I don't normally participate in writing challenges and prompts (because I usually have enough long term projects rolling at once to either keep me busy or make me feel guilty about neglecting them when I want to think about other stories; and I've certainly never done a daily writing challenge. Presently, though, I feel like … Continue reading My Word-of-the-Day Writing Challenge 2021
Sitting across from his mother, Eric Hardwood (aka superhero "Waveform") focused on suppressing the tremor in his hand as he forked a steamed broccoli floret. Hours ago, he had defused a deadly crisis at the reactor facility---or rather, what had been staged to appear to be a deadly crisis to everyone but the actors involved. … Continue reading Evil’s Entrance
I SAT HUDDLED beneath a blanket in the cockpit of a small sailboat with a single mast. It was tethered to a bustling pier used primarily by large working vessels on a puny stopover port of an island. Around dusk the night prior, a sturdy passenger ship called The Maribel had sunk in a violent … Continue reading Mermaid Purses
I occasionally free write fiction when I have the urge to write but also have a mental/creative block that prevents me from getting any further on my current projects. Below is a free write that began as a random character pair up of a strong man/enforcer and a college student/barista in a place where their … Continue reading Free Writing – April 2021
In the garden center of a home improvement store, two young women browsed an assortment of fruit trees. One stopped to pick up a quaint banana tree in a black grower’s pot. “Another tree?” Her brunette friend laughed. “Dude, soon you’re gonna have a whole grove.” The woman with the tree shrugged. “Growing herbs and … Continue reading Arbor Dog
On Monday, Tea and Pelicans will be available on my blog (here). I made a new cover, too, which was fun and absolutely not what I should've been doing with my time. This is the eBook version only. After talking to Anton, I've decided the print version will have ink illustrations because why the heck … Continue reading Monday, October 5, 2020
This past spring, I was a volunteer judge for the annual short story and poetry competition for the Florida Writers Association (I think volunteers are randomly selected from members; I don't have any English/Journalism degrees and I'm not a club officer or anything; that's the only thing that makes sense). I'm grateful for the new … Continue reading Writing Contest
Rory Moss reached the high point in the wooded mountain trail, winded from covering 5km of uneven terrain in record time, however he hardly noticed the weight of the pack on his back or burn in his legs as he glared ahead at a group of five hikers, four of whom were armed and wore … Continue reading Along the Trail
Prologue PRINTED ALONG subtle edges of certain food packages are dates. Some dates advise sellers, others advise consumers. The most important dates are determined and issued by The National Public Health Authority in conjunction with The Secret Department for Interdimensional Research and Defense, a government agency partly funded by the Expired Perishables Council, in effort … Continue reading Milk Carton Universe
Flanked by two hardback wheeled suitcases at either ankle, Gaston waited on the curb, watching the families from the surrounding low income area enjoy the sunbathed park across the narrow street. Behind him loomed an aged apartment complex---a concrete eyesore---which had been his home for the past ten years while he worked, attended university, and … Continue reading First Day of Summer
Duri Rolvsson 