Emily June Street's Blog, page 17

Winter of Whimsy and Wyrdness

My writing partner and I host a seasonal flash fiction contest when the spirit moves us. This winter we have created Winter of Whimsy and Wyrdnessas a playground for flash aficionados. Our small publishing imprint, Luminous Creatures Press, will produce a free ebook anthology based on the results. The theme is MAGIC, the photo prompts are gorgeous, and we know the stories willamaze us. Each week we will select 2-3 stories from the pack to publish in the anthology. As a special thanks to our a...

Ungodly Hungers Free for Halloween!

The Luminous Creatures’s horror short stories, Ungodly Hungers, are free all day today, October 31, for Kindle. Creepy stories for a dark day!

Foam Roller Sequence

You know it would be a good thing if your foam roller saw more use than as a scratching post for your cat. This list will help you unwind the cumulative effects of too many hours spentat the computer or help you recover after a tough workout. I keep my foam roller in my office and use it daily. Rolling is a great way to stretch, give a self-massage, and train for balance with both low and high risk options.

I’ve separated my list into three sections: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

Today...

Khanjluri Game

My submission for last week’s Flash Friday (150 word story challenge) got another honorable mention, which surprised me. I figured my story was too obscure to appeal. The prompt picture showed two Georgian nationalists of the late nineteenth century, Ilia Chavchavadze and Ivane Machabeli, playing chess at a St. Petersburg cafe. I researched themen and discovered that both were presumed to have been assassinated, by Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, or by the TsaristOkhrana.

We were instructed to include...

New LCP Book! Margaret Dashwood and the Enchanted Atlas

I feel incredibly lucky to have a writing and publishing partner who is as talented and smart as Beth Deitchman, and I often wonder how anyone who writes gets by without a Beth. She keeps me motivated to writebecause of her genuine, upbeat perspective. As you can imagine, a writing partner relationship is a deep, intimate, and ever-changing experience. I will someday write about it in greater depth. Today I’m too excited about Beth’s latest creation!

Yesterday weformatted Beth’s latest work, M...

A Simple Wish

Here’s my flash story from Angry Hourglass this past week. It didn’t win any prizes, but it’s still one of my favorites. The photo prompt was a close-up of pumpkins.

A Simple Wish

Merryweather stood surrounded by my pumpkins. Their rows stretched as long as the wishlists of teenaged girls.

She waved a device at me. “Look, Rowan! It’s a new kind of apple! I can accept wishes by text.”

I glanced skeptically at the box labeled iPhone6. “You’re better off with your Gravensteins.”

“But this will help m...

Hourly Arithmetic

My story Hourly Arithmetic got an honorable mention over at Flash Friday! I’m excited!

Flash Friday gives a weekly picture prompt that must inspire the 140-160 word story. This week we had an image of a small boat with two figures in it, surrounded by flat water. One figure appeared to be fishing–or something–with a net or a tool. The head dragoness of FF also demands that we incorporate a specific element into our story. This week the required element was a politician.

Here’s my 158 word story...

Latest List: Science Words That Should Be Literary

Ampere
Benthic
Crepuscular
Detritus
Entropy
Fissure
Gamete
Hypogeal
Inertia
Jecoral
Karst
Littoral
Matrix
Node
Ossification
Pelagic
Quasiparticle
Radix
Sessile
Torpor
Ultradian
Velocity
Windage
Xeric
Ylem
Zygote

Pilates Mat List

For my Pilates people, here is a list of the advanced Flow Mat series. Now you have no excuses notto practice it at home. Start with the ones you recognize; bring questions for those you don’t. Check out Joe’s class doing the Teaser above.

Level Five Mat

Footwork

Hundreds

Roll-Up

Roll-Over

Tree

Single Leg Circles

Rolling Like A Ball

Single Leg Stretch

Double Leg Stretch

Scissors

Double Leg Lower &Lift

Elbow to Knee

Around the Clock

Spine Stretch

Hip Stretch

Open Leg Rocker

Corkscrew

Saw

Swan

Single Leg Kick

Double...

noun+noun=more

My latest collection: phrases comprised of two nouns that convey meaning beyond the sum of their parts. Do these things have an official name? All I know is that I love them.

battle mentality
cleavage lean
courtroom cruelty
death factory
faith wound
firework kids
gawker bottleneck
gospel baritone
gossip food
grudge elephant
hound loyalty
love history
memory flinch
mind whip
muscle corset
nightcrawler fingers
ordeal justice
shadow facts
skeleton trees
spectator pews
trouble magnet
undertow voice
whiskey kiss

I’m stil...