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Drabbles Needed! Authors, have a go.
The latest Tales of the Imp drabble has been posted in today's Indie Book Bargains newsletter (you can sign up to the newsletter on their website: www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk). If you haven't read the rest of the Tales of the Imp newsletter you can do so here:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/p/t...
Fans of the Imp can read his origin story in the Off the KUF anthology, available from Amazon here:
US: http://amzn.to/1fbJHXv
UK: http://amzn.to/1cxm9ib
A True Gentleman
Like all good things that amazing first date came to an end, my usual nervousness returned as I escorted her home. Should I kiss her? The Imp said yes and so we kissed and she tasted of strawberries, which was unexpected but not unpleasant.
She invited me in and I was very much up for that idea, but the Imp said no. A bit unfair I thought, but he seems to know best, keep her keen for next time was his advice.
Besides I had some test to undergo before I first mated, I wonder what he meant by that?
The latest drabble in the Murder Drabbles series has been posted in the Indie Book Bargains newsletter (you can sign up for the newsletter on their website: www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk).If you haven't read the rest of the Murder Drabbles series then you can do so here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/p/m...
Questions
The police were full of questions, no great surprise there I guess, it is what they do after all. I wasn’t prepared for them though.
Where was I on the night in question? That was the big one, I hedged my bets saying I wasn’t sure. I needed to know what they knew before I committed to a response. Not my smartest play, that only made them suspicious.
It might have been better to say nothing at all, but it’s too late for that now. The one in plain clothes frowns and tells me that I must come with them.
I had another go at writing a drabble the other night and came up with this, thought I'd share :)Little Tikes
Bobbie sat tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, grumping under her breath while trying to avoid the bemused stares of passers by. All of a sudden, an shout came from the nearby building and she hurriedly planted her feet. Clive came tearing out of the shop, trailing a cloud of sweets as he threw himself through the passenger window. “Go, Go, Go!!” he cried.
“Well, they shouldn’t be all that hard to find. They took off in a red and yellow plastic car, with no windows,” his sergeant told the detective. The detective shook his head, muttering. “Little Tikes”.
The latest in the Drabble Classics series has been posted in the Indie Book Bargains newsletter (you can subscribe on their website for a daily drabble and Kindle bargains: www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk), in this drabble I celebrate an author who is considered by many to be the father of science fiction and that is Jules Verne and picking which book of his to feature was hardly a choice at all!
If you haven't read the rest of the Drabble Classics series then you can do so here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/p/d...
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
A mysterious beast strikes upon the high seas and an expedition hunts down the creature. During the battle three crew are lost in the waves. They discover no monster, instead a vessel of unusual manufacture.
They meet Captain Nemo, the master of the Nautilus, a submarine constructed with cunning artifice to explore the oceans deep. On a grand voyage they witness marvels hidden beneath the waves, battle against giant squid and sink a ship from Nemo’s exiled land.
In a depression he sails for the sea’s own storm and the three find freedom as the Nautilus vanishes off Norway’s shore.
My latest standalone drabble has been posted in today's Indie Book Bargains newsletter, you can sign up for the daily newsletter on their website: www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk.For fans of drabbles and other forms of short fiction you can join the Facebook group I've set up, it's also a good place for writers to show off their work in those forms.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/short...
You can read my other drabbles here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/p/d...
Just One Question
The penitent knelt with her head bowed in the confessional. The dark wood shrouded her in forbidding shadow as she waited in expectant silence. She’d never had to wait for so long after confessing her sins, although she’d worked really hard at them for this occasion.
Eventually the priest’s stern voice filtered through the latticed divider.
“You have sinned against the church, sinned against your family and most importantly, you have sinned against yourself. Your penance will be most severe.”
The pennant smiled.
“Will it hurt Father?”
And then in a more plaintive tone.
“Will it hurt just a little?”
The latest drabble in the Tales of the Imp series has been posted in the Indie Book Bargains newsletter (you can sign up for the newsletter here: http://www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk).
You can also read the rest of the Tales of the Imp here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/p/t...
A Trip to the Doctor
I arranged our second date, an intimate dinner in a fine downtown restaurant. I wanted to taste strawberries again. I didn’t know if I could wait two days, but the Imp convinced me to play it cool and not appear too eager, not yet.
He also told me that I had a doctors appointment. When I arrived the nurse told me they needed a sample and handed me a small plastic bottle. I asked her why I had to pee in a bottle and she looked at me confused.
They didn’t want a urine sample, they wanted a semen sample.
The latest drabble in the Murder Drabbles series was posted yesterday in the Indie Book Bargains newsletter (you can sign up for the newsletter here: http://www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk). If you haven't read the rest of the series then you can do so here:http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/p/m...
Alone in a Cell
Before I knew it I’d been processed and deposited in a cell, I’d never seen the inside of a cell before. I wasn’t impressed, but I was a little intimidated. I guess that was the point, they left me alone for over an hour.
In that time I worried about what they knew, did they know everything?
The two parts of me wrestled between having nothing to worry about to assuming that I was now condemned. Slowly though the cold part, the sensible part gained the upper hand and when the cell door finally opened I was ready for them.
No Matter How Deep has been chosen as the Drabble of the Week on Drablr.com, check it out here:http://drablr.com/mbrookes/drabble/bd...
My latest drabble has been posted in the Indie Book Bargains newsletter (you can sign up at www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk for a daily drabbles and Kindle bargains), I've also posted it below.You can read my other standalone drabbles here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/p/1...
And for fans of drabbles and other forms of short and flash fiction come and join the Facebook group I've set up for people to share and discover great stories in those forms:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/short...
Face in the Mirror
I stare at my face in the mirror and I can't be sure that it’s really me. My eyes are hunted and bruised from nights of disturbed sleep. A dread has stalked my dreams, twisting them into nightmares that linger even in dawn's embrace.
In the mirror I glimpse a malformed shadow lurking behind me, its touch is cold upon my skin and fills me with terror. My will fails and I fall into the mirror, my final scream frozen in glass.
I gaze at my reflection and admire my new face, I think I'll wear it for a while.
One here from Jonathan on Indie Book Bargains today. Piano Keys by Jonathan Hill
Sweat danced on his brow as he worked as quickly as he could. The saw went back and forth, back and forth. The heat beat down and the sweat danced some more. He was easily the most skilled carpenter and those standing nearby marvelled, admiring his work and watching the saw go back and forth, back and forth. The carving ceased temporarily. The man listened for the warning call. Soon they’d have to flee. Nearly there. Back and forth. The heat beat down. The sweat danced. And a baby elephant watched its mother lying on the ground, hacked, bloodied, robbed.
Thanks, Kath and Michael.Another from me today on IBB:
Nobody
My view’s clouded by steam and condensation. He bends briefly, the arch of his back clearing a porthole as he brushes the glass. Droplets of water cling to his skin as if they too want a piece of this bronzed, blonde beauty. He’s soaping and rubbing every inch of his skin. Lingering on the usual part. Typical. My viewing window is now almost covered again. I wonder, if he were to turn, would he see my shape through the translucency? And would he see the long blade in my hand? Nobody cheats on me and gets away with it. Nobody.
Indeed, it's good to see you on the hotspot again :-)
I'm up today - Cheated by Kath Middleton
I really hate the feeling of being cheated. When someone offers you a job and you do a good one for them, you expect due recompense. The kind of work I do is looked down on by many people but someone has to do it. The place would be in a right state without me and my kind. Anyway, they had a problem and I was the man to remove it for them. They couldn't. It's a skilled job you know. I asked nicely for payment. Then I demanded. Eventually I removed Hamlyn's children the same way as its rats.
A drabble from Jonathan on IBB newsletter today. I'm posting it for him as he's on his hols.Prick by Jonathan Hill
He thrust in and out, trying to settle into some sort of rhythm. She’d been hopeless recently. He had no difficulty whatsoever. The problem definitely lay solely with her, the stupid bitch. He slapped her across the face. She stared back, eyes wide, unable to speak. In and out. In and out. He grabbed her behind, squeezed harder and harder. No, she was useless. Utterly useless. He pulled himself out, left the room, came back with a safety pin. Opened it and pricked her. She levitated in a fit of hissing before sailing round the room like an out-of-control airship.
(I think a naughty boy wrote it and ran away!)
Are you trying to say that Jonathan isn't naughty?
I think I'm trying to say that he is! ;)
It would help if I connected the first and last lines of your post :-)
And today's is another by Whatserface!Eviction by Kath Middleton
I thought I'd got it made, really landed on my feet. I was in the most comfortable place I could imagine. Everything was laid on for me. Everything I could possibly need was mine. I wanted for nothing. This was the life. I firmly expected never to have to move from there, that the home comforts on tap would always be mine for the taking. How little I knew.
I'd become aware that the accommodation was becoming rather cramped but I still felt it was exactly right for me. It seems I was wrong. I was evicted. I was born.
Another funny but grisly one from the still-holidaying Mr Hill.Hamlet by Jonathan Hill
The Reduced Flesh Company were rehearsing their latest production. Most of the skeletons were offstage, some drinking tea (it went straight through them), others playing cards (adopting poker skulls).
Hamlet held up a skull and enunciated, “Alas, poor Yorick.” Then he turned to the director, the only living person in the room, and said, “Darling, I simply can’t act with this. It’s too close to my own form. How about we mix things up a bit? Have an actual head as Yorick?”
The director laughed. “Where would we get one?” Then he realised the entire cast were surrounding him. Grinning.
RAen't they all grisly at heart? :-)
Ah, not all. Some are quite sweet. Okay, not many... ;)
Self Diagnosis by Jonathan Hill“I need to speak to the pharmacist.”
“That’s me.”
“Good, I think I might be pregnant.”
“Riiiiight, and why do you think that?”
“Well, I’ve not had a period.”
“Okaaaay, any other reason you think you might be with child?”
“I feel sick every morning.”
“Right, that could be because…”
“I have cravings. The last three nights I’ve eaten the fieriest of curries.”
“That might explain the nausea the following morning.”
“No, I’m definitely pregnant. I think I need to see a doctor. You pharmacists don’t know much, do you?”
“May I ask how old you are?”
“Eighty-seven next month.”
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the great writers of horror, so much so that his writing remains essential reading and not just in a sense of studying the classics, but for fans of the genre as well. Picking one of his pieces wasn't difficult, writing as a drabble was!
The Raven is probably one of Poe's most famous works and also one of my favourite poems, however my talent as a poet is rather limited. I did want to convey the feeling of the poem as well as its narrative in the drabble and that made writing this the hardest drabble I've written so far. I think I managed it and I hope you agree.
If you haven't read the rest of my drabble classics series then you can find them here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/p/d...
For a daily drabble as well as the latest Kindle deals and releases sign up for the Indie Book Bargains newsletter here:
http://www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk
The Raven
While reading forgotten lore to escape the loss of Lenore I heard a rap at my door. Another at the window and I admitted the raven and upon Pallas's bust it perched.
To my surprise the bird spoke, but knew only one word. I’m certain that it’ll desert me as others had, it said 'nevermore'.
I reasoned that I could forget Lenore, the raven stated 'nevermore'.
So I asked whether I’ll see her again and received the same infernal reply. I cursed it back to Hell, but it's my soul trapped in the raven's shadow and will be lifted nevermore.
At the risk of sounding like his mum (but he's at work all day) I'll post this for Jonathan.Lucky to have found you... by Jonathan Hill
I never get anything done while you’re around because, well, you know what we get up to! And I never get anything done when you’re not here because you’re always in my mind, watching over me. All I do is count down till your return home, even though you text me every half hour just to make sure I’m okay. I spend so much time with you my friends have drifted away. You say it doesn’t matter, though. I’m yours, all yours. And no-one else can have me but you, you say. I’m lucky to have found you. So lucky…
And one from me -The Spark of Life by Kath Middleton
Leo and Charlie had been watching a film about Doctor Frankenstein. They were convinced that a corpse could be revived by applying electricity to the nerve endings. After all, Charlie had some recollection of seeing a dead frog's legs begin to twitch again when electrified.
They found an unfortunate cat lying by the roadside. It had been hit by a car but apart from being dead, it seemed undamaged.
They took it to Leo's shed and wired it up to the mains. Electricity couldn't revive a corpse, but as Leo slumped to the ground, they found it could create one.
And antoehr!Thunderstorm by Kath Middleton
The sky boiled like grey soup. Black clouds tumbled and collided. The air was thick, viscous and solid, pressing down on him as he walked boldly through his element. The day had been hot, then oppressive. The sudden thickening of the air made him bend forward as he walked although there was no wind.
Shards of lightning pierced the dark as the jagged whiteness sliced from cloud to ground. The woman watching from her window cried aloud as he was hit by lightning. While she was phoning 999, Thor got up, laughed at her assumption of his death and disappeared.
He's your type of being eh? Bigger than an Imp - more omnipotent than a human. ;)
And another from the estimable Mr Hill, on today's IBB newsletter -The Stranger by Jonathan Hill
Doorbell.
A man, smiling, holding open a briefcase of money.
“One million pounds. It’s all yours.”
“All mine?” I said.
“Indeed. All you have to do is swallow one of these.” He held out a jar. “Ninety-nine of these are perfectly safe. One will kill you horribly.”
I hesitated.
“One million pounds,” he repeated.
I shoved my hand in. Pulled out a tablet. Swallowed.
Breathing. Pulse. “I’m alive!”
“Not necessarily. The terrible death may occur at any point in the next twenty years. But only if you swallowed that particular tablet of course. Enjoy your money,” he said. Then departed.
It has to be noted that to anyone over sixty, where's the problem ;-)
It's one of mine again on Indie Book BargainsHandy Man in Training by Kath Middleton
A lad knocked on Jeff’s door offering to do jobs.
“How about painting the porch?” asked Jeff. “How much would you charge?”
“£30?” Suggested the lad tentatively.
“Great,” said Jeff. “All the paint and stuff’s in the garage.” He felt a bit mean, as the porch technically stretched across the full frontage of the bungalow.
The lad came to the door a couple of hours later and reported he’d finished, and Jeff even gave him a £10 tip.
“I had plenty of paint,” he said. “Enough to give it a second coat. It’s not a Porch, though, it’s a BMW."
I've just read this one in the newsletter, it made me chuckle :-)
UK Amazon Kindle Forum
Books mentioned in this topic
Lost Innocence: The Accused (other topics)Azazel (other topics)
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H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The War of the Worlds remains one of my favourite science fiction reads. It captures the imagination in a way that has inspired many other alien invasion stories since its release at the end of the 19th century.
If you haven't read the other drabbles in the Drabble Classics series then you can do so here:
http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/p/d...
And now here is my drabble tribute to this classic novel:
The War of the Worlds
From Mars the invaders came, I approached the site alongside a crowd. They were incinerated by the heat ray and the few survivors fled.
A giant tripod was constructed and left the pit, London’s defences collapsed and a mass exodus began. I purchased tickets to escape by sea, but war machines arrived. The Thunder Child’s sacrifice enabled my wife to escape on the steamer.
More cylinders landed and red weed choked the land. I returned to London where I charged a war machine, expecting to be slain but it was already dead, killed by the lowest of all Earth’s creatures.