro Festival. She made a special pilgrimage each year to participate. Totally committed to the traditional drenching with red wine where everyone was fair game, she brought her personally handmade skins to the celebration, each full to overflowing.

    Later, Valentina would don her leathers once more -- boots, bustier, blazer -- and seek out a fresh supply of suitable knaves to her queen.

    And the stockpiling of blood to be distributed at the next Battle de Vino would begin.

    Its rich quality so enhanced the heady Rioja intoxicant.


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    1. The gore-spattered imagery you've created here is vivid enough to leave me uncomfortable and checking for stickiness.

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    2. definitely agree with that! Such a lot being said in that last line...

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    3. An excellent tale full of rich disturbing images, a great job well executed.

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  5. Gostegodd

    As the Knave of Dschubba drifted towards the next port of call; Rioja watched the slow spiralling dance of the background stars on the graph-screen in the staff canteen.

    The quieter the port, the more privacy had been bought, and the richer the planet. This one was even unnamed, so that only those who knew more about it could even go there.

    Rioja dreamed of one day setting boot onto a planets surface, stepping away from the constant jabber of people, machines, monitors.

    She saw the tall man whose attention she’d tried to hook, navy cloaked, prepared to disembark.

    (100 words excluding title)

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    1. Welcome Jk - and this delicious with internal poetry and the promise (I hope) of more to come.

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    2. that is so good, rich with promise of much to come. More please.

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    3. A very eloquent piece with some lovely phrasing. Like Sandra and Antonia, I cannot but hope there is more yet to come.

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    4. A piece with a vivid richness that hooks you straight in.

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    5. thank you for your kind comments! I found it a real struggle to get enough of a story into 100 words, but will definitely try to flesh out this snapshot more in the future!

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  6. Change of focus [179]

    Pettinger directed a swift grin of grim relief to his DC. ‘Suspect. Hiding in the old projector room –‘
    ‘What evidence?’
    ‘Crossword book. Bad news is ‘knave’ the first filled-in clue –‘
    Moth was quick, ‘So we’ve H and I to come?’
    ‘Looks horribly like it –‘
    Boots adhering to the tacky carpet; once crimson but now long-past-its-best Rioja, they made their way upstairs towards burbling radios, camera flash and white-coated SOCOs .
    ‘We might be in luck, sir.’
    ‘How?’
    ‘There’s harlot, hooker or ho for ‘H’, but I can’t think of an ‘I’.’
    ‘Unless he doubled up. Or trebled.’

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    1. seems like some underhand dealing going on here, this is a clever instalment and a good way to use the prompts. Like the carpet simile!

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    2. This was a wonderful continuation. One of my earliest memories of a cinema is the awful tacky carpet. I guess we're fortunate that we only see it in the most dim lighting at best. Nice variety of applicable "H" words here and I'm absolutely convinced that Pettinger can come up with a suitable "I" reference if he just thinks on it a bit.

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    3. Just as I think I have the angle on this serial, the plot deepens, an excellent installment

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  7. Dealing dirty [Threshold 114]

    Released, as capturer failed to save drowned fellow, I seized the fancy Spanish leather boot – tasselled and Rioja-stained – of the escort’s leader which he’d swung towards my head. Twisting it, I jabbed the spur into the horse’s belly. As it sidestepped, I propelled the knave up and over, till he tumbled anti-clockwise to the ground, whereupon I put foot to stirrup and took his place; hair and skirts flying as I urged the horse up-river, hoping for another bridge.

    A mile, a shout, a gesture. Ravenscar. Although too distant to be absolutely sure there was, maybe, a smile of congratulation.

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    1. and so there should be, a most daring escape!

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    2. Hmmm..not sure if Ravenscar should be easily forgiven for his actions here. I'd be inclined to make him suffer somewhat. The use of the prompt words was truly inspired and didn't even make a ripple in the flow of the story. Always an indication of an impeccable job.

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    3. Loved the pace of this and the well constructed escape sequence, as Patricia said an Impeccable job.

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  8. Kursaal (Episode Twenty) -- "Fernanda Frontera"

    Fernanda Frontera performed at the Palais de Dance. In traditional flounced skirts of Rioja Rojo and boots of Moroccan leather, her execution of the Fandango was unparalleled.

    She fancied her partners young, knavish, rascally. No experience necessary. She preferred a blank canvas.

    She sought a fresh consort every month, releasing her previous protégés into the populace as changed men. Mature, solemn, utterly dependable. They remained fiercely loyal to the dancer, refusing to discuss what transpired during their apprenticeships.

    Gathering in the wings for every performance, they gazed adoringly at the aging bailaora even though she no longer acknowledged their existence.

    ---------------------------------------------------------
    To read the earlier installments (a suggestion only) which led to this point in the tale, please visit:
    http://www.novareinna.com/kursaal.html
    A link to return to "The Prediction" can be found on the site. Thank you.
    ---------------------------------------------------------

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    1. 'Rascally' - isn't that a great word? And yet another many-faceted character, wreaking havoc - well done, Patricia.

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    2. Fernanda sounds like a very rare character indeed, with a bunch of adoring men on the sidelines... whoo, lucky her!
      Great character building here.

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    3. Love the name Fernanda Frontera, also loving Rascally. I'm intrigued as to what she has done to these men.

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  9. Infinity 147
    Such action did we find! I would almost wish we were back in Shipton so I could drink the Rioja with my lady friend, who would be calling me knave, as she does, and I would tell her how we booted the merchantmen to the bottom of the ocean and here be the rewards, a sable stole, a case of fine wine, a gold necklace for her white neck and if I be thinking too much like this, I will set sail for Shipton forthwith; the need for her is strong this night. Sommat I must resist for now.

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    1. He's not exactly consumed with lust is he, this Captain, except for booty! Something really joyful about this episode.

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    2. Wonder if feminine wiles might be the key to our Captain's undoing. His thoughts definitely carry something of a desirous trait in this installment. It had a lighter "flavour" than most of the other episodes and gives yet more insight into the Captain's character.

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    3. Imaginative use of the prompts a very entertaining instalment.

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  10. Cripplegate Junction/Part 45-The Rook's Nookery

    A sheltered corner of the Loading Dock was where the Rook maintained his nookery. The bird's cache consisted of items functional and whimsical: lavender bootlaces, red game counter, decorative labels from bottles of Rioja wine and Andalusian sherry, seed pearls, empty pillbox and a smattering of farthings.

    Also among the treasure trove was an almost-complete pack of Waddington's playing cards, which Marmalade was fond of batting with a ferocious paw when he sauntered by. However, all four Queens were missing and the Conductor, upon examination during his earlier visit, had noted that the Knave of Hearts' image was eerily familiar.

    ---------------------------------------------------------
    To read the earlier installments (a suggestion only) which led to this point in the tale please visit:
    http://www.novareinna.com/cripplegate.html
    A link to return to "The Prediction" can be found on the site. Thank you.
    ---------------------------------------------------------

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    1. Oh, this lovely jumble of objects so inspired and fascinating, and Marmalade's 'ferocious paw' the icing on the cake (to mix a metaphor or six)

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    2. I love the title, a very inspired use of the prompts.

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    3. I thought I'd typed more than that. I love the title, a very inspired use of the prompts. I find it inspiring how you can weave such an enchanting world equipped with such a variety of characters in so few words.

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  11. Just realized I have taken a "Spanish" theme and apparently driven it into the ground this week!

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    1. I'm certainly not complaining, Patricia - enjoyed them all.

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    2. not at all - Rioja just shouts for Spanish pizazz (and rascals!)

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  12. Late Night Shopping

    All life is here in this hell under fluorescent light.
    just faces passing on a Saturday night.
    youths buying booze for a night of fun
    couples grabbing something for dinner on the run.

    A knave on till two asks a girl for I.D,
    she’s buying Rioja on a buy two get one free.
    The next guy along is buying milk and some fruit
    He hasn't noticed it leaking all over his boot

    Everyone focused on their own lives and no more,
    meanwhile a heart is breaking on aisle four.

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    1. Oh my goodness. How do you manage to pull this off time after time? I was wearing a smile until that last line. What a delivery!

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    2. The poetry and disparate dramas of the check-out queue! Well-evoked here William.

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    3. In this instance the last line I had kicking around for a while and wasn't sure what to do with it, till now.

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  13. The Adventures of Rosebud, Pirate Princess #25
    With a Hint of Burnt Remains


    The Rioja was well known, in certain circles, as “The Theives’ Castle.” It was the stronghold of all the most hunted knaves the world over. Maid Marian was said to live there when not stealing from the rich disguised as the dashing hero Robin Hood. Unfortunately the governments of the world got tired of an autonomous community roving through their air space and crushed it under their collective boot heel. We hadn’t even gotten to visit yet. I did hear, later, that the explosion was impressive, it even leveled the forest underneath.

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    1. Well now, that was unexpected. I love the idea that Robin Hood was really a guise of Maid Marian. Lovely little twist to an accepted notion. And why not, I ask myself. Answers the question of why Robin's legs always looked so good in those green tights.

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    2. Inspired use of the prompts, Rosie and like Patricia I'm appreciating an alternative view of Maid Marian.

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    3. The twist on Robin Hood really being Maid Marion is truly inspired, a very pleasing tale.

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