Hilary

Untitled

‘Gobsmacked’ the inelegant word that came to mind when I read the letter. What else would you expect , being told your three year-old daughter’s poem had been awarded first prize ?  A prize  which earned her up to three sittings with well-renowned portrait artist Bernard Broom. Especially when I’d not an inkling she’d  written any…[Read more]

METAMORPHOSIS

Vulnerable, estranged from her family, unexpectedly out of work and living in poverty in Aberdeen, the Granite City, it was easy for her to understand now why she had been taken in by him.  He was extremely charming and persuasive.  She’d moved into his luxury apartment soon after their first chance meeting.

The first time he hi…[Read more]

Thank you Janette – you did us proud with thoughtful comments, and well done for every other entry, all of which fitted the remit  much more closely than my hastily-grabbed from a long-ago hidden in the drawer novel.

Thank you, Janette for stepping in and for your kind comments. (Only bit of reality in mine is that we did get married on The Ides of March a very long time ago and are still here to tell the tale!)

All the other entries were so imaginative, well written and enjoyable to read.

Congratulations, Terrie – yours was very clever and truly mad!…[Read more]

Simple, I thought – judge a few stories for the March competition while Ath is out of action (Ath, if you’re reading this, sending BIG healing vibes and willing a speedy recovery). But – what a dilemma to be handed. These are all excellent and worthy to be winners in their own right.

But judge I must, as promised, so here are my thoughts:

Jill -…[Read more]

Janette has kindly volunteered !!

Best wishes, Athelstone.

Good idea, Libby.  Hope someone might take it on.

Having heard Athelstone indisposed again, it’s unlikely he’ll be be judging  this any time soon

Damn! It messed with my formatting 🙁

The madness is all mine for thinking I could do this!

All words taken from Rod Judkins’ The Art of Creative Thinking.

DRIBBLES AND SPATTERS

Inner demons

chisel

creative confidence

Ideas so strange

wither.

Radiate defiance

Salvage mistakes with freedom

and

transform the message

Come alive!

Not yet mad enough …

Wine-heavy eyes and naked, she was cleaning her teeth in front of the bathroom mirror when he came in through the door behind her.   He stood behind her, serious-faced, saying nothing, but unignorably attentive.   She finished brushing. Spat, rinsed and spat a couple more times then put the toothbrush back in the glass on…[Read more]

Madness on the Ides of March

493 words excluding title

All those years ago she had been teased relentlessly by friends about her wedding date, the Ides of March.   ‘Beware!’ they had warned her.  ‘You must be mad,’ they said, laughing.

But here the happy couple of that March day were, celebrating a Big O anniversary and enjoying a holiday in t…[Read more]

Congratulations, Athelstone –  well deserved.  Peeked at your March challenge and looking forward to meeting it.   Sandra, I loved your intriguing extract from what I presume is a finished novel or one in progress?  Thank you Libby for the February competition which I enjoyed entering and for your kind comments.  Very interested in your inte…[Read more]

Thank you for such a satisfactory February topic, Libby, and for your generous appraisal! I loved the other two entries; they could easily have won.

Congratulations, Ath – more Teabreak always welcome, and well done Jill for so richly regarding the rules. Thanks Libby for appreciating my desire to take part, but this extract the only one I could recall which specifically mentioned ‘loving’

Teabreak in love

Maureen Chapman. No, tell a lie, it was Chaplain, like a vicar. Her name, I mean—she wasn’t like a vicar. Anyway, Maureen Chaplain was perfect from my ten-year-old point of view. But I’m getting all jumbled up about how to start, so I’ll take a breath. See, it really began when the Brazells moved out from next door and the Cha…[Read more]

‘Snap’ snippet

From the steps of Leith’s registry Office, exceeding the word count and containing expletives, but the best I can do given other demands.  

Then, hand in hand, another looking-to-be-wed couple arrived from the rear carpark. On foot and windblown,  Well-matched in the scruffiness of their clothes. Even earlier for their ceremony th…[Read more]