Unexpected sunshine

We’ve been visiting Orkney at least once a year since 1981. It lies on the same latitude as Oslo and the wind only ceases 10 days out of 365. With good reason I warned all participants to bring warm and waterproof clothing. So you can imagine our delight when we had four eighteen-hour days of sunshine plus two of only a little less.  Too nice to stay indoors, so much to see, and consequently very little writing done.  

Good to get back and find the choice of winner wasn’t totally unanimous. This week, first  choice was almost simple: Zaiure’s ‘Therapy’,  but I’m grateful I don’t also have to pick a runner up.

Words for next week: egregious saliva tail

Entries by midnight Thursday 31st May, words posted Friday 1^st June

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. Serialised 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 you prefer.

Anticipation

Looking forward to the variety of top places choices and to catching up next week

Words for next week: divide model speak

Entries by midnight Thursday 24th May, words posted Friday 25th

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. Serialised 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 you prefer.

Dereliction of duty

On Saturday,  having left home yesterday, I shall arrive in Orkney to spend a week with a group of writing friends and know I’ll not have opportunity or time to properly contemplate posts and choose a winner. I ask you, therefore, to please select your winner and post it on Friday 18th’s scheduled post, entitled ‘Anticipation’.

This week, yes ... thank you for recognising how hard a task picking a number one is.  Once again I failed to fully appreciate the horror rating of a tongue. David’s ‘The Voice of the Orphan’ came within a whisker of winning, but without wanting to create a precedent for quantity, and because I genuinely felt one should win but could not decide which, I’m declaring Patricia top Predictioneer this week.

Thank you all for your participation.

Words for next week: agony furnish thesaurus

Entries by midnight Thursday 17th May, words posted Friday 18th

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. Serialised 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 you prefer.

By the pricking of my thumbs ...

... and because it was me supplied the wherewithal to deliver, I’ve only myself to blame for the fact that choosing one from this week’s imaginative deployment of syringes and celery is going to be difficult in the extreme, because without exception every one of them delivered a unique and entertaining enjoyment and deserved to be named ‘winner’. Nevertheless, I am sure you’ll agree Joe’s ‘A Killer Princess’ well merits a top place this week. (Do check out the last-minute entries of Bill and Rosie Owens). 

As ever, too, thank you for commenting – it’s what keeps us coming back for more.

Words for next week: orphan record tongue

Entries by midnight Thursday 10th May winners* and words posted Friday 11^th

* words for sure, winners might be delayed

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. Serialised 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 you prefer.