Your wish is (sometimes) my command

Next week I invite you all to nominate your personal winner from the week’s postings from the prompts below.

I could justifiably claim it revenge for the difficulty you put me to each successive week – this week no exception! – but in truth I shall be away from home next Friday celebrating an anniversary, so will schedule only words.

This week another one of vacillation, trying to decide whether that one is marginally the most appealing, in ways which have no rules but are based on mere (and constantly variable) gut reaction. And it is the truth (and no lessening of prime position for the winner) that given an hour either way, had the sun gone behind a cloud or the phone rung, another might have taken its place . What I can say, in this particular hour, the currently most impactful tale of the week is Patricia’s ‘Party of Four. John’s ‘Once a scoundrel, always a scoundrel’ came close and Terrie’s haiku – first one ever on the Prediction? – a third delight.

Words for next week: syrup scrap wrench

Entries by midnight (GMT) Thursday 4th April, words posted Friday 5th

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 uses 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.

Worms not only in the moon

Worms enough found wriggling in this week’s stories, their nastiness insidiously, or otherwise, invading our minds. And giving enjoyment and admiration for the skill and variety with which three comparatively innocent words can be woven to tell such tales. For a master-class in succinctness – a well-trimmed worm perhaps? – check out Rosie’s perfectly-titled ‘The Short Answer is No’.

I thank you all for participation, both in posting and comment, and declare this week’s winner, for a lightly-trod but especially nasty perpetrator: Dave W’s ‘Surprise’.

Words for next week: bruise poster  revolution

Entries by midnight (GMT) Thursday 28th March, words and winners posted Friday 29th

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 uses 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.

From new tattoos to singed ears

Another week where I am tempted to delegate, but my conscience tells me that best left for emergencies and holidays. And so, we have enjoyed John’s  episode 3 of ‘Mexican Cutie’, Patricia’s ‘Job well done’ and a yearning to go home, as was Zaiure’s narrator followed by the casual horror of Jim’s ‘Change of  Plans and the  jilting of Monica. AR took the sensible, and brave, way out, Chris fell victim to a nasty scam and Rosie produced a dark elf with singed ears.

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After much indecision, and counting the many plaudits, I declare this week’s number 1 to be Jim.

Words for next week: digit furtive Lolita

Entries by midnight (GMT) Thursday 21st March, words and winners posted Friday 22nd

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 uses 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.

Spice of life

It’s always a pleasure and a source of  delight to see how many varieties of nastiness can be drawn from seemingly innocent words. Last week’s innocuous selection brought  tattoos, death metal and drunken gerbils.   Brought fuzzy-felt and disembowelment, poodles, Robin Hood and sexual secrets, shelf-stackers, type-casting and a Teddy in a castle.

And I’m expected to make some sort of judgement as to which this week strikes me as ‘the best’?

However, checking the tone of your comments, I doubt there’ll be any complaint about Terrie’s ‘beer-flustered gerbils being counted this week’s winner, nor that I declare there were too many second-placed to individually name.  

Words for next week: crate nerve simultaneous

Entries by midnight (GMT) Thursday 14th March, words and winners posted Friday 15th

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 uses 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.

The guilty pleasures of binge reading

Is what I’ve been experiencing this week. One after another, addictively, all six of Jane Casey’s novels featuring  detectives Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent.  And following Patricia’s question about publication, I should have mentioned ‘The Blacksmith’s Wife’ which was my first Prediction serial. Lulu seems to have lost the Preview, but if you click here  it’s possible to read all episodes and see at least the first 20 slightly disarranged illustrations.

This week’s winner? John, for both his witty comment on the English language and for the promise of ‘Mexican Cutie’, despite it having put a sliver of a relentless song in my head. In second place, Patricia, for ‘Autumnal Equinox’. Thank you all for a week of excellent reading, and I urge you to check out Zaiure’s too-late-to-qualify ‘Furrow’

Words for next week: felt map tenuous

Entries by midnight (GMT) Thursday 7th March, words and winners posted Friday 8th

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 uses 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.