Flash Fiction Friday By HL Carpenter

My Summer Vacation By HL Carpenter

Name: Tovi Taggert

Class: Honeysuckle Hollow High Freshman Honors English

Assignment: Essay—My Summer Vacation
Due Date: The first day of school

Mom and I are spending the summer in Honeysuckle Hollow because Gramma fell down and broke her hip. We’re moving back to the city as soon as she’s better.
 

That’s lame. I have no idea how to write this essay. I’d rather draw a picture. I’m better at drawing than writing, though it’s hard to do either while I’m sitting in Honeysuckle Hollow Park, where it’s darker than dark this time of night. I don’t like the dark. Do you? I mean, it’s all right when you’re in your house, and you know all the shadows, and the green glow from the nightlight in the hall lets you see nothing’s hiding in the corners, ready to pounce.
 

At least I have my phone—not that I can call anyone, because the phone doesn’t work in the park, which, as I already told you, is where I am. In the park, in the dark—Ha! That rhymes! I’m a poet and don’t know it. Sorry. I get silly when I’m sort-of-scared. I’m not really scared, despite all the creepy, crawly critters that are probably surrounding me this very moment, ready to take a nip out of my backside or gnaw off my arm. I’m just a little scared. All right. A lot scared. It’s so darn...dark.
 

I’ll be okay if I don’t think about how dark it is. I can do this. I will do this. I will sit in this stupid park in the stupid dirt under this stupid tree all night. By myself. Waiting to be chewed on by creepy crawlies and whatever else skittles through the dark. I will prove to Jen I’m not afraid. Then I’ll finally have a friend in Honeysuckle Hollow. Three friends, because if Jen’s my friend, then M.J. and Terri will be, too.
 

Hey! What’s that—oh, the wind is shaking the tree branches. They look like dancing skeletons. Sometimes I forget those spooky legends Gramma tells are only—wait! That sounds like footsteps! It...it could be Jen. She said she’d come by to make sure I followed through with my promise to spend the night in the park. I’m positive she will. She’ll be here any minute. Then I won’t be alone in the dark.
 

"Jen? Jen, is that you?"

****
 

Welcome HL Carpenter - A mother/daughter combination! Thank you for participating in Flash Fiction Friday. This piece sets the scene so well. I was immediately drawn in and now I want to know - Who's there???

 

Tell us three things about yourselves.

 

1.  We write because...we love to read.

2.  If we were a character in a book, we would be...one feisty heroine!
3.  Our superhuman power would be...mindreading. No, flying. No, mindreading while flying. :)

 

Connect with this dynamic duo and learn more.
 

The Carpenters write from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories, is unreal but not untrue. The SkyHorse, featuring fourteen-year-old Tovi Taggert, was their first young adult e-novel. Keep up with what’s going on in Carpenter Country at HLCarpenter.com, or connect on Google+.

 

We encourage readers to comment on this Flash Fiction Friday piece. What are your thoughts? 

Heat Anthology of Short Stories

Heat Anthology of Short Stories

Compiled & Edited By Dee White

This entertaining anthology has been written by authors from around the globe. Each story is around 500 words. They are an eclectic collection of  historical, contemporary, suspense, fantasy, biographical and adventure works of fiction. Many are the works of first time authors, some are multi-published.
Read prize winning and shortlisted stories from the 2014 DeeScribe Writing Summer Writing Competition.

I am thrilled to have "Splish Splash Flash" included in this anthology, alongside the other talented writers.

ALL proceeds of sales to benefit the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

Did you know that less than 36% of people in remote communities have access to a library and books?

The ILF is a not for profit charity that provides books and literacy resources to indigenous kids and remote communities. The tireless work they do is to encourage ALL Australian children to love reading.

To purchase this wonderful Ebook anthology
AMAZON
Kindle $3.76 AU


Contributing Authors/Links.

Dee White
Belinda Lyons-Lee 

Georgie Donaghey
Elizabeth Smart
Pat Simmons
Angela Sunde
Janet Marsh
Melissa Wray
Bren MacDibble
Narelle Langdon
Kelly McDonald
Neridah McMullin
Sheryl Gwyther
Ben Varrasso

For more information about HEAT or the authors involved
email dee@deescribe.com.au

Flash Fiction Friday By Chrissi Sepe

 

Freefall By Chrissi Sepe

She sits between her husband and her brother-in-law, all of them strapped inside the gigantic red metal ride that’s attached to a sky-high pole. It’s an action shot someone snapped on their way up. Six legs dangling, the men’s feet in socks, hers barefoot. All three faces have the same giddy expression. I am jealous. I wish I were having some barefooted fun at a carnival. I see her the next day in the hallway.

"I saw your pictures on Facebook."

She stops and smiles. "Oh, you mean from the carnival."

"Yes. I saw you, your husband, everyone. Your daughter was on the kiddie rides. Everyone looked like they were having such a good time!"

"Yeah, yeah, it was fun," she answers stone-faced.

"And I saw you barefoot on the Freefall."

"Yeah. They made me take off my flip-flops." She pauses a moment, looking deeply into my eyes. "You know," she says, taking a deep breath, then looking down at her shoes. "All I kept thinking of on the way up was that the ride was going to snap, and we were all going to come crashing down to the ground. I cursed myself for ever getting on that ride. I was so scared my daughter was going to have to stand there and watch all three of us die right in front of her."

"Oh," I say, nodding nervously.

"Look," she says. "I’ve got to run. I’ll be back in an hour."

I watch her sprinting down the hallway, her long hair swinging behind her. She turns the corner, her high heels clicking loudly. So much for barefooted fun.

Welcome Chrissi Seppe! Thank you for participating in Flash Fiction Friday. This piece is a good reminder that things aren't always as they appear ...

 

Tell us three things about yourself Chrissi.

 

1. I write because I am often dissatisfied with life so I need to transform it into the way I wish things could be.

2. If I was a character in a book I would be Holden Caulfield - always on the outside, looking in.

3. My superhuman power would be to be invisible so I could listen in on people's conversations and actions to write about them more easily.

To connect with Chrissi and learn more here are some links.

 





Website:        http://chrissibliss.blogspot.com/

Facebook:     https://www.facebook.com/chrissibliss

Goodreads:   http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5232496.Chrissi_Sepe

 

 

We encourage readers to comment on this Flash Fiction Friday piece. What are your thoughts? 

　

NEW: Australian Children's Poetry Website

 

Di Bates had a vision to create a site dedicated to showcasing contemporary Australian children's poets and their work. Today she tells us more about this website which is now a reality.

AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN’S POETRY

There was a time when poetry was routinely taught in Australian schools and children memorised and recited poems. However, this practice seems to have died and so it seems timely, especially with the new national curriculum pressing for the teaching of poetry, for closer attention to be paid to bringing poetry into the lives of all Australian school students.

In Australia at the moment there is only one regular outlet for children’s poetry: the NSW Department of Education School Magazine. The publishers in our country that release collections and/or anthologies of children’s poetry can be counted on one hand.

So it is that I decided to introduce a blog called Australian Children’s Poetry, http://wwww.australianchildrenspoetry.com.au which was launched in March 2014. This free site features an A to Z bibliographical database of contemporary Australian children’s poets, listing their collections of poetry (or verse novels), providing a showcase of their poems, and detailing how interested parties can contact the poets.

The Australian Children’s Poetry site also features interviews with poets, compilers and publishers about their work, and provides lists of Australian children’s poetry anthologies and collections. As well, there are links to children’s poetry websites in Australia and overseas, and articles about children’s poetry and poets plus reviews of poetry books.

At the moment I am seeking people who would like to compile biographies and bibliographies from a list I have of deceased Australian children’s poets. If you are interested, please feel free to contact me at dibates@outlook.com. If you have a relevant article or other information for the blog, I’d love to hear from you, too.

Dianne (Di) Bates is the author of 120+ books for young readers including a verse novel, Nobody’s Boy (Celapene Press).
Her website is www.enterprisingwords.com.au

 

Congratulations Di on creating such a wonderful and valuable site.

Best wishes with all it's endeavours!

 

Flash Fiction Friday By Kimberly A. McKenzie

An untitled piece By Kimberley A. McKenzie

 

I discovered twilight in the morning when I was eleven. Getting up before the sun, my brother and I would roll the newspapers. Stuffing the papers in a dirty cloth bag, I snatched my bicycle from the porch and pedaled to bring people the words for today before school started. The cool, fresh morning air, waiting on the sun rising from a silent sleep, held expectations and new promises. I would breathe in and out the smell of dew or frost on the grass and wonder at the houses without lights or with one small lamp burning behind curtains. Alone on my paper route, the speed of the bicycle brought me gliding through the silent roads, pushing hard to finish before the world awoke, reveling in the freedom of the first explorers who knew that the pristine moments are always solitary.

Problems with my bicycle sometimes occurred, like a chain around the gears coming loose or a flat tire. If these problems occurred halfway along the paper route, my pristine morning would turn into a long slow trudge dragging a dysfunctional set of bars and wheels along side me as I huffed and puffed to finish with all the designated houses on time. We did not have cell phones and the houses on the paper route held people still in bed or already out the door to an early shift at the strange places that adults went to when they had to report to work early. My work was simple, finish putting papers on porches before the sun rose and revealed my presence. The newspapers were supposed to be magic and appear effortlessly from an open screen door upon customers’ demands.
 

One morning, fog rolled in off the neighborhood park and I could not see the sidewalk in front of me. This was particularly dangerous, as the sidewalk had large cracks and broken cement in places that normally I would navigate around. The fog was also irritating as I could not see the houses’ porches well enough to aim and toss the rolled papers to land square on the doorsteps. I had to place all of the papers within the open screen doors and hope that no one would be too upset to tip me at collections time. I walked my bicycle along instead of pedaling over questionable dangers that might cause me to tumble head over heels onto the road. 
 

Up ahead, in the greyish mist, I thought I saw two shadows moving in my direction. My first thought was that it was strange to see someone else out in the early morning air. My next thought was to be careful, although I was not afraid of strangers, because paper peddlers were easy targets for older kids looking for trouble. The shadows weaved in and out of the fog wavering between the sidewalk and the street. Even though I was moving in their direction, the two people obviously up ahead of me did not seem to come any closer.

Welcome Kimberley A. McKenzie! Thank you for participating in Flash Fiction Friday. This piece reminded me of getting up early to bicycle up to the paddock and let my horse out. Best of luck with your writing.

 

 

 

Tell us three things about yourself Kimberley.

1. I write because I am a writer.

 

2. If I was a character in a book I would be sad, because art is only a semblance of life.

 

3. My super human power would be finding the stories in others.

 

To connect with Kimberley and learn more here are some links.





Website:  kimberlymckenzie.com

Blog:       http://kaktpgster.wordpress.com

 

We encourage readers to comment on this Flash Fiction Friday piece. What are your thoughts? 

　

Jamie Brown Is NOT Rich By Adam Wallace (JUST RELEASED!)

Jamie Brown Is NOT Rich By Adam Wallace.

 

Jamie Brown is NOT Rich is an illustrated chapter book for Primary school children who like reading, laughing, and being awesome. It is a fish out of water story about a VERY poor family trying to fit into a VERY rich suburb.

 

Recommended Age: 6-12

Publisher: Ford Street Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-9250003-6-8

RRP: $17.95

 

 

There was much anticipation and excitement at the Dandenong library last weekend. Adam Wallace was there to launch his brand new book - Jamie Brown is NOT Rich. With nearly 20 printed books to his name there will be something on his list to please everyone. This new one is no exception and is completely written and illustrated by Wallace. It is available in all good book shops now!

 

 

Welcome Adam, tell us a little about your writing journey.

Well, after travelling through Writing-Is-Awesome Town all the way through school, a bad experience in Year 12 meant I took the bus to Stopping-Writing-ville after high school and did engineering. Ten years later I started writing again, and there was an express train to What-Was-I-Thinking-Writing-Is-Awesome-I-Want-To-Be-A-Writer station. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an express, and it stopped often at the Rejection Station ... around 150 times in fact! So I got off and grabbed a cab to the lovely village of Self-Publishing. Three years later a publisher dropped into town and decided to give me a lift to the neighbouring village of Traditional Publishing. I now spend my time between the two villages, with the occasional train ride to the Rejection Station, just for old times’ sake

 

What do you enjoy most about being a writer?

Apart from everything, I guess it would be the feeling of ... nah, it’s everything! I love the process of writing, I love hearing kids laugh at my writing, I love getting emails and letters about my writing, and even editing has found a soft spot in my heart ... it has changed it and made it boring, but it’s there.

 

What is the hardest aspect of being a writer?

For me at this stage it is finding a balance between creating and promoting. Even with my traditionally published books, I am out there selling and promoting pretty much 365 days a year, either face to face at festivals, markets and schools, or making connections online. I have to make sure I still leave time to create and write. And I guess the rejections are still hard, especially with a piece I really believe in and know, as much as anyone can know, that kids will love.

 

Writers are sometimes influenced by things that happen in their own lives. Are you?

I am. Well, if by influenced you mean I put things into my stories. I am influenced by things I see and things people say and song lyrics and burps my wife does and ... whoops, did I just say that out loud? Oh well, I don’t think there’s any way I can take it out. It was a pretty good burp anyway!

 

Tell us about your publications?

I write for Primary School aged children (mainly). I have books with gross rhyming short stories (The Better out Than In series); I have books that teach kids how to draw cartoons (Rhymes With Art); I have adventure-comedy-quest novels for kids (The Pete McGee series); I have Dr Seussish picture books (The Share-a-not, Mac O’Beasty and The Negatees); I have picture books for pre-schoolers that glow in the dark or come with bubbles or have a toy that runs through them; and I have a brand new illustrated chapter book called Jamie Brown is NOT Rich (released May 2014, get it while it’s hot!), which is the first book I have written and illustrated.

I think that’s it!

 

What is the most surprising thing about writing/publishing you have learnt?

The variety of journeys writers experience. Some get published straight away, others take years. Some self-publish then become best-sellers, others write brilliant books that are never accepted by a publisher. Everyone has a different story, and no one can predict what their story will be.

 

Top tip/s for writers.

Write. Write and write and write and write. The more you write the more you discover who you are as a writer, and the style of writing and the process of writing that suits you best. Also, ask advice from people who are where you want to be. Writers are the most generous, kind people ever, and I have never failed to be amazed at their generosity of advice and thoughts.

 

Other than writing what else do you love?

Playing golf, live music, siestas, eating.

If you had a premonition you would be stranded on a desert island what 5 books would you take?

 

Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx – best book ever.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli – to remind me that being me is the most important thing of all.
Oh, the Places You’ll Go by Dr Seuss – bet he never thought a desert island would be one of the places.
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell – so I would keep on practicing writing. It may be with a stick in the sand, but I’d do it!
Robinson Crusoe – this would be as a guide more than anything!
 

Five words that sum you up.

Funny, casual, loyal, bit dorky

 

How can we learn more?

 

By studying hard and being a good listener … oh, learn more about me? The best place is probably my website, which is www.adam-wallace-books.com

I also have a YouTube channel which I have been very slack on lately, but it’s www.youtube.com/awallace100

And then, of course, I am on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/wallysbooks

I think that’s enough for now!

Thanks so much for dropping by Adam. Wishing your every success and as the old Irish saying goes,

 "As you slide down the banisters of life may the splinters never point the wrong way."

Flash Fiction Friday

SURREAL by Chris Sorensen

I am fairly certain mirrors are supposed to reflect reality.  But mine must be broken.  It’s been broken for a while now.  Every morning I see the same thing – fiction, fantasy, pretend…whatever you want to call it.  I haven’t seen anything resembling reality since…

“Hurry up,” comes the loud voice through the speaker above me.

I close my eyes to try and find some peace – anything resembling peace – but it never comes.

I turn, looking over my shoulder, right into the camera on the wall.  It stares back, lifeless.

Cold.

One day, I will know the truth.

One day, I will fight back.

One day, it will all make sense…again.

“Thirty seconds,” the voice says, impatient.

I reach my hand – or what used to be my hand – to the side of the mirror.  My metal finger presses the button on the wall, which starts to blink.  I take a step closer onto the round, painted circle on the floor, closing my eyes.  I think my eyes are real.  They told me they are real.

A tiny beeping begins and I feel the pinchers (what I call them) coming in around me, wrapping and covering, pulling and twisting, all at lightning speed.  I forget where I am for a moment, trying to remember the time I was not inhuman, when I did not need some type of skin to feel human.

Beep-beep.

I open my eyes and see me, or what’s supposed to be me.  Maybe the only reason I give in and don’t fight – why I let them do this to me day in and day out – is because it does help me feel real.  I know it’s not, but looks can be deceiving.

My looks also only last for the day.  Long enough to let them study and probe, prod and evaluate.  Then I am brought back here, de-skinned, powered down and rested for the night.  Do I even need rest?

“Time to go,” the voice calls.

One last look in the mirror and I know it’s only a matter time before I grow impatient.  Only a matter of time before I decide to make my own reality.

Welcome Chris Sorenson! Thank you for participating in Flash Fiction Friday. This piece gave me goose-bumps, very intriguing. Best of luck with your writing.

 

 

Tell us three things about yourself Chris.

I write because...I want to leave a legacy.
 

If I was a character in a book I would be...Samwise Gamgee, because he is the most epic BFF ever!

 

My super human power would be...to fly.

 

 

To connect with Chris and learn more here are some links.



Website: http://www.csorensenwrite.com

FB: http://www.facebook.com/csorensenwrite 

My first novel - THE GREATEST DISCOVERY - is FREE as an ebook on Smashwords!! http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/210577

 

We encourage readers to comment on this Flash Fiction Friday piece. What are your thoughts? 

Pandemic By Yvonne Ventresca (Promo)

PANDEMIC hits YA shelves!

  

During a deadly contagious outbreak, one teenage girl must face disease, death, and her personal demons in order to survive.

American infectious disease experts expected the next pandemic to begin in Asia, giving the United States time to get ready.

They were wrong.

Lilianna, who trusts almost no one since a disturbing incident with a teacher, thinks she can prepare for future disasters by avoiding people and hoarding supplies.

She is wrong, too.

Separated from her parents when the pandemic hits NJ, the only way Lil can survive is if she relies on other people. But who can you trust in the midst of a deadly outbreak?

Praise for Yvonne Ventresca’s debut novel, Pandemic:

School Library Journal: “This is an engrossing apocalyptic story….Themes of friendship and coming together in a crisis carry the novel.”

Kirkus Reviews: “In her first novel, Ventresca pulls together three unrelated themes to create a medical thriller/romance. . . . this realistic page-turner will keep most readers enthralled.”

“Pandemic is riveting. . . .This book really speaks about the resiliency of the human spirit and what an individual can overcome when there are others relying on them . . .”

 – Kathryn Svendsen, Shelf Full of Books

"After reading it, I felt like I should stock up on food, water and medicine. Just in case, of course…"

--Mrs. Mac, School Librarian and Blogger

"...the underlying theme is that of hope.  Refreshing, really.  A fairly tightly plotted disaster book with a dash of romance, what’s not to like?"
--June Cleaver Reads YA

“Yvonne Ventresca’s debut novel hits the ground running and never stops until the last page. This fast paced story about a teen who struggles to regain her sense of safety after an assault will have you reading well into the night...”

--C. Lee McKenzie, author of Sliding on the Edge and The Princess of Las Pulgas

Pandemic description:

In Pandemic, only a few people know what caused Lilianna Snyder's sudden change from a model student to a withdrawn pessimist who worries about all kinds of disasters. When people begin coming down with a quick-spreading illness that doctors are unable to treat, Lil’s worst fears are realized. With her parents called away on business before the contagious outbreak--her journalist father in Delaware covering the early stages of the disease and her mother in Hong Kong and unable to get a flight back to New Jersey--Lil’s town is hit by what soon becomes a widespread fatal illness.

With friends and neighbors dying around her, Lil does everything she can to survive.  Just when it all seems too much, the cause of her original trauma shows up at her door. Lil must find a way to survive not only the outbreak and its real-life consequences, but also her own personal demons. 

For more information about Yvonne Ventresca, visit:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Pinterest

To buy Pandemic, visit:

Indiebound

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Powells

Book Depository

Flash Fiction Friday!

Flash Fiction Friday

Recently I have been writing some short pieces of approximately 500-1500 words. One is soon to become part of an E-book anthology of short stories. It made me realise how important each word is. What a challenge writing a short piece can be. It also allowed me to work on my editing skills. Cut, cut, cut!

So ... I had an idea ... Which I'd like you to be part of it.

I'm sure there are many writers out there with lots of pieces of writing just waiting to be read. Maybe it began as a writing exercise to get those creative juices flowing. Perhaps it's a longer piece but an extract from it will tell a story on it's own. Or better still. It will leave the reader wanting to know more.

Whatever the reason behind it a short story is great way to sharpen your writing skills and entertain the reader.

Flash Fiction Friday Rules. (All submissions to be attached as a Word document)

• 500 - 1000 words.
• Piece submitted must not be published within a book that is available for sale.
• Author may or may not be published.
• No offensive, violent, erotic or defamatory material will be accepted.
• Author encouraged to submit links (max 3) for readers to learn more about them and/or connect with. For example Facebook, Goodreads, LinkedIn, Blog.
• Author can submit a head shot. Readers like to put a face with the name!
• Author MUST finish the following 3 sentences.

1. I write because ...
2. If I was a character in a book I would be ...
3. My super human power would be ...

Disclaimer: Dream Big ... Read Often will have the final say on suitability of all authors and work submitted to be posted on the blog. Author retains copyright.

Do you have a short story or an extract of an unpublished story you would like to share on Flash Fiction Friday?

Then just email a query to melissawray@hotmail.com.au to express your interest. It's that simple!

Well? What are you waiting for? Get writing!

Disclaimer: Dream Big ... Read Often will have the final say on suitability of all authors and work submitted to be posted on the blog. Author retains copyright.