Tag Archives: irony

VIV BURGESS: Consequences

Artistic, Submissions, ,

Once, Harry’s big sister told him, “Earwigs creep into people’s ears at night.”

Nightmares followed of scuttling legs, tickling feelers.

Phobic, Harry took to wearing earplugs, his excuse the need for quiet nights.

Earplugs worked admirably and kept the insects out, but also, sadly, the buzzing of the fire alarm.

Viv Burgess is thinking of demanding a promotional fee as half her family and friends are now all writing 50 word stories – and to top it all, better than her own. It is giving her brain cell a good work out though, she says.

MATT THOMPSON: Gambler’s Tale

Adventure, Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

The fixed-odds betting terminal fired out an electronic pulse, causing my bio-interface implant to twitch in excited anticipation. I paused, my finger poised above the play button, and adjusted the frequency receiver to that of the sender. An incoming message.

What the machine had to say was this: HELP ME.

Matt Thompson is a London-based writer of oddball fantastical fiction: short stories, flash fiction, comics scripts, poetry, and the occasional novel. He is endeavouring to follow Ray Bradbury’s advice of writing a story every week. To date, this has been adhered to in theory more than reality.

GORDON LYSEN: Chalk It Up to Imagination

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

The smell of the chalk dust reminded him of some past dated food. He imagined thousands of others who would have breathed it in and eventually gone to their graves having never exhaled it entirely.

Ninety eight more lines to go.

He scrawled, “I promise not to daydream in class.”

Gordon Lysen resides in Manitoba, Canada, and spends his time between the city of Winnipeg and his true home at Sugar Point on Lake Manitoba. Retired from police work after some 27 years, Gordon co-authored the novel “A Deadly Blend of Souls” with his wife, Lisa. Writing and painting are Gordon’s relaxation methods when retirement becomes too stressful.

DENNY E MARSHALL: Odds

Adventure, Amusing, Submissions, ,

“The odds? Almost zero,” Captain Lu thought, an instant before he died.

The spaceship Quantum was in its tenth year of a twenty-year voyage searching for extraterrestrial life. Until then, there had been no problems on the journey.

Having a head-on collision with an Earth-bound alien spacecraft had seemed… unlikely.

Denny E, Marshall has had art, poetry, and fiction published, including fiction at 101 Words. See more at dennymarshall.com.

NICK PULLEN: Wishes Can Come True

Amusing, Odd, Submissions, ,

Wishes can come true quicker than you think.

This guy in the bar made two – to be rich and to never have to work again.

He left shortly afterwards and got hit by a stolen car.

He was paralyzed from the neck down, but the compensation package ran into millions.

Nick Pullen lives in England, plays the horses, and watches the fights.

KERRY J DONOVAN: The Sink Hole

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

How do I get out of this?

Stuck in a sinkhole. Middle of the desert, broken leg, no water.

Great, I’m screwed.

Thirty-six hours and I’ve screamed myself hoarse.

Come on. You said you liked puzzles. Solve this one!

…A flash-flood has me treading water. For six hours.

I’m saved?

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Kerry spent most of his life in the UK, and now lives in Brittany with his long-suffering wife of thirty-six years. He has three children, three grandchildren, and no pets. Kerry has recently released The DCI Jones Casebook: Ellis Flynn, available on Kindle from Amazon US or Amazon UK. A paperback will be available soon.

CHRIS GRIGLACK: Love At Last Sight

Amusing, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

A single thought echoed through my head like a broken record as she slowly uncurled her perfectly manicured fingers from the gun’s handle and let it drop to the blood soaked carpet beside me: This is a woman I could spend the rest of my life with.

And I did.

Chris Griglack was born and raised in Massachusetts where he has lived for 23 years. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2012 with a degree in Writing, Rhetoric, and Communications.

BRYAN JOYNER: Humanitarian

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

As Don drove, he reveled in this week’s ecstasies: a promotion, the Humanitarian Award, and his engagement.

He bent to answer his phone, looked up to see red–the traffic light–heard a thud, and saw red again in his mirror, oozing from a still body.

He hit the gas.

Bryan Joyner is a middle-aged banker who read about 50-word stories in Daniel Pink’s book “A Whole New Mind”, and began using the concept to connect with his two college age children. Each of them write stories and send them to each other for feedback.

GARY CLIFTON: Emergency

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

“Can’t breathe… Heart pounding… Need an ambulance…”

“Where are you, sir?”

“Payphone, 10th and Grand… Please hurry!”

“Are you injured?”

“No.”

“Do you have health problems? Asthma?”

“No.”

“Has this happened before?”

“No.”

“What were you doing when the breathing problems started?”

“Running from the cops.”

Gary Clifton, forty years a cop, has short fiction pieces published or pending on over 40 online sites.  He has an M.S. from Abilene Christian University.

BRYAN JOYNER: An Exciting New Life Awaits

Amusing, Submissions, Touching, , ,

George escaped the wretched orphanage in the dark night and scurried toward the wharf.

He found a pallet of rice bags and hid himself inside the pile.  His exciting new life in America would soon begin!

In the morning a crane swung him into the cargo hold of the Titanic.

Bryan Joyner is a middle-aged banker who read about 50-word stories in Daniel Pink’s book “A Whole New Mind”, and began using the concept to connect with his two college age children. Each of them write stories and send them to each other for feedback.