And not a raspberry in sight!

I should have had more faith, but thank you, thank you once again for such  a wonderful crop of tales – I doubt I was the only one salivating with anticipation with each new post I read.  Which, of course, means I now have to choose the most delicious and, like the punnets of raspberries I have been offered this week, to choose one from several of near-identical quality is hard.

So, I narrowed it to three, stirred them and re-read them, and eventually – at this particular minute – was able to declare it to be Holly, for her  hint-of-epic ‘Ties’.

Words for next week:  compulsory extravagant tone

Entries by midnight (GMT) Thursday 4th June , words and winners 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.

Easy-peasy (phew!)

This week, I doubt I’ll have much dissension over my choice of David’s ‘Lucinda and the Beast’. since praise other than mine included ‘well-crafted piece […] a pleasure to read’, ‘Show, don't tell: a classic example’, ‘ quite stunning […]the beauty of the language’, and ‘delicate, horrifying, inevitable’. All of which, in their recognition and acknowledgement of the craft, make the hosting of this site both a pleasure and a reason for pride.

Words for next week:  jaw ostracise Pavlov

Entries by midnight (GMT) Thursday 28th May , 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.

Sunshine on a pewter hip flask ...

... caught my eye when I sat down to type this; the lines of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh engraved design picked out sharply. Near as sharp as this week’s writings, from which I am expected to a single … favourite. The one that, in this week, this hour (another hour might bring my thoughts to change) especially appeals, a duty which accompanies the hosting of this site.

Patricia’s snakes and ladders  in ‘Cripplegate Junction/Part 231 - Playing The Game’ evoked good memories, Jim’s ‘square inch’ just one highlight of  ‘The Shadow Series: I still Am’, and John’s 5th episode of ‘The curious cases of Dr. A. Marie Abernathy’ earned several re-readings and top place.

Words for next week: harvest  panache  sorry

Entries by midnight (GMT) Thursday 21stMay , 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.

Light before half four

John’s ‘The curious cases of Dr. A. Marie Abernathy, Part 4’  has me enthralled, avid for continuation, and it is because I am trusting that won’t be the last (so I’ll have another opportunity to name him winner,) I’m placing him in third place. Patricia earns herself a vermilion rosette for her ‘Glory Day’ trilogy and David takes first place for ‘The Miner Forty-Niner’.

Such richness of writing deserves applause.  I have applauded myself this week, for finally making available as ebooks the first three of my ‘Love triangles with murder’ series. Details are on my Lines of communication blog for anyone interested – DI John Pettinger makes an appearance in ‘Commission & omission’. 

Words for next week: angle parody square

Entries by midnight (GMT) Thursday 14th May , 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.

Let me not name it to you

Last week, in a book containing glossaries of near-forgotten words, I found her name. But I fear to tell it to you for, as Terrie says, names hold great power and to reveal it might cause her to lose her magic. Suffice it to say, it’s one I doubt you’ll ever guess.

And, not for that snippet of wisdom, but because, by the narrowest of margins, Terrie’s ‘Gathering Magic’ charm-sharded its way to top place, leaving several panting in the rear, I declare her this week's winner.

Thank you all for another hard-to-choose-from week of entries (and I trust Patricia will be unable to resist a continuation with the following).

Words for next week: membrane perch  witness

Entries by midnight (GMT) Thursday 7th May , 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.