Congrats to Messrs Fritz and Allinotte. Aidan's terrifying horror-fest Clown Hearse came in first past the post as winner of last week's Prediction challenge with Chris's lost Atlas the runner-up, in One More Time Gentlemen. Great flash - well done both.
I had to temper the words thrown up by the old book today, otherwise you'd have been challenged with gastropod, pneumatology and coprolite (which - as if you didn't know is fossilised excrement, so rather interesting actually.) Anyway, with the best will in the world and the talent you all share, I thought these were a bit OTT.
So I did it again. Today's three words are:
- Mongrel
- Cinderella
- Profit
Rules
The rules are: 100 words max flash fiction or poetry using all of the words above. Please add your entries in the Comments box below. You have all week until 9pm UK time on Thursday 31st March to enter.
Winner will be announced next Thursday or Friday. If you can, please tweet about your entry, using the #fridayflash hashtag, and blog if you feel like it.
Now, where did I leave that glass slipper...?
______________________________________
Congratulations to Aidan and Chris!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to let you know I won't be taking part in FF again until May. I've got several important writing deadlines coming up and I'm also taking part in the A to Z Challenge. I will be back on the 6th May, though!
I also wanted to let you know I've now had six of my FF pieces accepted into flash fiction anthologies. It just shows what a weekly shot of inspiration, a few extra words, and some careful editing can do.
Hi Ellie. No problem, though we shall miss you. :)
ReplyDeleteAll the best with the deadlines and the A - Z Challenge. And big congrats on the anthos! Well done.
See you in May, blossom.
Am I first? Fabulata.
ReplyDeleteDisposable
“She’s a mongrel, no profit. Girl’s hide ain’t worth a cent”. Brassicko’s sneer widened, spilling contempt at the cuffing cop at his back.
“Mongrel? What d’ya mean by that, pimp?”
“Cincinnati momma, drippin’ gold – papa just a drive-by boy, dead before his dick was out.”
They stared at the broken body, a single silver shoe graced the right foot. Brassicko spat on the ground as Dougan shoved him into the car. “We called her Cinderella; always looking – always losing.” He stared up at Dougan. “I didn’t kill her, man.”
Dougan knew that. He had the other shoe in the trunk.
Oh I can see where we are going this week, thanks for the inspiration Lily!
ReplyDeleteClassic Redux
ReplyDeleteAs Cinderella approached the pumpkin coach, she was aghast to find a mangy mongrel relieving himself upon the back wheel of the carriage, his elongated proboscis extended fully.
“Shoo you nasty beast – shoo.” She chided the mutt who ignored her.
Pissed gushed from him as if from a fire-hose. A rush of jaundice-colored tincture streamed from his apparatus, pooling at her feet.
“Look Cindy,” he barked, “Check your contract, this is the FOR PROFIT PORN version of this tale.” He eyed her up and down. “You have no idea what’s coming next- do you?”
Mirror, Mirror -- Oh, wait
ReplyDeleteThe Queen numbered her problems by twists of an apple stem:
Since marrying into the family, Cinderella had produced a pack of mongrels, sullying the royal line. Not to mention, the stench of eco-friendly cloth diapers gave the palace a constant reek. The stables smelled better. An unannounced visit to her son’s office one day found the Prince prancing about in his own glass slippers and corset. He said Cindy was “cool” with it. Diminishing profits on kingdom crops: some peasants didn’t want to tithe, eh?
Her sister suggested poisoned apples for everyone.
The stem broke. Poisoned apples, it was.
*
A/N: Remember, the apple is nature's toothbrush! (Thank you, SpongeBob)
Michael--Ahoy, matey! All aboard the good ship Dogfucker to KinkyTown. Watch out, I hear golden showers are forecasted. (and really, you're getting in a few kinks with this one...) Excuse me while I put on my lipstick. (I hear the peanut gallery going "Ew"!, lol)
ReplyDeleteLily--Miss Fabulata, that's some fairy tale noir! I love blended genres, and this is awesome. Your Dougan's got classic detective cop written all over him. Anybody every call him Prince, by chance?
;)
Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteApple crisp anyone -tasty and tart - kinda like someone from Motor City I know..
Click, Click – Bang, Bang
ReplyDeleteCinderella on the catwalk
in her see-through shoes,
thinks she’s hot stuff
pretty strut
twist
turn
pose
where their eyes can rest
at the juncture of her thighs,
with only a slip of fabric
between them and paradise
lost.
Later on my bed
with her head full of junk
and a heart full of nothing,
she’ll tell me I’m a mongrel bitch
for bringing her here.
She’ll lay prone
twist
crawl
beg
until I give up
give in
take her back
to the dark space she once loved
and all the things we used to do
for fun and profit.
Congrats Aiden and Chris!
ReplyDeleteI fought hard not to fall into the fairytale trap...
Empty Promise
Cinderella shoes became dulled in the inky, clouded night. They tried to sparkle, but somehow they had lost their sheen.
Her skin had cooled, started to lose colour.
For the third day in a row, she hadn’t turned in a profit. There was something about the mixed race mongrel girls that put the punters off - not pure, unclean. Surplus to requirements.
She lay in a shit filled ditch, torn dress stained dark, fingers curled, her long hair covering her crushed face.
Insects emerged from the detritus, loitered nearby.
Lured by empty promises, she would never see her 15th birthday.
melenka - sexy and hot
ReplyDeleteaj - i always knew she was a whore - you confirmed it..
Far be it from me to resist trying the insane challenge...
ReplyDeleteDate Night at the Museum
Marty's date was a disaster.
Darla's attention kept wandering off like an overexcited mongrel. He tried another tactic.
"So, how long have you worked in pneumatics?"
"Pneumatology," corrected Darla. "Spirits. Not power drills."
She twirled around, "I love it here. These walls, the statues, I feel like Cinderella."
A woman leading a group of children bellowed, "The word is coprolite Jenkins, not 'shit-rock'. Now. Over here you'll see the gastropod fossils..."
Marty, a gross profit analyst, was about to cut his losses when he saw them. Genuine glass slippers.
Prince or Frog, he thought, eyeing the security guard.
Time to choose.
Lily - you write horror so well, that I forget that you can pull off a killer "noir" when it suits you. Well done!
ReplyDeleteMichael - This is awesome. Love the irreverent observations, and the dog-fucking finale is just the capper.
Rebecca - Now THAT is how you riff on a fairy tale. And the mincing prince? Nailed it.
Melenka - so dark, and yet sensual. Your Cinderella is a broken beauty.
Sory not to have been around much, you guys - have been pre-occupied with other projects and genres.
ReplyDeleteHowever, these words piqued my interest!
End Game
The Devil rubbed his hands in glee, as he watched the city fat-cats who lusted after profit.
Mankind, like Cinderella with amnesia, stumbled through the wreckage of history, unaware that life didn’t need to be this way; that there was an alternative.
But Beelzebub bred his evil into their lives, a mongrel strain that twisted and warped their values. Back in the Garden it had been so easy to deceive, he thought.
And yet, a disturbing unease that was not of his making tightened around the Prince of Darkness.
It started as the first bowl of wrath hit the earth.
The Time Traveler's Hawker
ReplyDeleteFrom Bakirkoy's alley, Akil beckons the girl, ribbons tying blond hair. She's lost like the mongrels walking Turkish streets. "Time travel?"
The girl smiles innocence. "Can I visit Cinderella."
Akil nods. "Anything possible."
Mother arrives cradling her daughter in retreat. "Don't trouble the nice man."
"I want my princess." Her tantrum attracts stares.
"Time travel cheap. Memories forever."
The mother finally acquiesces. The girl crosses the timedoor.
"When will she return?"
"Some never do." Akil takes her number. "I call when she returns."
In the backroom, behind the timedoor, he savors his profit. The girl's head lolls across the floor.
Sometimes He Really IS a Beast
ReplyDelete"Don't read her that Cinderella crap; the girl's a mongrel! What does it profit her to believe in princes, and fairies, and magic, eh?"
I nodded demurely and picked up the Bible instead, switching back to the fairy tale only when I heard him turn the TV on downstairs.
"There's really magic, isn't there, Aunt Dora?" my sister's child asked plaintively.
"Yes, child," I told her. "Magic exists." I sighed. Happy endings, though, were another matter entirely….
Melenka--This was all nighttime-and-neon-and-junkies, and just gritty gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteAJ--I thought it was a zombie hooker at first, and thought that was pretty neat, but then you broke my heart. Poor, poor girl. It's been said before, but reality is always more horrible than anything we can dream up.
Chris--Your Marty is a sleazeball -- but he's got balls. I don't want to admire him (or root for him), but I am!
Sue-- "Cinderella with amnesia": rowr! I love this turn of phrase. And "a disturbing unease that was not of his making": there's some heavy-hitting stuff going on in this piece, and I love it.
Aidan-- !!!!!!!
That is all.
Mimi-- Hmm. This one's meaty. Left me thinking. This is begging for a short story, I think. That it's told from the Aunt's POV makes this fresh and... really intriguing.
RS - I was so focused on the words, I didn't even notice what I was doing with Marty as a character. He is a sleaze. Unconscious asshole-ry. How interesting!
ReplyDeleteSue H - Love this. Poor bugger unleashed a monster, and it is us.
Aidan - Whaurgh. You put a fist in my soul. That's effective writing. Gah. AGH.
Mimi - without getting 'political' I thought you were going somewhere totally different when you went right from "magic and make-believe" to the Bible. But the way it is, is just right.
I can't believe how many of you are already here! You've got a good thing going, Lily.
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm in this week, with The Pied Pipers. I'm going to post my story now, (exactly 100 bones) and then catch up with everyone's contributions after the weekend when I have more time.
Cheers.
***
The Pied Pipers
Captured like ladybugs,
that’s what I say.
But those eyes believe in only puzzles.
I know better.
The sages toot on their horns,
Cinderellas in lace and powder…
they know too—
profit is a demeaning dance.
Hence, my dept to Hamelin;
yes, I stole their little smiles,
entranced by a sweet tune,
then fed them to feral rats.
Posters marked a red-haired man.
—that witch done good.
She knew first.
Stirred wisdom with silver and innards.
For beneath the azure of warm skies,
barefoot mongrels prance upon the castle,
hearts darker than a winter’s night.
Soon, they’ll get it too.
Lily: nice kick with the other shoe. You nailed Brassicko's voice.
ReplyDeleteMichael: well done, my mind did not need to imagine that. Loved the concept of dog pissing on Cinderella's pumpkin and then you nicely morph the tail.
Rebecca: Nice use of the apple and a great recasting of happily ever after.
Melenka: the poem romps sexy; nice line break at "paradise//lost".
AJ: insect-ridden detritus does a nice job of capturing the horror.
Chris: nicely done pulling in all six; you pulled together the unexcited mongrel and Cinderella very nicely.
SueH: intriguing, I like how you break my conceptions of the devil with this piece and make him a protagonist with whom I can potentially sympathize.
Mimi: I hope she gets to stay with Aunt Dora often. You've done a great job painting these characters.
Erin: I'd forgotten the full tale of the pied piper. I love the images and sounds with which this captures a dark man full of plans.
Damn - nothing creepy here but maybe I'll try again later ...
ReplyDeleteAim high
Box office success, he’d learnt, relied on big name star, on sex and ‘special effects’
No profit in artistic integrity, in using some really talented actress if she wasn’t a Name.
Some of these Names were ugly as Cinderella’s sisters, and acted like Pedigree Chum.
The girl he wanted had mongrel genes, yeah, but that’s what gave her guts, fire, honest passion - ability, in short.
To make her a Name would need something BIG ... big and shocking ...
Start at the top ... in the present circs. William would certainly create a bigger splash than Harry ...
It's been a rough week in many ways, inspiration at the moment is sadly lacking, waiting for someone to come and inspire me to write some award winning words, or at least something acceptable to fit in with the high standards going on here!
ReplyDeleteSo I thought I would write out my comments as at today - you've all been so so busy! and post my entry when I get it from whoever is mulling it over at the moment.
Ellie, best of luck with everything.
Lily, going first means you set the standard for the rest of us and damn, it’s high!
Michael, oooh-er and other such expressions...
Rebecca, images conjured there, the apple stem being twisted and then –
Melenka, brilliant!
AJ, turning in the impact/heartbreak stuff again, I see
Chris, love it!
Sue, sharply observed
Aidan, nasty ending there, in every sense of the words!
Mimi- definitely a longer story there
Erin, I recently wrote a Pied Piper story, are we connecting somehow? Loved this.
Sandra, oh yes, oh yes...
OK, wandered around the house, changed the clocks, came back to the computer and wrote this:
ReplyDeleteWrecked Life
A mongrel, lower than everyone else, no pedigree, no fine family line. A sort of Cinderella, not anything which will make a good profit.
Any-thing. That’s how I see myself. A thing. Rented to those who aren’t looking for class, who want a quick jump-the-bones with someone relatively clean and then leave without a look at the person, the thing, left lonely and used on the bed.
How long can I endure this life?
Until I resemble an Ugly Sister, then he will dispose of me as he has disposed of so many others.
Unless I get to him first.
Version 2 (could still do better, but ...)
ReplyDeletePlanning for the future
Unloved, like the dog, stupid, grey and ragged (her, not the skinny mongrel) and completely pissed off with the weather, the job and her life, and with the dog pissing all over the carpet, even though he didn’t know any better.
Unloved because that hairy useless lump lying comatose in the midden of their bed had been too pissed to get it up last night ... wasn’t there some saying about not profiting from a man who is a complete arsehole? Luckily that wasn’t one of the clauses in the insurance policy she’d taken out last year.
Error of Judgement
ReplyDeleteTonight should have been her Cinderella moment, but the face that graced magazine covers, now decorated the inside of her Daimler. Her diamante spiral earring twirled casting disco lights from the roof lining, pivoting on a mass of matted hair and brain tissue.
The paparazzi were kept away, every last mongrel; hungry for their shot to make profit from sorrow.
Across town, her disconsolate soul cradled her unborn, as she experienced her lover passing cash to her assassin. His high velocity shot making sorrow for profit.
He told her he would leave his wife, Liar!
Where was her head?
Literally!
Lily - Such tasty noir! I have an affection for noir, and it's done far too little. This was just divine for me.
ReplyDeleteMichael Solender - "proboscis" "apparatus" = hilarious. You didn't so much as spell cock and the whole thing is dripping with perversion.
R.S. Bohn - Bravo! I really enjoy the apple being a deciding factor by more than poison alone. And her reasons (stepmothers') sound almost sane. Deft touch with this gem. It blossoms.
Melenka - Good to see it shaken up with poetry form - the last twisted stanza is the strongest for me.
AJ Humpage - Your dirty Cinderella strayed far from her fairy tale, and into the wrong Prince Charming, thank you for sharing!
Chris Allinotte - Enjoyed the bellowing tour guide - background noise fitting for this train wreak of a first date. You convey all the awkwardness these encounters have the potential to bring.
AidanF - HA! I love this guy. Character is suitably creepy, "Time travel cheap. Memories forever." True, just not the kind her mother was thinking of. Kid sounded like a brat anyway. Off with her head.
Sandra Davies - Greetings! This first piece smacks of an unfortunate Hollywood mentality, and in the second piece - one thinks she will be collecting some insurance money soon . . .
Antonia Woodville - Ah, inspiration is a fickle thing. I feel you there. Your Cinderella seems close to resembling those dreaded step-sisters internally, and wonders if she can fight it - thanks for posting.
William Davoll - The line that struck me, "Across town, her disconsolate soul cradled her unborn, etc." Nice touch with that one, it was a striking line.
*Phew. I got behind in comments. Thanks, everyone!
Slim(e) wa(i)ste.
ReplyDeleteHe had the flat belly of a newborn anorexic, before life gets really hard and you start weighing shit and piss, wondering why those last 6 pounds 5 ounces won’t slide off your skin. Cinderella skin. Taut and poreless.
My camera snapped out dirty glitter, flashed blinding canines. He was so pretty. Damn photogenic.
I noted the tight whorls of hair cut close to his scalp. Full lips. “Ethnicity?”
“My mama was a mongrel bitch.”
I sigh, “Everyone needs a profit margin. Slide your hand up his thigh. Look interested.”
“And think of J-Lo. Get it up a little.”
A pocket Cinderella in frilly pink, Jessica reached up on tiptoe to ring the doorbell. Clutching Sophie’s present she turned waving goodbye to mum. Party time! Inside, Murphy barked announcing her arrival. Everyone loved Murphy, a present from Sophie’s dad to celebrate making a profit or something. Apparently he wasn’t a pure breed just a mongrel. Jessica didn’t really understand, she just wanted a dog but mum wouldn’t let her. Jessica rang the bell again. Inside Murphy barked then settling down he continued chewing on a small arm in what was once the sleeve of a frilly pink party dress.
ReplyDeleteLily – Noir cum horror provides a mix that really works. Dougan is very dark indeed. Can we see more of this character pretty please?
ReplyDeleteMichael – Kinky and subliminal this week...oo er
RS – Lovely opening line and set up, especially with the symbolic use of the apple and the twisting of the stem.
Chris – Loved the flightiness of Darla and the seediness of Marty cleverly interspersed with the tour guide yelling to the kids, it creates a sense of natural immediacy.
Sue H – ‘Cinderella with amnesia’ is a great line to a story that is bursting with dastardly intrigue.
Aiden – Scary stuff. Next time I revisit Turkey I shall give the market a miss!
Mimi – Weaving reality and magic against fairytales.
Erin – Some nice descriptive nuances and imagery here. ‘Profit is a demeaning dance’ is a great line.
Sandra – Aim High succinctly shows us the complete superficiality of life while Planning for the Future hides devious intentions afoot. I’d love to know the poor man’s fate…
Antonia – This is so sharp and devious, nice one.
William – Love the imagery in this ‘diamante spiral earring twirled casting disco lights from the roof lining’. It’s such a great line.
Jenny – Slimy indeed, and cinderalla man as slave to the camera. ‘And think of J-Lo’ Brilliant. Although that thought might put me off…
Lily—A lovely dark twist on Cinderella’s fate – no happy ending there.
ReplyDeleteMichael—I will not read anything this visual for the entire week! “A rush of jaundice-colored tincture streamed from his apparatus, pooling at her feet”
Rebecca—what is there not to love about your piece? All of it excellent.
Melenka—great tone to this, almost as if beauty is a joke.
AJ—Cinderella did fall into the trap, great imagery.
Chris—loved the contrast of thoughts in this and the questionable ending. The time to choose is the epiphany of every great tale.
Sue—this is a dark delight; the Devil’s own doing, undoing. Excellent.
AidanF—lovely mix of speculative fiction, time travel, fairy tales, and the costly terms of the present. A great piece.
Mimi—love that finish, and the undertones that this presents about the family, all too real!
Sandra—sometimes it is all in the name! Not creepy, but delightful anyhow.
Antonia—I enjoy the darkness in this piece; and yet, that ‘thing’ of a person you described seems a hell of a lot richer than those ‘renters’. Yes, get them first.
William—a chilling piece, to glimpse the aftermath of one’s murder, with all its lies and deceit. Beautiful!
Jenny—how clever, the title and the flip of stereotypes. Isn’t beauty grand? A great spin on this piece.
herbedaceous—loved the humor in this; dogs are not all they’re chewed up to be!
Lily – this could pan out into a nice longer story – I like the way Dougan’s ‘To protect and to serve’ badging serves to protect his own interests!
ReplyDeleteMichael – like I said on your blog – she’s wide-eyes and innocent, but not for long!
RS – love it! The image of the prince in a corset was dazzling!
Melenka – loved the imagery conjured up in this clever poem
AJ – very emotive - a sad end to an even sadder existence
Chris – like a lot of others I enjoyed the tour guide’s asides! So, did the guard end up ‘hopping’ away?
Aidan – see, you should never trust dodgy men selling things in markets!
mimi – a sad tale – Dora seems to have been dealt a bad hand.
Erin – it’s true – there’s more than a hint of evil behind most fairy tales!
Sandra 1 – a timely tale given the Royal wedding advancing upon us ( or am I reading something unintended into this?)
Sandra 2 – like it! Mind you, she’d have earned every penny before she’d cash in on the insurance.
Antonia – I sure hope she gets ‘him’ before he gets ‘her’!
Will – powerful stuff! I liked this a lot!
Jenny – Interesting set-up, I could imagine the clicking of multiple camera shots as the photographer teased out the response from his ‘model’!
herb – that’s why you shouldn’t buy dogs as ‘presents’!!
Phew.......think that's everyone covered! ;-)
How's anyone supposed to compete with that lot? Just glad I haven't got to do the judging.
ReplyDeleteHere goes ...
Foot loose
"Just look at you. Laying there widya one shoe on - just like some Cinderella mongrel bitch.
"Oh, I forget - you only got one good foot now, ain’t cha!"
"Now that's a shame 'cos that gonna ruin my profits. There ain't no-one gonna pay full price for your sorry ass.
"So, as you ain't gonna run no more, you got a new job - in the movie business. All you gotta do is lay there while we films the action. Whaddya say, bitch?
“Now haul your ass in car. And don’t get no blood on the leather-work, neither.”
AJ - I missed yours earlier on - sorry 'bout that. Sadness, and dirt - smeared onto a woman, turned into a sorry object. Poetry as always.
ReplyDeleteErin - this is twisted-good. I love the blend of images. It could be any time, or any place, and the touchstone of the old story makes it just right.
Sandra - 1 - loved it. I don't have the immediacy of "life with the royals", but you tell a great story. - 2- "lying comatose in the midden of their bed"... that's one of the best descriptions I've ever read.
Antonia - The note of strength at the end of this is what elevated it for me, and ties the thing together.
William - maybe it was having read Sandra's story first, but I thought this was going to be about princess Diana. Great twist though. Tragic with that note of black humour I've come to expect from you.
Jenny - your images have a shiny, grittiness to them that I can't look away from, and the subject matter is darkly compelling as well
herbedaceous - whoa - killer first go. Cujo and the little princess. Loved it.
Kim - who's her pimp... Jigsaw? You've got a great ear for dialogue that moves a scene. Nicely done.
been without internet connection, so have gotten behind with comments! About to close down for the night (disturbed vision indicates p r o b l e m s for me later) so am dropping by just to say the standards are way too high here, you guys are something else and the stories are outstanding. Disturbed vision way well turn into disturbed sleep if I dwell too much on the images you have conjured here ... will be watching and waiting for more gory entries before Thursday - if the gods permit, the internet connection will be re-established at work and I can take time out to revel in the writing! Otherwise, I have to wait until the evening and that will not do...
ReplyDeleteYou have spread yourselves across my pages, yet I have neglected you so. Please forgive me - the long weekend had me on a writing and eating spree, yesterday the food came back to bite me (bluurgh - right proper poorly), and today the horrors of the corporate world ate my soul.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, sorry everyone. I'm a poor hostess. Hope to be able to comment by late tomorrow evening - can't bear the idea of simply summarising.
Get well soon, Lily. Just keep the bucket handy.
ReplyDeleteSandra: Aim, I don't know if I agree about not creepy; you capture the brainwashing of pop culture where people don't think for themselves, don't dig for themselves. Intriguing; I liked the subtle dig at the crown. Planning, enjoyed how you move from unloved to dog to husband and all these perceptions reinforce her views.
ReplyDeleteAntonia: don't want to be the him, you capture a sense of despair and a warped way of seeing this, the lack of self-confidence that leads to the protagonist cutting their own feet out from beneath themselves.
William: great details with disco and spinning lights reinforcing each other. Where was her head is a great line.
Jenny: fun play with the title. Really striking description of him in the opening paragraph.
Herbedaceous: this causes goosebumps for me, nice and chilling; the pocket Cinderella is a great line.
Kim: I like how this one-sided dialogue manages to tell us so much about the protagonist and the person to whom he's speaking.
Michael, splendid title! Loved elongated proboscis and jaundice-colored tincture. Silly Cinders.
ReplyDeleteRebecca, excellent intro with the twist of the apple stem. And my dear, I have been missing the corsets - whoever wears them. Wonderful twists and imagery.
Melenka, delirious pace to this tragic poem. Love the staccato effect of the 'rhythm words' twist, turn, pose; twist, crawl, beg.
AJ, it was the shoes trying to sparkle and the curled fingers that really got me here - and then I read the last line. Sordid and sad, and so well written.
Oh Chris, I am so glad you took the extended challenge! This is brilliant; I feel like I'm in a mini action-movie. So clever.
Sue, great to hear from you again. "Cinderella with amnesia" is an interesting concept. I like how Beelzebub harks back to the Garden, and how times were easier then. Good call on the bowl/game reference!
Aidan - back with lovely language and names. It's stunning that the mother gives in so easily, almost without a care. Fantastic idea and I want more please.
Mimi, how awfully sad. 'Plaintive' is exactly the word - and you said so much in the rest of your words. Beast, indeed.
Erin, The Pied Pipers are a match for the best of Grimm, of Perrault. A twisting urban fairy-tale that dances with splindly fingers. I particularly liked "Stirred wisdom with silver and innards." Can I steal that please?
Ooh Sandra, what are you saying in Aim High about those royal personages? :) Love the reference to Pedigree Chum. Reckon the doggy and the hubby are on their way out in Planning for the Future. You have have perfectly described her 'pissed-offness'. Made me chuckle.
Antonia, another prostitute - or is she 'just a girl', used and abused. Then I read this with the narrator as a male, and it was equally as tragic.
William, lovely use of 'mongrel' as the scum that is the Paparazzi. If she's able to witness the cunning and guilty lover paying off, I want to know what she does next.
Jenny, dreamy gorgeous - I love this! Supremely dark and disturbing. You really got me with "My camera snapped out dirty glitter, flashed blinding canines. He was so pretty." Sparkling.
Herbedaceous, welcome to The Feardom. What an excellent debut - a concise, chilling and complete story in so few words. Highly visual, and oh so pink. Excellent.
Kim, ha - brilliant title to go with the story. This actually made me laugh out loud - which is great after the week I've had. Great dialogue, fun tale.
Everyone, I'm afraid that on this rare occasion I won't be able to summarise tomorrow evening as I'm out at a talk by crime writer Tom Bale.
ReplyDeleteTime and crap health has overwhelmed me this week so I'm annoyingly behind.
I'll add comments for any entries between now and 9pm (UK time) tomorrow, and will post the name of the winner(s) by midnight.
Apologies folks - back to normal next week! Thanks for understanding.
Thank you, Lily - rest up and take care of yourself.
ReplyDeleteHey guys, life and other writing commitments have kept me busy this week (and probably next too...), so just had time for a quick read. Some great pieces, as usual. =)
ReplyDeleteSome great words, too. Would have liked to have had a crack at them.
Apologies for my lateness and lack of comments. Here's a lame and very late effort. No title.
ReplyDelete"Ciiinderelllla."
Thirty years on and the name still bounces off the insides of my skull like a chrome coated bad dream stuck inside a pinball machine.
You see, I was his ‘little girl’. He liked dressing me as his favourite princess. Then he would sell me to his friends for profit.
He was a mongrel, as were his friends.
He wasn't my father, he left when I was a baby. My mother died when I was eight and Billy took me in.
Billy died with his friends when I was sixteen.
Sorry, my name’s Mark and I’m a serial killer.
I've just caught up with this weeks stories and, as usual, they are a great, mixed bunch of excellence! I echo Chris's words too. Lily, that was a fine piece of NOIR!!
ReplyDeleteI will back up to speed with it next week.
You lot are great!!
Something amazing happened to me today. After what seems years (Weeks really) I have finally picked up a pencil and started scribbling. Then I got home and typed this. I've been away for weeks, but these words fell into my hands and my fairy friends found me again....
ReplyDeleteIn true Pixie fashion, i.e. late...I give you...
GLASS SLIPPER
I stared down at the pile of gold in the corner of the carriage, swallowed. ‘Where’s the tiara, Theo?’
‘Don’t need it,’ Theo muttered, brooding.
I peered down at the hooded fairy, squirming and screaming in her magical prison.
‘Shut up you mongrel,’ Theo spat, kicking her hard.
I shuddered as she stopped moving; fingered the glass slipper in my hand, knew Theo would exploit the Kingdom’s Princess for profit.
‘We need to treat her nicely…’ I whispered.
‘Who does she think she is, fucking Cinderella?’ Theo said, pulling his sword, poised above her.
Maybe I was wrong…
Hey David - Pixie, late's fine!
ReplyDeleteDavid, ooh your untitled piece is downright creepy with such a blasé statement from Mark at the end. Recipe for a serial killer indeed.
Pixie - excellent news, good for you! And you're back in style, Glass Slipper is very well written. I am pulled right back into your fairy world as though it was only yesterday I read the last episode. Now I want more! Great to have you back. :)
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Results soon - as I've already mentioned - no summary this week, just the announcement I'm afraid.