Lily's Friday Prediction

Here flies Madame Time again, so I shall be brief. As always a stimulating and inspiring round of entries last week. Congratulations to AJ Humpage for her winning tale, Fell, the Breath and to runners-up RS Bohn for Unseen and William Davoll for First Harvest.

It occurred to me that some of you go on to expand your entries into full pieces. Do tell us - even if it's six months later, we'd love to hear about it.

And so, my encyclopaedic dictionary has thrown out three simple words this week - but you don't have to make it easy for me:

• Waif
• Lie
• Inanimate

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 Thursday 23 December 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.

Twist my fancy with your words; I'm waiting...

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Prediction Winner

Anticipating the temperature plumetting to minus 12 tonight I've been wrapped in a gorgeous but horribly scratchy high-necked sweater all day. I can't judge under such restriction so, embraced in far more appropriate red satin I am ready to begin. Is everybody in...?

Everyone knows horror's my thing, but that doesn't mean I don't adore talented writing in many genres. Possibly what touches me most is stark passion which can be the darkest demonic strangulation or a raw and innocent declaration of love. I'm so enjoying the variety of work coming our way on The Feardom; thank you everyone for sharing your talent with us.

We all kept it to one-apiece this time and as always, here's a summary of last week's entries:

• Chris Allinotte stands and delivers part three of Diana's desperate theft of Diamonds. Who do they really belong to? He's promising us the answer.
• We were ravaged by AidanF's violent séance. متشابكة الجن - archaic, demonic and cruel.
• mimimanderly's self-employed loner loses hope in a bucket of acid.
• A chain letter proclaims death, then proves itself in Michael Solender's disturbing write. Reminded me of Palahniuk.
• Asuqi's caustic rewrite of The Princess and The Frog, The Dark in Deed and Mind is surely a film-in-the-making.
• Antonia Woodville brings us into the here and now with her ghoulish unchained reverie.
• Fell, the Breath spills from AJ Humpage's fingers as purely as the seduction she so exquisitely describes.
• The combination of sensuality, love and abandon in RS Bohn's 'Unseen' leaves us trembling.
• scratchypen's first entry with The Long Wait was chilling and detached, leaving us wanting to know more about the narrator.
• We were all touched by David Barber's honest and beautiful words in For My Father. So glad to hear your Dad is well on the mend, David.
• My take on a greek Myth A Greater Mystery mixes the parallels and multiple aspects of the Great Mother.
• Susan May James observes as if from above her character's assault and horrific near-demise in this chilling narration.
• The swaying sea of grain in William Davoll's First Harvest had me reeling with the delirium of the piece.
• Pixie J. King has an inimitable way of scaring us with her last-minute entries. With Kisses was well-worth the wait.

Three pieces in particular blew my mind this week, as such - and I will make no apologies - there is one winner and two equal runners-up. I hope I can explain myself. This week's winner is AJ Humpage with Fell, the Breath. AJ's poetic descriptions are to die for, and here she brings us La Petite Mort in a divine whisper. Congratulations Ally.

My first runner-up is RS Bohn's Unseen. Pictorial, sensual, powerful. My second is William Davoll's First Harvest with its trippy journey ignited by many women's fear. Well done both.

Fabulous entries and comments everyone. Please keep coming back.
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In Absentia

She's not been around much over the last couple of weeks, that Muse of mine. I wonder if I have angered her in some way, or unwittingly ignored her teases. Truth be told I, like many other writers and artists have been so busy lately trying to deal with the snow (for non-UK readers - we're useless over here, can't cope with the lovely white stuff), worrying about poorly children and poorly friends, being abysmally bad at organising and preparing Christmas cards and presents, and of course, getting bogged down by the day job - that I realise all I am is a victim of time. But the Police don't have a Support Service for that.

Tonight, I took out the ghost story I wrote for a national newspaper competition - which didn't get shortlisted - and rewrote some of it. Is it any better? I don't know. I still love it. It still made made me cry, still scared the hell out of me. I want it to find a home - a well-paid home - so I am on the hunt. But picking the story back up has set the sparks off again, and she is back. I'm so glad.

I've now jotted down a disturbing story about unbeknownst love. I have made notes concerning a judgemental and unbidden shadow. There are poems in my head that - not deliberately - break all the rules. And now I am also inspired to write something on Persephone, Dread Queen consort of Hades. The latter will, of course, require me to vacation in Crete again - which will be such a hardship.

This is more of a private ramble than a public display. I don't mean to sound pretentious or up myself; I just needed to clear some cobwebs.

Over now, to judge last week's astounding Prediction entries. Thanks for letting me drone on.

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Lily's Friday Prediction

Eighteen entries from thirteen writers proved a true judging challenge last week! So much so that after selecting Erin Cole's incredible Bare the Bones as the winner I was totally unable to choose a runner-up. So I left it up to you and by a majority vote it's AJ Humpage's profoundly disturbing Mea Culpa. Well done AJ!

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And now for today's words, if you please:

• Spring (noun or verb, any tense - aren't I kind)
• Chain
• Melt

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 Thursday 16 December 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.

I'll be twiddling my thumbs in anticipation...

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Prediction Winner

Brutal and dark, last week saw a frightening array of entries, of personalities. I loved every single one of them.

To sum up:

• David Barber slapped us with a stunning triple whammy #1 Episode 2 of The Undead continued to entice. #2 One wedding and a huge funeral - they'll be sorry. #3 He took the wrong move and all would be swiftly, and very nastily lost.
• mimimanderly blew her audience away on New Year's Eve. They should have known better.
• Diana spangled her diamonds in our direction, playing the teasing game, thanks to Chris Allinotte.
• Gothic graveyards had Antonia Woodville serving cold supper to the starving, the ever-hungry.
• Erin Cole lied through her teeth to bring us a strangling and skeletal untruth.
• A restaurant packed with silent diners was enough to warn us - too late, in Susan May James' Lambs.
• Sushi is suggested whilst geishas and delicate precision fills asuqi's teapot of disappointed love in That of Which the Heart is Filled.
• Dominion provided the spiralling, metamorphosic first entry from William Davoll followed by more merging of body and soul, of senses and self-sacrifice in You Are What You Eat.
• AidanF's demonic Qarînah lay slinky on the lover's pillow, tempting, taunting...
• My poem Swallow revealed unsavoury choices whilst Lydia takes her choice of tidbits at masterchef Marcel Garotte's restaurant in Tasty Bites.
• Awakening school-tide fears, Anthony Cowin delivered the revenge we can (should) only perform in words in Old School Cries. 
• Michael Solender likes to play. His Hot Tub in Hades had skin being sloughed off and flesh melting away.
• AJ Humpage is guilty of hurting our pristine sensibilities with her raw tale of bigotted injustice.
• Black & white TVs with curving screens took us into the past then into the present with ghostly, tragic memories from Bill Owens.
• Cold in the title and cold is the decision to end it all in Pixie J. King's disturbing Cold Reflection.

Hard, hard choices here because the standard and skill is just excellent. However, for me Erin Cole's Bare the Bones teased my senses beyond belief and sang to my appreciative ears so wins this Prediction. Congratulations Erin.

I simply cannot choose a runner-up, so I'm putting it to the vote (how mean am I?) You have 48 hours to decide - whether you entered or not. Comments below please.

Tomorrow's Prediction at UK daybreak...

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Fallen Angel

Multiply my eyes
by millions.
Stick six sticks
into my sides.
Let me spit on flesh,
vermilion.
Herald me,
Lord of the Flies.

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Lily's Friday Prediction

The sun is shining down on the blanket of snow here in Sussex, turning icicles from daggers to drips.

Congratulations to last week's Prediction winner asuqi with her wonderfully weird tale of parallel timescapes, and well done to William Davoll whose tentacles twisted him into runner-up. Everyone's comments were welcomed by us all.

Today's words are kind of easy, I think. I'm looking forward to seeing how you can mix 'em up.

• Outsider
• Invite or Invitation
• Effervescent

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 Thursday 09 December 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.

Who's up for the challenge?

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