Cheryl Burman's Blog: Blog posts for readers and writers, page 13

Skeleton Smoke Useless

The dragon came at dusk. We watched from the deck, sails hanging limp in the breezeless tropics, escape useless.

The ship rose and fell on the idling swell. The crew stood their ground, weapons ready, cannon primed.

‘The cannon will get it?’ The sailor let hope into his voice.

‘Only if the bugger flies at ship level.’

The great membraned wings lifted, fell, in mocking tune with the waves. We could sense its black-souled eyes searching us, see the great tongue slide between shark-like teeth, antic...

Flash fiction handy hints

Today I visited a local secondary school to talk to their Year 11s (16-year-olds) about flash fiction handy hints. For their upcoming exams, they need to do a piece of creative writing of 400 to 600 words, in 40 minutes. A tall order, glad it’s not me!
During the year they’ve covered the expected elements such as structure, characters, dialogue, point of view, but their teacher asked if I could give them some ‘handy hints’ to help their work stand out.

I had two 45 minute sessions, and in the fi...

Fish Suppress Cool

‘Fish again?’ The child turned his nose up, disgust writ large on his fat-cheeked face.

Maree dolloped a small serving of mashed potato on to the plate held out in hope of a more acceptable offering than a slice of poached fish . ‘Good for your brain,’ she told the boy. ‘Peas or salad?’

‘Yuck, salad.’ The plate wavered, remained optimistically outstretched . The pudgy nose crinkled its challenge.

In her years as a dinner lady, Maree had witnessed many upturned noses. She had considered herself immu...

‘What do we do now?’

‘What do we do now?’ Robert’s voice was edgy, angry.

The little boat floated further out on the rising waves.

‘Swim to it?’ Maree hoped she sounded positive.

Robert snorted. ‘After you.’ He pointed at the swelling waters. A triangular black shape cut the surface, weaving back and forth.

Maree abandoned positivity for aggression. ‘You were the one who insisted we’d pulled the boat up far enough.’

Robert shrugged. ‘And you were the one who insisted we go for a blasted walk along the cliffs and h...

Extract from The Past can Wait

To tempt your appetites!

THERE’S TOO MUCH TIME TO think on a train, and then a bus. Normally, Arthur takes the night train to Melbourne, tries to sleep. He won’t sleep this time, hasn’t slept since the party, which is why he’s travelling by day, hoping the views will distract him.
Through the train window’s grimy glass, a herd of kangaroos bound across the cracked, brown earth. Something must have spooked them because it’s too hot even for ’roos to move fast. Arthur squints, searching for sign...

And then I woke up here

Sunshine, at last. Winter was finally retreating, creeping its way southward to fill the antipodeans’ lives with chill and wet. Lucky them.

A day for a drive to the beach, pale sands glittering, lazy waves rolling in, lacy froth combing the wet sand like a lover’s teasing fingers.

Only me, I’d go alone, do what I wanted to do, spend as much or as little time on whatever it was.

Sandwich packed, thermos filled, I let the car amble between the greening hedgerows to the coastal grasslands, n...

The poet was having a bad day

The poet was having a bad day, and a worse night. He couldn’t find a word, an image, a rhyme or no rhyme to inspire him anywhere. There was no poetry left. He searched deep in his mind, and into his heart, and his soul.

Nothing.

He thought perhaps some haiku might help. Couldn’t get seventeen syllables to come together at all.

He needed a walk. It might be the middle of the night in the middle of winter, but never mind. The poet threw on a coat, pulled on fleece-lined shoes, wrapped a sca...

I’ve never met Laura but I already know I don’t like her

He’s full of her, his new work colleague. Laura this, Laura that. She’s so clever, sees through management’s stupid demands, gets to the core of the client’s issues, charms them with her logic and her poise … She’s articulate, funny. The team haven’t laughed so much since Laura joined them.

The first time he mentioned her I was intrigued.
‘Where’s she come from?’ I asked.
‘That’s the best bit.’ He snorted a laugh. ‘The competition. She managed their client database, got lots of contacts for u...

Sandcastles by Lily Lawson

Having long been a fan of Lily Lawson’s poetry (both for adults and kids), I was thrilled to discover she has now turned her literary skills to short stories and flash fiction, and with the same highly readable result.

Sandcastles is many things – there’s humour, poignancy, tragedy, and tales to make you think … what if, or if only … I love the way in which the stories carry us through life, from first loves in different forms to being cherished beyond death. And then the splash of tales in the ‘...

Love you a Latte R S Jonesee

R S Jonesee is a prolific author of popular romcoms, and this most recent tale set in the idyllic rural Friendly, Indiana. Love you a Latte is her best so far for me.

Rachel Ranney is building a new life for herself and her young son, Cody, after divorcing her cheating husband and then having to fight her wealthy in-laws for custody of her child following the death of her ex. With the loving and practical help of her family, she’s getting there, slowly. But it’s a battle, and she has no time to f...