A Deadly Substitution

 

“Your Majesty, I beseech you…”

“It is not your place,” the king continued rewrapping tampered-with food parcels. “I’m surprised it’s you who objects.”

“I live for the court,” the jester looked at his pointy shoes mumbling, “and this may bring the end of it.”

“What was that?”

Taking a deep breath, the jester lifted his head, bells on his hat jingling. “The commoners…they will revolt.”

“Nonsense!” The king’s face reddened, softened, and then he laughed. “Ah, another of your jokes.”

The jester cringed. “No joke, Your Majesty. Substituting carob for chocolate… It may be the end of the kingdom.”

 

 

The weekly 99-word Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch  

February 4, prompt: Substitution – In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that features a substitution. *Bonus points for fairy tale elements.

#BlogBattle is a monthly writing prompt for flash fiction/short stories hosted by Rachael Ritchey.

February Prompt: Revolution 

 

Hidden Obstacle #WritePhoto

 

 

There was something behind the rock.

She hitched her bag back over her shoulder and stepped off the path. Hidden in the ferns, she had time to think. Was there another way to get to the hill? Could she wait it out? Should she confront it?

A million more questions plagued her, comforted her, kept her still in body, if not mind.

She was stuck in the safety of not moving on.

The rock was fairly small for a boulder in these parts, wasn’t it? Or was it large? She didn’t dare peek, relying on the accuracy of memory.

Fear danced with reality and the rock became a boulder, then three, then a wall. Late morning shadows stretched before her, creating shapes of all that the obstacle could be.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, another, another… On opening them, she saw the dark shape of the ferns. Felt the fear of the woman waiting in them. She stepped out from behind the stone, reached out her hand, and walked with her to the hill.

 

 

Here is my attempt at #writephoto, a weekly writing prompt for poetry/flash/short stories hosted by Sue Vincent. (So pleased Sue was feeling able to bring #writephoto back. Please do visit and write a little something.) 

 

Freedom of Flight

 

She always knew she’d be the one to die.

Ever since she was a child, butterflies landed on the chains that bound her feet as she worked.

She stood with the others before the sacrificial stone. Stained with blood and carved with butterflies, it spoke to the village of fear. Freedom caught mid-flight.

Each girl’s hand held a slip of paper.

One after another, they faced the crowd, lifted their arms. One after another they displayed their papers. Blue ovals.

She unfolded her sheet. Blank.

Today, she would be the reminder. Although they had wings, they would never fly.

 

 

The weekly 99-word Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch  

January 7, prompt: Butterflies & Stones – In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about the contrasting prompts butterfly and stones. 🦋 

#BlogBattle is a monthly writing prompt for flash fiction/short stories hosted by Rachael Ritchey.

January Prompt: Blank 

 

Featured On the Reef ~ Super-Sized Stay at Home Sale! #StayAtHome #BookSale #AmReading

On the Reef is a series featuring fabulous indie authors from around the blogosphere and beyond. Titles, covers, and blurbs that catch my eye, new releases, great reads… Basically, authors I’d like to highlight and works I’d like to share with my fellow book-loving word nerds. Happy Reading!

As I posted, both my books are on sale as “lockdown literature” right now. 

I’ve seen other authors who’ve done this so thought I’d compile a list. I got as many as I could but I’m only human. (Honestly, was hoping to have a bit more time to pull this together but some of these sales are time-sensitive so please know I did the best I could.) 🙂📚❤️

There are some AMAZING books and talented authors here. Please do check them out.

Stay Healthy!

Featured Lockdown Literature (On Sale for You)

_________________________________

BOOKS ON SALE:

 

On the Edge of a Raindrop by Sarah Brentyn: Flash Fiction DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ FREE! UNIVERSAL LINK

Hinting at Shadows by Sarah Brentyn: Flash Fiction DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UNIVERSAL LINK

Fairies, Myths, & Magic by Colleen Chesebro: Poetry  DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UNIVERSAL LINK

Heartstone Chronicles by Colleen Chesebro: MG / YA DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UNIVERSAL LINK

Parallel Lies by Georgia Rose: Romance / Suspense DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UNIVERSAL LINK

The Joker by Georgia Rose: Romance / Short Story DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UNIVERSAL LINK

ALL books from Marcia Meara: Paranormal / Fantasy DOWNLOAD YOUR COPIES HERE 📚❤️ UK | US

ALL books from J.D. Estrada: Poetry / Non-Fiction / Fantasy DOWNLOAD YOUR COPIES HERE 📚❤️ UK | US

ALL books by Geoff Le Pard: Literary Fiction / Short Stories / Memoir DOWNLOAD YOUR COPIES HERE 📚❤️ UK | US

Eyre Hall Trilogy by Luccia Gray: Historical Romance DOWNLOAD YOUR COPIES HERE 📚❤️ UK | US

Dragons & Ravens by E.E. Rawls: MG / Vampires DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UK | US

Strayborn by E.E. Rawls: MG / Vampires DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UK | US

Fallout by Harmony Kent: SciFi / Post-Apocalyptic: DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UNIVERSAL LINK

Broken Heart Attack by James J. Cudney: Cozy Mystery DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UK | US 

 

Sublime Shadows of Life by Balroop Singh: Poetry DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UNIVERSAL LINK

Timeless Echoes by Balroop Singh: Poetry DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UNIVERSAL LINK

 

Somebody’s Daughter by Anne Goodwin: Short Stories DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE 📚❤️ UK |US 

On the Reef: The Shark’s Coronavirus Quarantine Feature

Featured On the Reef ~ Stay at Home Sale! #StayAtHome #BookSale #Free

 

 

On the Reef is a series featuring fabulous indie authors from around the blogosphere and beyond. Titles, covers, and blurbs that catch my eye, new releases, great reads… Basically, authors I’d like to highlight and works I’d like to share with my fellow book-loving word nerds. Happy Reading!

Both my books are on sale as “lockdown literature” right now so grab yourself a copy (or two)! 

 

On the Edge of a Raindrop

WHEN YOU’RE ON THE EDGE, IT’S EASY TO FALL

These are stories of lives on the edge.

A girl tortured by the world within her. A boy powerless to escape his home. A mother doomed to live with her greatest mistake. A man lost in a maze of grief.

 

Each raindrop provides a microscopic mirror of ourselves and those around us. But we can’t always trust what we see. The distorted images disorient the mind, altering our view of reality.

This second collection of flash and micro fiction explores the depths of the human condition and the fragile surface of our perceptions.

Dive into these tales of darkness and discover what life is like On the Edge of a Raindrop

 

You can get your copy here: Universal Link

🙂📚❤️ It’s FREE for 5 days! (April 24-28)

Hinting at Shadows

NO ONE ESCAPES LIFE UNSCATHED
Delve into the deeper reaches of the human condition and the darkness that lives there.

A girl haunted by her sister’s drowning. A boy desperate for his father’s affection. A woman forced to make a devastating decision. A man trapped by his obsessions.

Experience tales of love, loss, murder, and madness through this collection of flash and micro fiction.

Take a peek behind the smile of a stranger. Get a glimpse inside the heart of a friend. Scratch the surface and discover what is hidden beneath.

These stories will open your mind, tug at your thoughts, and allow you to explore the possibility that, even in the brightest moments, something is Hinting at Shadows.

 

You can get your copy here: Universal Link

🙂📚❤️ It’s on sale for 99c/99p right now!

 

About er…me:

Sarah Brentyn is an introvert who believes anything can be made better with soy sauce and wasabi.

She loves words and has been writing stories since she was nine years old. She talks to trees and apologizes to inanimate objects when she bumps into them.

When she’s not writing, you can find her strolling through cemeteries or searching for fairies.

She hopes to build a vacation home in Narnia someday. In the meantime, she lives with her family and a rainbow-colored, wooden cat who is secretly a Guardian.

Website / Blog
Amazon Author Page

Be well, gentle readers.

 

On the Reef: The Shark’s Coronavirus Quarantine Feature

I’ve Known This Season #WritePhoto

 

 

I’ve known this season.

Danced with dying dreams.

Watched bits of myself float away.

Sometimes I tried to hold on. Other times I watched those pieces fly from me in the autumn breeze.

Both were painful.

Both left me bare and vulnerable.

Yet I’ve survived. Grown stronger.

 

I don’t always change in my own time.

It could be another’s clock that ticks and clicks at me.

In crisp air, I show my true colors. 

What are they? What will the world think of them?

I wait, worry, wonder…

 

But the oak, anticipating winter, knows she will become more beautiful as she lets go. 

 

Here is my attempt at #writephoto, a weekly writing prompt for poetry/flash/short stories hosted by Sue Vincent

 

 

Magic, Fey, a Year and a Day #WritePhoto

 

 

“No peeking!”

I sighed. “I know, Mirra, I wasn’t going to peek.” Although, that’s exactly what I had been trying to do.

She smirked, took a swig of her mead, and skipped away.

I watched them all, gathered to dance, drink, and watch me stick my hand through a hole in the standing stone. It made me absurdly happy and I wondered what the boy on the other side was feeling.

I would know soon enough, when the druids decided it was time for me to look through the Holed Stone.

They wouldn’t ask what I saw and I wasn’t sure if that was because they considered it private or because they already knew. I took a sip of my drink and relaxed at the sweet, honeyed flavor.

I didn’t notice Mirra was by my side until I felt her breath on my neck. She whispered, “It’s time.” The silence around me now was thick. I knew they were waiting, watching. My life was about to change.

Placing my forehead on the rough sandstone, I gazed through the hole.

“Well?” Mirra tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.

“Water,” I smiled. I had seen rain on this sunny, summer’s day. She nodded and kissed me on the cheek. “He did, as well.”

I slipped my hand through the hole and felt warm, calloused fingers find mine and grasp them.

 

 

My #writephoto, a weekly writing prompt for poetry/flash/short stories hosted by Sue Vincent

 

 

Between #WritePhoto

 

 

He flies halfway between day and night.

His wings reach out, touch the rooftop of my home.

The silence outside me, the noise inside me…

I hear him.

Tomorrow, he tells me, will be softer. More forgiving. Wait.  

I believe him.

His message quiets my raging mind.

Delivered tenderly, I feel the force behind his words not to go gentle into this good night.

 

Feathered fingertips brush blue sky down into the pinks and purples of evening.

I will live to see him, this paintbrush of the Gods, bring the periwinkle light of sunrise up into sapphire skies.

 

 

 

My #writephoto, a weekly writing prompt for poetry/flash/short stories hosted by Sue Vincent

 

I offer this as a beacon of hope for the 99-word challenge at Carrot Ranch this week.

In 99 words (no more, no less) write about a beacon. It can be from a lighthouse or other source. Use the word literally or figuratively and go where the prompt leads you.

 

 

Armo’s Love #WritePhoto

 

 

Usually, men carrying axes were unwelcome in the woods.

But Armo was a different sort of man. He respected nature, cherished it even, and the trees knew him.

The day she died, he was there, ax in hand.

He arrived shortly after dawn, telling them he couldn’t bear the thought of her body decaying and asking permission to alter the natural order of things.

They looked into his heart.

They nodded.

They watched as he worked throughout the day, well into the night, until the next morning, not stopping for food or drink.

They marveled at the care he took.

Nothing drew his attention from her form, first cutting her down, then carving her into a smooth, wooden bed.

The Dryads admired their sister’s final resting place.

Tuulikki was gone. She would not be crumbling and returning to the woods but remaining there in a mix of man’s and nature’s peaceful slumber.

 

 

 

My #writephoto, a weekly writing prompt for poetry/flash/short stories hosted by Sue Vincent

(Note: This week’s photo shows a bed with a pillow, all carved from a single tree trunk and left in a wood.)

 

 

As the Crow Flies #WritePhoto

 

 

The crows land on a tiled roof.

Stones of the old church are unwelcoming.

Ancient and powerful, the birds call to us. We are ignorant of their language. We quicken our pace.

Clouds disperse into the arms of sunset.

 

Their magic is misunderstood. Met with judgement and fear.

The Goddess sighs, asking them away. They take flight, shattering the remaining blue of a fading day.

She folds her wings, settling in the nook of a stained glass window.

 

 

My #writephoto, a weekly writing prompt for poetry/flash/short stories hosted by Sue Vincent