Saturday, 13 November 2010

Shameless

The 'Eye in a Pickle Jar' themed  comp at the darkly bizarro The New Flesh is closed for entries - BUT IS NOW OPEN FOR VOTING.

In a blatant and shameless whoring session I am asking you to skim through the excellent and varied entries - and vote for ME your favourite at http://newfleshmagazine.blogspot.com/2010/11/vote-for-your-favorite-eye-in-pickle.html.

Many of you were kind enough to read my entry Dressing Up Box already, but if you want to read it again - or you missed it - there's a teaser below and you can read the full piece here.

Opening Excerpt from Dressing Up Box by Lily Childs:

Swivel.

Awkward, I turn to pick at the flesh adorning my wardrobes, and sigh. The dance has left me ragged; exhausted from the relentless flamenco. Elegant feet I had chosen especially, bleed in stinging shreds. I have worn them to calluses. Yeast stinks between the slender toes.

A fine week’s work.

Ruining beautiful things is part of the pleasure.

Yesterday’s body was squat and dark, an aged gypsy. I slough off the old man’s skin, marvelling at the bruises incurred from seven solid days of stamping and click, click, clicking of heels. Yellowed stains litter the shins and I poke them hard, revelling in the pain before grasping the blackened feet that I pull off like old shoes; the toes broken and seeping with infection.

Spin.

Today I am a ballerina, wanting the fairy tale. In a drawer there are pink-ribboned slippers, full of meat.

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7 comments:

  1. Ahh - this is the black part of competition - to have to go against one's friends!


    All the best Lily. Hope it's a multi-way-tie. :)

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  2. Well, I look at it that I'd have voted for you and you might have voted for me... but there's always the gorgeous Jodi MacArthur - so maybe not, either way. :)

    Anyway, best of luck all round. Some stunning stuff out there. Really.

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  3. That's actually the third party in the multi-way-tie. :)

    I've done my little plug, and I'm putting it out of my mind. I had fun.

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  4. Lily and Chris,
    I invite your ballerina and mermaid to come and 'play with me'. Hahaha! Love you two! I enjoyed everyones so I'm happy for whoever wins. Gah! I'm watching the Walking Dead and they just axed the zombie guy...yuuuuckkk and cool.

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  5. Lily- What a story. Been into the crime stuff lately, but horror has always been my fav since I was a kid. This would have made one hell of a Tales From the Crypt episode. It was so visual, I felt like I was watching it instead of reading it and could practically hear a creepy soundtrack playing in my head. My Grandmother had one of those little toy pianos that a Ballerina pops up and spins around to a song I can't remember. I was just thinking of it the other day, and now I am totally freaked out.

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  6. Jodi - what time does the party start? I'll wear my best. :)

    Sean - thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. It is possibly the story I've most enjoyed writing this year!

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Lily Childs is a writer of horror, esoteric, mystery and chilling fiction.

If you see her dancing outside in a thunder storm - don't try to bring her in. She's safe.