Week 46 participating in the very popular #vss365 challenge on Twitter. The aim, to write a daily Very Short Story in less than 280 characters, a single tweet. Yes, that’s characters! Not words.
The prompts themselves are seemingly random single words, the whim of this month’s challenge setter. This months fun is organised by @Ayve in July. I’ve taken some liberties with formatting simply because WordPress is not Twitter and to make it easier to read.
This week’s photo is from a lovely walk along the beach at Seasalter. It was a warm day and Archer and his friends enjoyed a good dip in the sea. Off of the beach, there are some spectacular marshlands that stretch for miles. The news this week has seen the usual mixed messages from the government. This time on the seemingly simple subject (you’d think) of face masks. It honestly seems like the left-hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing half the time. The only upside to the political cack-handedness is that finally, the long-suppressed Russian report will see the light of day. No doubt redacted to be fairly innocuous by now but none the less. A small victory for transparency and judging by the number of dead-cats being dropped there may yet be a few titbits still left in it. So many hacking stories this week, coincidence I think not.
Writing progress. I have five drabbles in the Macabre Ladies new anthology Drabbles of Dread. Be sure to check it out if you like your horror concise. I know many of the other contributors so it’s bound to be an entertaining read.
I completed a short story for a sci-fi anthology. Received some good news that a story I submitted last month has been accepted for another anthology. In unexpected news, I signed the contractual amendment for a previous submission to be converted into an audiobook. That’s a first, that I’m very excited about. Other than that I’ve spent a lot of time editing and reading for a collaborative sci-fi anthology I’m involved with. All very vague I know, but until the publishers are good to go, mums the word.
Captain Rex’s #charisma was hard to ignore. He had a reputation for running a tight but fair ship, and he was never short of new hands. It wasn’t until my third passage that I realised why. That charm of his had lured more men to a watery grave than any fabled siren.
You’d think an #ocean might have separated us. You’d be wrong. She greeted me at the airport with a hug. Never one to cause a scene, she waited until we reached the car before handing me two large black bags. In the end, it took just two words to separate us. “It’s over!”
Everyone assumed Susan was a #sycophant. Always first to volunteer an answer. She was never without an apple for the teacher. Until the day she got her first F. That’s the day we discovered Susan wasn’t just a suck-up but a proper psychopath with a penchant for poison.
Wednesday 15th July – Chronicle
The monks of Cal De’Rem maintained the #chronicle of the realm. A transcript for all time, they studiously chiselled their words into the granite walls of their labyrinthian monastery. By the twenty-third century of the empire, they’d levelled the mountain into record.
“I’m sorry Thomas, they’ve ruled you to be an #anathema,” said the Bishop.
“So I’m to be shunned? Ex-communicated?”
The Bishop shook his head. “No, I’m afraid this is more of an Old Testament matter.”
Thomas’ confusion turned to horror. “Sacrifice?”
The Bishop nodded.
“Take a look at this?” said Al.
“What am I looking at?” asked Dee, staring down the scope.
“Watch!”
“Whoa, some of them are not fighting the virus.”
“Wait for it.”
“Whoa, they’re spreading the #pandemic.”
“I know, insane right!”
“Cancer cells?”
“They might as well be.”
Saturday 18th July – Ostracize
Two years into the siege, there was only one way to escape the steadfast walls of the city. Treason would ensure the corrupt council would #ostracize the Prince. They’d force his mother, the Queen, to sign their order.
Beyond those walls, he’d deliver her plea for peace.