Damon L. Wakes's Blog, page 9
October 24, 2023
New Game: Who Iced Mayor McFreeze?
It’s that time of year again! IFComp – the Interactive Fiction Competition – is in full swing and my entry this year is Who Iced Mayor McFreeze?, a follow-up to last year’s Who Shot Gum E. Bear?. Both see you take on the role of Bubble Gumshoe, a street-smart broad with a hard sugar shell […]
September 2, 2023
To Be Taken Seriously
A few months ago I mentioned that I’d submitted a piece of fanfiction to Fragile Things: a Centaurworld Zine, which was taking pre-orders at the time. (If you’ve never come across Centaurworld, by the way, that post also offers a bit of an introduction to it.) Fragile Things is now in print, and I’ve got […]
August 15, 2023
New Game: Blue Light
Back in 2020 I wrote a story for Flash Fiction Month titled Blue Light: it’s a stream-of-consciousness piece about a guy who gets lost in the Paris catacombs and discovers (or at least starts to believe) that the blue light from the phone screen he’s using to navigate is making the skeletons restless. I’d originally […]
July 31, 2023
The Unsettling Escapades of Captain Birthday
Flash Fiction Month 2023, Day 31 “Help!” shouted the old lady in the burning building. “Help!” “Oh no!” said a random bystander, clapping his hands to his face Macaulay Caulkin-style. “Is there nobody who can help?” “This looks like a job for Captain Birthday!” announced a spandex-clad hero, appearing out of nowhere to strike a […]
July 30, 2023
Goldilocks and the Persimmon of Ambiguity
Flash Fiction Month 2023, Day 30 Once uptown a thyme there livered a little grill named Goldilocks, who was known motocross the lamp forher flowering olden hare. Often she wood wend the bay wondering threw the armrest toe and Frome the louse of her Grond motherlode, and it was on joust suck an occlusion that […]
July 29, 2023
When in Rome
Flash Fiction Month 2023, Day 29 Challenge #13: Write a story involving a journey to past times, based on two prompts from previous Flash Fiction Month events. Optionally, those two prompts must be chosen entirely at random. My two randomly chosen prompts were: Fixing this problem with a piece of duct tape and a slice […]
July 28, 2023
Air Gap
Flash Fiction Month 2023, Day 28 “Remind me again why they didn’t just drop this thing out of orbit?” “It’s a lot easier to scrub a computer virus out of an existing refinery platform than it is to launch the million tons of metal it would take to build a new one.” Hash cast a […]
July 27, 2023
I Didn’t Think I’d Have To Book It
Flash Fiction Month 2023, Day 27 Challenge #12: In collaboration with another author, write a story in which everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and a character either responds optimistically to all the disasters or is despondent from the start. This story was written in collaboration with Francesco Sarti, who wrote everything up […]
July 26, 2023
The Idea Has Legs
Flash Fiction Month 2023, Day 26 “Gimme your wallet!” shouted the mugger. “Uhhhhhhh…” His victim pointed down the alley behind him. The mugger suddenly became aware of the sound of feet—lots and lots of feet—approaching at speed. He turned. “What the…” There was a meaty “thwack” as he was delivered a mighty uppercut. “That’s right!” […]
July 25, 2023
The God-King’s Flight
Flash Fiction Month 2023, Day 25 Challenge #11: Write a stream of consciousness story including a lyric from a song chosen at random. My randomly selected song was Older by Alec Benjamin. The god-king drops from the palace wall. Battle-drums hammer as the gates come down. Bum-ba-da-da-da-dum. Bum-ba-da-da-da-dum. Lands hard. Stone tiles sting feet. Already […]
