I did…[Read more]

1) I missed posting the rules (which are now there). More haste, less speed. Apologies and thank you to @Clebs.

2) in the event of a late request for group membership after the group is closed, then I intend to accept, providing that the potential member agrees to the rules and makes the necessary choices…[Read more]

The challenge is to produce a short story: a work of fiction. By all means stretch this definition as you like, to include, for example, an imaginative account of true events, but please avoid essays, reportage, political polemic, educational items, manuals or manifestos. In case of any doubt I shall…[Read more]

Enjoy.

I like watching television. It’s almost a crime to admit this these days unless you say that you’re watching it to see films, and you can present a list of obscure and worthy titles, preferably in a foreign language, that you claim to appreciate.

Right now, I am enjoying re-runs of Friends through a sub…[Read more]

The Thinning Veil

Wind growled across the island just after midday bringing with it a sharp, stinging, deluge of rain that moved with the feeling nature was scourging the earth.

It lasted until daylight faded then stopped as quickly as it started.

Now, at midnight, the sky was eerily clear and bright as the  pale disc of moody moon…[Read more]

Welcome to Surprise. This is a writing opportunity with a challenge and just the merest hint of competition. At the end there will be winning entries, chosen by all of you who take part. Most of all, everybody who takes part will have worked to produce a short story and hopefully risen to the challenge. If you stick…[Read more]

And please don’t take these…[Read more]

When the writing stage of the challenge closes on 28 February 2027 at 22:00 UK time, the voting stage begins. No doubt most of you will have read many of the entries…[Read more]

I can see the initial appeal of the H16. The V8 was a darn good engine,…[Read more]

FREEDOM JONES; AN INTRODUCTION

He remembered a time when he had been ordinary; when he had played with the other boys. A time when he ran, fought, laughed, and scraped knees with the other boys. When they had climbed trees and stolen fruit and snatched apple scones from the kitchen…[Read more]

Thanks for the theme, @Seagreen. It certainly made me think hard!

@Jill: you gave me exactly what I asked for – an insight into the mind of a killer – in this case, a victim of domestic abuse who was finally pushed too far. Your words paint a quiet picture of an unseen tempest.

@Sandra: Your words pai…[Read more]

It’s not as though this is the first body I’ve seen, and it’s not as though this is the first person I’ve killed. As a death it was unremarkable: quick, expected, and I imagine she knew nothing about it. A clean shot through the back of the head in mid-conversation. Only a few of my targets have been so lucky, but my intenti…[Read more]

It was adopted by the Den when the Cloud finally closed

https://australis.eocampaign1.com/web-version?ep=2&lc=f8781b16-01c8-11f1-82c9-6dbe39b3a791&p=73063d3a-a20b-11f1-8471-0d8778dd4b7d&pt=campaign&t=1788260504&s=2e7939182f1b0d843e4b788f91b732e3d93a4739fffcb3526c7f265bf8507035

I hope to stretch you now…

There’s a body.

Whether…[Read more]