Recently-divorced Ben Graham is way too old to be at the Moth Sausage show that his half-his-age girlfriend has dragged him to. Heads up, there’s flying meat! NYCM Flash Fiction Challenge Round 3, November 2019. Genre: Romantic Comedy; Location: A concert; Object: Hair Dye. 997 words. *** “You must be a Larva.” I turn, startled. I thought I had the balcony…
Category: Short Stories
For Good Reason (Short Story)
A rookie poltergeist faces her toughest assignment yet—and this time, it’s personal. Written for YeahWrite SuperChallenge 14, October 2019. Prompts were: Location, outside a family member’s home and Object (which must be plot pertinent), a “pretty rock.” I never thought I’d write a ghost story in an open-genre competition but here it is! 980 words. *** Yellow? They painted the…
Sweet Dreams (Short Story)
It’s a totally bitchin’ summer for Anna, working at the Fotomat…until she realizes life isn’t all Kodak moments. Third Place, NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge 2, September 2019. Genre: Suspense; Location: A drive-through; Object: a boarding pass. 998 words. *** “God, these people!” Mandy flips through the glossy snapshots. “Piano recitals, graduation parties. Gag me.” “Can you not mess everything…
SHORTLISTED: The Carnival Fish (Short Story)
My 500-word flash piece THE CARNIVAL FISH made the shortlist for AWC’s September Furious Fiction competition! With only two days to write and a slew of unconnected prompts, I was really pleased with how this came out and I’m thrilled, of course, to be recognized in a field of 1000+ entries. Read it here. Scroll down to the second story.…
Table Twelve (Short Story)
Originally written for Writer’s Weekly’s 24-hour Short Story Contest, Summer 2019. The prompt was a rather long paragraph of text that had to be incorporated somehow in the story (either verbatim or in spirit). I won’t even bother to post it because I hacked it to bits. Many of those bits got flushed in post-submission polishing but a few are…
The Perfect Match (Short Story)
Young, literate, and Earthborn: female Six-Four-One is a perfect match for Muldoon, the casino tycoon. Things are about to get dangerously hot in the Ice Orbit. Originally written for NYCM Flash Fiction Challenge 1, July 2019, where it scored fourth in its heat. Genre: Science Fiction; location: a casino; object: a paper shredder. 1,600 words. *** The metal chair is…