Action and reaction

 Terrie chuckled and winced, Jim laughed, Patricia was amused and Antonia thought about the money, while for me it was the eyebrows I admired. Whichever the response, they were all excellent reasons to award John's 'Going Green' top spot this week. Thank you all for your comments and contributions. 

Words for the coming week:  grease question wrinkle 

Entries by midnight Thursday 5th August,  new words posted Friday 6th 

Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all 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.

Back until the next time

 Four votes, three different choices, so congratulations are due to David, Terrie and Jim – which nicely illustrates my weekly dilemma, but sincere thanks to those of you who made that small extra effort. Apologies for my absence but it was impossible to find the necessary mental space. Nigh on as impossible as it was to pick a winner this week, but eventually I settled on Perry's 'House of Cars.

Words for the coming week:  effluent pearl support 

Entries by midnight Thursday 29th July,  new words posted Friday 30th 

Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all 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.

In case of the unforeseen

  From somewhere in the west of Scotland

Please, please nominate your favourite entry from last week: comment and acknowledgement are a vital part of what keeps this site alive, more important than ever when so many others are falling by the wayside.

Words for the coming week:  nebulous  privilege  spade

Entries by midnight Thursday 22nd July  new words posted Friday 23rd

Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all 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.

Not The Stones this time

 Last week's inclusion of 'anemone' was inspired by the postcard I was using as a bookmark, depicting Margaret Mellis' 1957 painting 'Dead anemones  https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/dead-anemones-166972  You did her proud, each entry gently steering the reader to a pit of particular horror. So proud I really, really  struggled to rate one above the rest. When the time came to choose it could have been any one of you, but Perry's nigh-literal stomach-turning 'Perspective' won the day.

A word of thanks also for your very welcome comments on my pieces - as ever the need to match quality with quality ups my efforts. 

From Sunday, for a week I shall be away from home, and very possibly in places where internet is intermittent – and so I ask each of you to name your favourite entry of the week on Friday. New prompt words have been scheduled to appear on the 16th. 

Words for the coming week:  cherry  magnet  worse 

Entries by midnight Thursday 15th July  new words posted Friday 16th 

Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all 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.

 

Not breaking so much as loosely applying

Rules, that is, but it truly has been a tricky decision, and one which I'm a little wary of making lest you all think a triple submission might guarantee you maximum accolades.  Nevertheless, I'm citing Terrie as top performer this week for her three  episodes of what is the eagerly-awaited  'Secret Armadillo Soldier (SAS) Diaries '  but also Jim for the poetic 'On the beach.' 

Thank you all for the week's scintillating entertainment. 

Words for the coming week:  anemone gentle pit 

Entries by midnight Thursday 8th July new words posted Friday 9th 

Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all 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.