Very short stories #29

I’m just at the end of a week’s holiday. Despite warm and sunny weather earlier in the month, much of this week has had torrential downpour. Typical 😛 Still, it motivated me to work some more on a possible sequel to The Diamond Device, with new characters (and old ones) getting into various scrapes. I think my slow progress is partly because I didn’t originally plan for a sequel. In some sense, I feel like I’m developing a new story from scratch, but I’m constrained by what has gone before. In contrast, A Quiet Rebellion: Guilt ended with a situation that demanded further resolution. The remaining two books of the trilogy arose naturally out of the characters and the state of the world. The take-home point is probably that I should think more in advance about potential story strands for series, even if I decide not to write them. Some day I’ll get the hang of a proper routine!

This month, I’m also doing the Story A Day in May challenge. As the title suggests, the idea is to write a short story every day for a month. I’ve used to time to generate rough drabbles and other microfiction, with the aim being to work further on the ones I like best. My writing buddy Philip Folk has gone one further. At the time of this post, he’s written and shared a flash fiction story every day of the month. They’re well worth reading, and you can visit his blog here.

It’s not all been writing this week. A couple of days ago, I attended a fascinating webinar on the work of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue organisation. They’re a charity that rescues seals, whales, dolphins and other animals after strandings, oil spillages and so on. The webinar was a real eye-opener, if somewhat gruesome in parts. If you’d like to support their work financially, they have a JustGiving page where you can donate.

Book reviews

Now I’ve cancelled my Kindle Unlimited membership again, I might take more care over what to buy/read next. In turn, that might reduce my DNF (did not finish) rate. Though I’m not holding my breath over that. Here are the book reviews since my last post.
The Plainswalker by M. A. Rothman
Written in Bone by Sue Black
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
The Vacuum of Space: A Funny Sci Fi Mystery by Julia Huni

Very short stories

And now for a bunch of very short stories with a few renders. No detective this time. I wonder what trouble he’s got himself into!

sex

“I’m thinking of a coup,” said Hades.
“Oh?” replied Poseidon. “We need to be careful.”
“Yes, Zeus wasn’t born yesterday. He knows to be wary. He spends at least four hours a day planning for uprisings—”
“Funny euphemism for sex.”
“That’s the other twenty.”

silent

After the explosions fell silent, I crawled out from under the table. I inspected what remained of my dinner guests.
Next time, I should maybe use less chilli.

Image by Simon from Pixabay

imaginary

As my vision cleared, I stared at the carnage and gulped.
“You’re a bit old to blame an imaginary friend,” said the cop, snapping the handcuffs on.
“Never said he was a friend,” I muttered.
The invisible demon chuckled in my ear.

measure

Tempers grew heated.
“Handspan? Nonsense! It’s clearly an arm’s length—” The speaker grunted in pain.
The roar of battle overcame further debate.
As the dust settled, a winner limped forwards, panting. “I declare the standard measure to be… one foot.”

Image by Richard Duijnstee from Pixabay

stalwart

In the tavern, the mage jingled her purse. “I seek a stalwart companion.”
“What for?” asked Mighty Kug.
“Dragon.”
“I’m yer man.”
“No.” She pointed at a plump, snoozing fellow. “I’ll take him.”
“Pah! He’s no warrior.”
“No fighting.”” She grinned. “I need bait.”

treasure

“No sign of the hidden treasure,” grumbled the warrior.
“Of course not.” The thief peered round the cave. “Wouldn’t be hidden then, would it? Ah!”
“What?”
“Something shiny.”
“Gold? Gems?”
“Er, no. A giant sword.”
“That’s not—”
“And its owner’s coming this way.”

Just as a final comment, I’m running a price promotion on The Diamond Device from 27 May to 3 June. The price will be discounted to £/$0.99 in the UK and US only (apologies if you’re looking from elsewhere). If you haven’t tried the book already, why not pick it up while it’s on special offer? And I’d love it if you let any interested friends know about the deal 🙂

See you next month!