MFTS – Rags to Riches
Here is my contribution for Barbara Beacham’s Mondays Finish the Story. We get a photo, an opening sentence and then we have 100-150 words to finish the story.
I had a story all written, about a woman who’s had a terrible life and decides to drown herself, then changes her mind, swims back towards shore and gets eaten by a shark (ha ha ha) but you’ll be pleased to hear I changed my mind and wrote this one instead.
For this week’s other contributions, click on the little blue froggy. In my story, the supplied opening sentence is in bold.
Copyright B.W. Beacham
Arriving at the beach, she reflected on her life. A tough childhood. Orphaned. In and out of trouble. Never fitting in, never belonging. She’d grown hard. Bitter. Always putting herself first. Because she had to. Because she needed to survive.
That was before David. Sweet David. Gentle David. David, who wouldn’t think twice before throwing himself under a bus to save a small furry animal in distress.
New husband David. Rich David. Gullible David. She couldn’t believe how easy it had been to talk him out of the pre-nup. “Davey, honey, love’s forever. We’re forever.”
She imagined tomorrow’s headlines. “Wealthy philanthropist David Gear dies in tragic boating accident while on honeymoon. New wife inconsolable.” She’d better work on inconsolable, she thought. The way he’d thrashed about as the sharks had ripped him apart made her smile. It had reminded her of the way he made love. Ineffectually.
She pinched herself to make her eyes water, then walked back to the hotel to face the Press.
Sharing My World 2015 Week 18
Here’s my post for Cee’s Share Your World for this week.
What type of pets do you have or want? Or do you not want pets?
I don’t have any pets at the moment. If I were to get a pet it would be a cat. Cats are pretty independent and since I’m out at work all day, it would have to be a pet which could look after itself.
Plus, everyone on the interwebz loves cats so I could set up a camera in the hopes I could get a funny video or a meme or two out of it :-).
What was or is your favourite cartoon?
When I was little I enjoyed “StarFleet”, though that might have been puppets rather than a cartoon. Also “Battle of the Planets”. G-Force Fiery Phoenix go! Yay.
When I was a bit older, “Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds”.
Now that I’m all growed up, pretty much the only cartoon I watch (and coincidentally am currently binge-watching on Netflix) is “Archer”. Because it’s awesome.
Copyright FX Networks
I can highly recommend it. However, if you’re easily offended or indeed offended by anything at all, don’t watch it. You have been warned.
When you’re alone at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?
I wear socks at home. I have a pair of slippers but they’re pretty knackered so I don’t wear them much. If I’m going up into the loft I put on trainers so that I don’t slip on the ladder and end up lying in a crumpled heap until someone notices I didn’t turn up for work :-(.
Are you a traveller or a homebody?
The occasional trip is nice but for preference I like to stay at home.
Burnout
Here is my story for this week’s Friday Fictioneers, the 100 word photo prompt ably hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by Madison Woods.
To view this week’s other contributions, click the blue froggy.
Copyright Madison Woods
Jedro hesitated, took a deep breath, and turned the tap. Behind him, the crowd strained to see.
Nothing.
Word spread, hope changed to resignation. Loved ones hugged. Children, confused, were gathered up by parents. The last remnants of humankind dispersed, wandering away to make their own plans for the End.
The water was gone. All of it. Jedro kicked angrily at the salt covering what had once been the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.
Antimatter energy, they’d said. Unlimited power. Totally safe! An accident, the Earth moves a fraction of a degree closer to the Sun… and the world slowly boils away.
MFTS – Love Conquers All
Here is my contribution to Barbara Beacham’s Mondays Finish the Story. My genre for this week is “weird madcap nonsense”! It changes from supernatural to romantic to slap-stick in seconds :-).
We get a photo and a starting sentence and then have up to 150 words to finish the story. To view this week’s other contributions click on the blue froggy, and the supplied opening sentence is in bold in my story.
Copyright Barbara W. Beacham
After losing her head, she realized that the rest of her body was falling apart!
Not now, she thought, as her head was replaced by that of a demon, her body transforming into that of a lizard.
“You’re morphing, dear,” whispered her mum.
“How inconvenient!” growled Samantha through razor-sharp teeth.
Barry stared in shock. His wedding guests ran screaming. His bride-to-be’s sat quietly, unfazed. His best man stood trembling, rooted to the spot.
“Wha…” stammered Barry.
“Well,” his bride’s mother said, “it’s like this. We need Samantha to marry a mortal to cement her bond to this realm.”
“That’s Samantha Draconis Satanicus Wilson,” continued her dad.
“It’s still me, dear,” growled Samantha.
Barry looked into the demon’s glowing eyes, and sure enough, he saw his Samantha staring back.
“Well,” said his best man. “You’ve dated worse.”
“True!” smiled Barry. “Let’s get married!”
“Love really does conquer all!” laughed his soon-to-be-father-in-law, morphing in his excitement and accidentally decapitating a bridesmaid. “Oops!”
Everybody laughed and a great time was had by all.
Nemesis
Yeeks! Fortunately he was outside. And I didn’t get this close. That’s what zoom lenses are for :-).
Sharing My World 2015 Week 17
It’s Sunday, the day I contribute to Cee’s Share Your World, just one of the fun challenges that Cee organises on a weekly basis.
What is your most favourite smell/scent?
My two favourite smells are quite opposite to each other. One is the smell of bacon cooking. Mmm, bacon. The other is the smell of nature. Not cow poo or anything like that, but the smell of the forest, cut grass and flowers.
The Higher Garden at Lanhydrock, near Bodmin, Cornwall
Do you prefer long hair or short hair for yourself?
Well, quite recently I toyed with the idea of having longer hair. I decided it would be cool. However at my age it would probably just look stupid, and when my hair gets to a certain point it tends to puff out. So short is the way to go for me. If I was going to try “going hippy” I should have done it 25 years ago.
Do you plan out things usually or do you do them more spontaneous (for example if you are visiting a big city you don’t know?)
Tricky one. I used to plan everything down to the last detail. I don’t do that any more. That’s not to say I’m a spontaneous person. There isn’t a less spontaneous person on the planet than me!
However, if I’m off somewhere I don’t know, I’ll plan the route, where I can park and if applicable I’ll book somewhere to stay. That’s the limit. I might switch the car display to “map” so I can see roughly where I am but I’ve never actually used the Sat Nav per se.
I’ve discovered that planning everything to the last detail leads to major stress. Knowing where I’m going and that I have somewhere to stay reduces stress, having exact things to do at exact times – well, life’s too short to put myself through that.
What is your favourite outdoor activity?
Walking in the woods, gardens and so on I guess. And I like taking pictures of it all. So in the spirit of that, here’s another picture of Lanhydrock, looking at the main house across the lower gardens, framed by little ornamental battlements.
Into the Fire
Temperatures have plummeted back into single figures. And it’s nearly May! So yes, I have felt the need to switch on the gas fire of an evening. And also to take a picture of it with my new camera!
A Rocky Start
It’s time once again for my contribution to Friday Fictioneers, the weekly flash fiction challenge hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was supplied by Dee Lovering.
Apparently my story last week was “a bit dark”, so this one is a bit lighter :-). So here is my idyllic honeymoon story, ably aided by the inestimable Freddy Mercury.
To read this week’s other stories, click on the little blue froggy.
Copyright Dee Lovering
“We’re here!” smiled Rex, bursting into song. “Baarrrcelo-onaaa, it was the first time that we met…”
“Quiet! People are staring!” His new wife looked embarrassed.
“Barcelo-onaaa, how can… ow! Ow!” Rex struggled to fend off Cassie’s handbag.
“Finished? Where’s this honeymoon cottage you booked, then?”
“Lisbon.”
“What? Why are we in Spain?”
“No idea,” smiled Rex. “I wondered at the time why you were booking tickets to Spain.”
“WE’RE IN THE WRONG COUNTRY!”
“Yes! Ah, Barcelona, home to… ow! Ow!”
An old couple watched them from a nearby café.
“Ouch, nasty,” commented the woman.
The man nodded sympathetically. “Must be married, love. I recognise the signs… ow! Ow!”
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