1. Best piece of writing advice ever given: Read everything you can get your hot little hands on and write everyday. Don’t over think it, just write the words and inspiration will come. I forget where I read it, but it has stuck with me and proved to be most helpful.
2. The first book I ever fell in love with was The Fourteen Bears in Summer and Winter (I was about five). I still adore it and read it to my own kids. My most recent treasure was a bit more racy than the innocent playful bears. The Stranger by Kyra Davis captivated me from line one, and I can’t wait for the next installment due out sometime in March. Delicious read!
3. The last movie I saw was this crazy short put out by HBO titled Picture Paris, It was a bizarre mix of romance, real life, subtitles and dark comedy. My hubs recorded it (not knowing the woman chops her husband up and makes pâté out of his heart, which he rightly deserved, near the end) thinking it would be a fun movie to watch while we shared our morning coffee. Needles to say It was an interesting way to begin our morning, and hubs has sworn off pâté. LOL
4. Right now I am smelling the scent of my light hand lotion, freshly applied, I keep at my desk. It’s called ‘pure grace’ and the title says it all.
5. If I had a super power it would be something akin to speed reading. Where I could pick up the book and absorb the words in seconds. Though I guess that would be a bit self-serving, but at least I could barrel through my TBR list. I am interested in so many different things it would be fantastic if I could read about them all more quickly.
Here's what @quietdrabble had to say about this weeks entries ...
Oh my goodness! It was really difficult to choose, but here is what I came up with.
This story sucked me in immediately and said so much with so few words. Lovely words.
Thank you all for sharing your beautiful words so freely. I enjoyed reading each entry, and it amazes me how we all envision different things from a single picture. The task to choose a winner was a difficult one indeed.
FIRST PLACE ...
@BedeliaJane!
We were superheroes in black bikinis. With night-chilled grass under our feet, we crept into her neighbor’s yard and commandeered his pool. The water felt like it belonged in December, but we didn’t care. Giggling shrieks died in our throats as we danced on tiptoes and dared each other to go under.
She always went first, yanking me along for the ride. Before I could catch my breath from the icy shock, her lips found mine. Wrapping my arms around her, I forgot I’d ever been cold.
Tree branches cradled us as we dried, swathed in terry cloth almost as rough as their bark. I whispered secrets I didn’t want even the leaves to overhear. She greeted every skeleton from my closet with a smile.
When the sun rose, we collapsed on her bed, bruised and dizzy and laughing, like the way I loved her. Sleep found us in the breaths between kisses—in the heartbeat between the first day of summer and the last.
Back then, I thought she could fly. I thought we were invincible. Clues rained down, but my chlorine-stung eyes saw the sun.
I didn’t know she was drowning.
SECOND PLACE ...
@bigblueboat!
The knowing acceptance inside this story is what spoke to me. Well done.
Overpowering all of her senses, the water-filled, glass coffin enshrouds her reality. Before succumbing back to the darkness, she quickly rethinks the last hour.
She knew the date was a bad idea. All her instincts told her Riley would twist this evening into heartache, yet she was tired of spending another night alone on the couch. Before her roommate had taken off, she had warned her to stay in crowded locations, to drive herself, and to watch out for the killer. Bree didn’t see anything wrong with the guy picking her up on the first date, and the intimate dinner Riley said he had prepared sounded like the perfect way to get to know him better.
Nothing appeared out of the ordinary to Bree as they entered; it looked like a typical bachelor pad. Therefore, the feel of something covering her mouth as she slipped out of her jacket took her by surprise.
Waking up as the water covered her completely and the lid was sealed in place, she grasped that she was the next victim.
As the last bubble escapes her lungs and the blackness covers her vision, Bree accepts that she should have listened to her roommate.
She knew the date was a bad idea. All her instincts told her Riley would twist this evening into heartache, yet she was tired of spending another night alone on the couch. Before her roommate had taken off, she had warned her to stay in crowded locations, to drive herself, and to watch out for the killer. Bree didn’t see anything wrong with the guy picking her up on the first date, and the intimate dinner Riley said he had prepared sounded like the perfect way to get to know him better.
Nothing appeared out of the ordinary to Bree as they entered; it looked like a typical bachelor pad. Therefore, the feel of something covering her mouth as she slipped out of her jacket took her by surprise.
Waking up as the water covered her completely and the lid was sealed in place, she grasped that she was the next victim.
As the last bubble escapes her lungs and the blackness covers her vision, Bree accepts that she should have listened to her roommate.
HONOURABLE MENTION ...
@Tiramisu84!
Sadly, this was over the 200 word limit, but this story gave me chills and deserved recognition. Beautifully written.
This was my retreat, the one spot I'd come to whenever I needed to escape reality; my safe haven.
There was no screaming or yelling.
There were no barely covered whispers or obvious stares.
There was no darkness. No harshness, either.
Neither hurt nor pain. No strike or slap or kick or touch or word could reach me here. Me and my flesh, all bruised and maimed,we were safe here.
There was no weight; everything and everyone was weightless.
Here, in this tub, this locked room, there was everything I yearned for there to be outside of my bubble.
The tightness in my lungs signaled me that I had to come for air again soon. I didn't want to go back, but rather stay here for ever, instead.
I could.
It would be easy. I just had to get out of the tub and bathroom, down the hall and into my own. Stashed away under a loose wooden board beside my bed I would find all I'd need. My mute salvation ingested, I would walk back, re-lock the door and dive back under my safety blanket.
Forever.
Just...not today.
CONGRATULATIONS to BEDELIA JANE!
I look forward to seeing the prompt you choose for next week's #fanficflashfic!
Thank you to quietdrabble for our prompt and for judging!
And thank you to everyone who participated!
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.
P.S. Lovely writers, I've been a little lenient on word counts this week. In future, please be aware the word limits are 100-200 words. Entries over 200 words won't be passed on to the judge. Thanks, Shell x
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