This is my August 2021 entry for the Australian Writers' Centre's monthly Furious Fiction competition. This month the short story had to include the following: the first sentence had to be four words long, the story had to include something being shared, and it must include the words "PAINT", "SHIFT", "WAVE" and "TOAST". ~ “Where is that … [Read more...]
Purple Pain
This short story was my submission for the Australian Writers' Centre's Furious Fiction competition for July. The story must take place at either WEDDING or a FUNERAL, include something being CUT and include the words “UNDER”, “OVER” and “BETWEEN”. “This is over the top! Actually, no, it’s just plain weird.” “Come on Annabelle. There’s … [Read more...]
Mirror, mirror
I wrote this story for the Australian Writers' Centre March Furious Fiction challenge. I had to include the following: a person in disguise, set it in a park and include a mirror. Standing in line to order my third coffee for the day from the Hyde Park cart, a striking glint appeared at the edge of my eye line. Looking around, I couldn’t see … [Read more...]
Flash fiction: Escape
Long-term readers would remember I mentored a group of 17 creative writers in 2016 for The Write Road. I am doing the same again this year, with the added benefit of being able to mentor one of my sons. While Noah has always had a great imagination, and enjoyed writing, I was still surprised when he said he wanted to take part. When I was his … [Read more...]
Flash fiction: The Fisher Boy
Scene: Pelican sitting on a wharf Character: Boy fishing Time limit: 15 minutes Word count: 266 He pulled the line back in again, heart-breaking disappointment spreading across his sun-blistered face. The boy, who could not have been more than seven, had been fishing at this same spot every morning this week. And every morning he … [Read more...]