The story of the week for September 10 to 14 is…
Tripod Headstand by Jess L.
All posts by Tim
EDDIE D MOORE: Different Times
Gladus glanced out the window and grumbled, “Those darn kids are stealing my pears and cutting across my property again. They’ve got no respect for others. Their parents should be ashamed. Things were different in my day.”
She sighed. “There must be a rule against visiting lonely old ladies now.”
Eddie D. Moore travels extensively for work, and he spends much of that time listening to audio books. The rest of the time is spent dreaming of stories to write and he spends the weekends writing them. His stories have been published by Jouth Webzine, Kzine, Alien Dimensions, Theme of Absence, Devolution Z, and Fantasia Divinity Magazine. Find more on his blog.
JESS L: Tripod Headstand
Squatting, thighs slightly burning, perched on your toes, hands in front of your shoulders, you place your head on the ground. Knees digging into your triceps, you tentatively lift one foot, then the other. Your left knee slips, so you try again, then again, until, one year later, you arrive.
Jess is a former scientist who maintains computational model code for current scientists. She occasionally gets the urge to write something other than lines of Python or Fortran.
STORY OF THE MONTH: August 2018
The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.
The finalists for August were:
Bike Ride by Harry Demarest
Utah by Peter Vickland
Pizza Night by Maura Yzmore
The Recollection Collection by Mark Farley
The winner of the August 2018 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…
Pizza Night
Simple, but hard-hitting, Maura’s story makes good use of the classic technique of understating the build-up in order to emphasize the emotional payoff once it arrives.
STUART ATKINSON: Love is Bland
I am not adventurous with food. Simple meals without spices or sauces suit me. The new cook at the cafeteria gives me a wink and a knowing smile. Others complain the cabbage is boiled to death and the stew is tasteless.
On our passionless dates we share pizza without toppings.
Stuart is a retired teacher from Christchurch, New Zealand. He likes to fire up his taste buds with devilishly spicy foods.
KAVANAUGH: Dancing at the VFW
Tongue-tied, trusting, and alone. The word she could change was alone.
Four tours in Iraq. Desert sand drove his thirst for wet kisses and the Texas two-step.
He took her hand. The music began. She believed in love at first sight.
Just like the other women who quenched his thirst.
Kavanaugh’s poetry, prose, and photographs have appeared in Wising Up Press, The Lindenwood Review, The Persimmon Tree, When Women Waken, Light-Journal, and others. Kavanaugh enjoys driving the scenic route between St. Pete, Florida, and the Off Campus Writers Workshop (OCWW) in Winnetka, Illinois, not far from home. When not writing, Kavanaugh fills the time by pondering slices of life or the surf on a beach. See more at kavanaughwrites.com or twitter.com/off_themap.
DANIEL ROGERS: Fresh Meat
The search party had given up hope of finding any survivors of the crash. The island reeked of death and the heat was intolerable.
The only survivor had been following them for days, hunger gnawing at his belly. He attacked them that night.
Three weeks later, another search party arrived.
When not writing short fiction, Daniel teaches English in Poland.
See more at facebook.com/ponglish1.
SUSAN GALE WICKES: The Day Bob Left
Every week it was a new cause. Something to fight for, believe in. Karen was always looking for a shiny new bandwagon to hop aboard.
She was at a rally when her husband packed up and headed out for greener pastures.
Turns out he needed something to believe in, too.
Susan Gale Wickes is from Indiana. She spends her days crafting short stories, epigrams, poetry, and the occasional song.
LINDA SALDAÑA: Hamster
Carolyn shows up agitated, out of kilter. We feign concern and lean in for what could possibly be a delicious story.
“Mother is in jail,” says Carolyn. “She shot the neighbor’s hamster.”
We gasp. “Jail? For that stupid hamster?”
“The problem is,” says Carolyn, “she was aiming for the neighbor.”
Linda Saldaña lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and would like to assure everyone that no actual hamsters were harmed in the creation of this story.
MICHELLE DINNICK: Are You Superstitious?
I knew this guy once who said you should never give a watch to anyone you care about. “Because your relationship will have a time limit.”
I thought nothing of it.
Since then, however, I have given watches to several people that I no longer want to know.
It works.
Michelle is an award-winning author and poet. She is a contributor in the most recent Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of Canada, and a quarter finalist in the 2017 ScreenCraft Short Screenplay contest. Her writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail (one of Canada’s National newspapers) and a number of local magazines and newspapers including The Briar Crier, Total Sports, Voice of the Farmer, Arts Talk and Focus 50 Plus. Her short story “Lightning Strikers” (also featured on Commuter Lit) was made into a series in the Focus 50 + Newspaper because fans asked for more! This year, Michelle won the Ontario Writers Conference Story Starter Contest in two categories. You can find her online at commuterlit.com, fiftywordstories.com, femininecollective.com, michelledinnick.com, and @MichelleDinnick.