FlashNano Day 29: “Write a story that takes place on the edge.”
An Almost-True Winter’s Tale
I should’ve known better. This was just history repeating itself. After dark, but just before sunrise. Heavy snows three days in a row. Had to get up that early to be on time for my morning gig, so I rolled out of bed and headed outside.
Tall snow boots, puffy jacket, Andes hat to cover the ears, leather choppers lined with woolen undergloves. Garage door opener in one pocket, phone in another, and a lightweight snow shovel slung over my shoulder; I thought I was fully prepared. The goal was to clear the driveway before the plows got through, hoping to make clearing the street-side end easier, once the plows came through and dumped the street’s payload on the end third of my drive.
And then they’d come along once more, just to neaten the streets and undo all my hard work.
Continue readingFlashNano Day 26: “Write a story that includes a celebrity.”
You know the routine, and I’m so sad this is the last year Nancy Stohlman is hosting it! So here’s a holiday story to help you digest the holiday weekend (A little corny, but I know nothing about celebrity life, so…)
Janie was an up-and-coming starlet, a nice girl, but a little naïve. Her latest movie had just come out, and though she had a small part, the critics mostly liked her, said she was one to watch. She had a certain je ne sais quoi (noted by an early fan, and grabbed up from her socials and integrated into her marketing and promotions sites). And it did fit. But she had plans of her own for growing a solid, positive public image.
Being polite, never losing her temper or trashing others, remembering where she came from, avoiding situations that might lead to accusations of excess—all of these things came naturally to her. But celebrity can breed jealousy, can breed contempt, and even she was unable to avoid the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
Continue readingFlashNano Day 21: “We are longing…”
A contemplative piece, part true, part fantasy, from the place where dreams slumber? Day 21 of a flash a day in the month of November. Inspiring prompts generously offered by Nancy Stohlman.
We Are Longing
The city street is deserted, trolleys on the next block down stopped, their electric hum silent in this liminal moment just before sunrise. A cat strolls liquid over cobblestones and around the edges of the shop doors, slipping away after having surveyed the trash cans and finding nothing to its liking. We sit on our black railed balcony on the third floor and drink in the desires of those who have not yet shaken the dreams from their blankets.
We are early risers and we are longing.
Continue readingFlashNano 2025: Day 9
It’s the final year of FlashNano, by Nancy Stohlman, where we write a flash a day in response to a prompt, or just because. This is a quick write, but it was kinda fun. And again, I just happened to have the right image!
Day 9: “Write a story where the ending comes first!”
“I prefer door number 2,” I stated tremulously. After all it had taken to get to this point, I hoped I hadn’t chosen wrong.
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I picked him up outside the Morningside apartments at 9 am. He stood leaning against the rusted black iron banister, arms crossed in front of him as he bent to take a final drag off his cigarette, before tossing it on the sidewalk. Tipping his head back once to indicate what? Greeting? Acknowledgement that I was there? Irritation that we were sharing the same air? Attraction?
He liked it that way. I suspected that I did too.
Continue readingFlashNano 2025: Day 2
It’s the final year of FlashNano, by Nancy Stohlman, where we write a flash a day in response to a prompt, or just because. This is a quick write, but it was kinda fun. And I just happened to have the right image!
Day 2: “Write a story in which something turns into something else.”
Evie woke up on the edge of the property, a sour taste in her mouth, muscles aching, and her bag of Halloween candy ripped apart, treats smashed and scattered just past where dirt meets curated lawn. Rubbing her face and neck, she came away with blood on her hands and a laceration in her shoulder that stabbed as she twisted to see what had happened to her. There was definitely a mark. Could be a knife slash, or— this thought rustled a shred of memory—a slice from a claw, or maybe even a bite from trying to escape whatever had attacked her.
What had attacked her?
Continue readingSo Long, Farewell
Many thanks to Jenne Gray and C.E. Ayr for their photo prompt, THE UNICORN CHALLENGE. (07/18/2025). No more than 250 words in length.
The room is cool, a soothing respite from the blistering heat outside its door. Her bare feet shuffle across the smooth wood floor. She reviews each object of art: bucolic landscapes, highland towers, night streets, dawning oceans. Paintings stop in interesting places, to continue with other voices, other rooms. Perhaps a novel, or love-lost poem?
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