And Only I Am Left To Tell the Tale

11/10/202311/11/2023 / Liz H-H / 24 Comments

Red Phone booth overlooking a lush country village with a marina and a few boats, mountains and blue sky in the background.

From Jenne Gray and C.E. Ayr’s photo prompt, The Unicorn Challenge(11/10/23). No more than 250 words in length. Otherwise, let your creative flag fly!

In the days of yore, a peaceful village nestled in the arms of a twinkling ocean inlet and rolling flat fields, graced with beautiful and unique birds. For years, the village was content with its few sailing boats, small school, single church, and a millenary that made the finest hats. Each hat was graced with an iridescent tail feather from those birds, who monthly shed just one tail feather, enough to suit the vanity of the townsfolk. Continue reading →

Balance

11/07/202311/08/2023 / Liz H-H / 24 Comments

The challenge? Write a story in exactly 6 sentences based on Denise’s one word prompt: BALANCE. Visit, comment, and write & post your own on Six Sentence Stories

Late night, long day, one after the other, until I’m sure I’m going to drop from lack of the basics to keep this aging body going; I’d grazed my way through too sweet and too salty snacks at the various exhibits, and gotten the bargain basement liquid refreshments that were typical to these professional conferences and their bleary evening parties, but what served me in my twenties is unsustainable for a woman in her sixties. Continue reading →

As Meat Loves Salt

11/02/202311/02/2023 / Liz H-H / 7 Comments

Day 2 of FlashNano2023. Prompt word: AMORANSIA

Mary was practically perfect in every way. Men loved her. Women adored her. Young and old were drawn to her like moths to a flame. And each time she entered into a relationship with one or the other, she really tried to love them back with all her heart, and all the fullness of her lissome frame. Continue reading →

Seasons Greetings

10/26/2023 / Liz H-H / 6 Comments

Mushrooming

Rainfall and temps drop

Puffballs are the favored crop

You are what you eat

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2023)

Soulful Samhain to those who celebrate, and Happy Halloween to the rest o’ yez!

Dystopic June

10/02/2023 / Liz H-H / 23 Comments

Fenced in area, partially wooded, gate with a sign: “Stop, Look, Listen. Beware of Trains.”

From Jenne Gray and C.E. Ayr’s photo prompt, The Unicorn Challenge(09/29/23). No more than 250 words in length. Otherwise, let your creative flag fly!

The men waiting outside the gate varied in height and weight, age and attractiveness. They stomped and shivered, pulling at the unkempt grass beneath their feet, sometimes picking out a long, seeded stalk to place in between their trembling lips. Some gave the others the side-eye when high-pitched shrieks erupted from the nearby woods, others chuckled and rubbed their hands, while still others kept their eyes on the ground, having already cased the competition and found themselves lacking. They’d been here before, some several times. Continue reading →

Get Your Furnace Checked

09/24/202309/30/2023 / Liz H-H / 16 Comments

Homeless person in a thin blanket, in a windy blizzard

Source: Spencer Platt / Getty Images

Bundled in yards of heavy cloth and batting, the only signs of life are a red nose and beady eye.

Lamplight softens the tragic scene, but the furnace is out. Continue reading →

Garden Party

09/17/202310/06/2023 / Liz H-H / 28 Comments

From Jenne Gray and C.E. Ayr’s photo prompt, The Unicorn Challenge (09/15/23). No more than 250 words in length. Otherwise, let your creative flag fly!

Never invite a bear to your late-summer garden party. It’s just not worth the trouble. Continue reading →