Here are my flash fiction entries prompted by the fantabulous author ’Nathan Burgoine. He wanted to do a stress-free and fun challenge to get our writer juices flowing every month. Follow him on his website! (Also, consider buying his books and short works. He’s really good at words.)
September—A suspense.
Crossing My Path
On the Canadian side of the US-Canada border crossing, Suzanne is feeling creeped out at her booth after getting an urgent message before the area goes under blackout. [Read it!]
August—A ghost story.
When There’s a Ghost of a Chance
In a tobacco shop in Ottawa, Ontario, two Irishwomen have a chat over a couple of cigars. Only, they might be a tad older than they seem. [Read it!]
July—A mystery.
I suck a Mystery. Dam It.
When an aspiring author pulls out his Smith-Corona to bang out a short story for a submission, he curses over how the required genre is Mystery. Nevertheless, he mounts the typewriting at his workstation at the hydro power plant and gives it a whirl. Until he’s interrupted by a call of a body trapped in one of the lock gates. [Read it!]
June—A fantasy story. Sorta.
Forsooth!
Two gallant knights battle it out in yon junkyard. Well, maybe not so gallant, as Frank and Henry can’t keep track of how to use thee and thou in a sentence. But they’re trying to be authentic, really. Maybe Kailey can give them a few pointers. [Read it here!]
May—A space opera
The Ale-ing Brothers
After a night of partying, brothers Fraüg and Droüg sleep it off, only to discover by the time they wake that their spaceship is hovering in another solar system. When they land on the planet’s surface, they have an awkward close encounter with the locals. [Read it here!]
April—A bit o’ history
Ye Filthy Rat
At the time when educating the Irish had been made illegal by the English, two friends walk along the countryside on the way to the market. Hearing there’s a no-good rat about town, one of the women decides she’s got the perfect solution to rid the world of such vermin. [Read it here!]
March 2018—A romance
I Won’t Fogget About You
All along the watchtower…there were VHS tapes? Rangers Miriam Cohen and John Fogget share a shift for the evening. Things get interesting when John reveals his latest garage-sale find: a VCR with classic 80s films. Could this be the start of a cozy evening? [Read it here!]
February 2018—A crime caper
An Immoral Compass
Frank’s profession is the procurement of antiques—the illegal procurement of antiques. While on the run from the cops, he ducks into an alley and smells a hideout. This soup kitchen should do nicely. Now if he can only stop staring at the auburn-haired beauty waiting to be served. [Read it here!]
January 2018—A fairy tale
Truth Be Told
Four women are imprisoned by an unjust king. Three commiserate while a fourth calmly knits with the same skein she’s been using for two decades. When a hidden storage room reveals a magical tattoo machine, the women soon learn the truth about themselves-and each other. [Read it here!]
Cait Gordon—author and editor 