‘Fishing for Readers’
A short essay on opening lines in flash fiction. Flash Fiction Chronicles. Continue reading ‘Fishing for Readers’
Tag: flash fiction
‘Promotion’
A little bit of sci fi first published in Powfast Fiction in 2010 and re-posted here in the interests of promoting (see what I did there?) recycling: https://conboyhillfiction.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/promotion/. Very short. Continue reading ‘Promotion’
‘Copied Right’
‘Something odd was happening. The air had been tingling for days; fizzing when he wafted his hand across his face.’ On Readwave now. Continue reading ‘Copied Right’
‘Dark brown voices, buttons and bows’ – Eight Days of Ether
Eight Days of Ether: every day a new theme and only 24 hours to submit. Day 8 – Song and Dance Dark brown voices, buttons and bows. We’re in Jackson, me and Jude, for the show. I have a two-day beard and my feet hurt like hell. I sling them up on the table and lean back. ‘Fancy boots,’ Jude nods at them. ‘Ain’t made for walkin’ though.’ He snickers and I give him a look that should tell him I ain’t happy, but he misses it and snickers some more. ‘Hey – don’t push me,’ I growl at him, … Continue reading ‘Dark brown voices, buttons and bows’ – Eight Days of Ether
‘Daniel’s Level’ – Eight Days of Ether
Eight Days of Ether: every day a new theme and only 24 hours to submit. Day 7 – Family Daniel’s Level. ‘The army? Him?’ Jacqui is stunned. Sophie though, is intrigued. Steve doesn’t look army, he looks – gamey. A little bit sci fi but with some fancy reality underpinning it – the US army really has been recruiting via online video games (MMOGs[1]). Virtual reality is being used in all sorts of ways – including treating soldiers for PTSD, and training doctors and paramedics in both basic and emergency medicine[2]. Sadly, Ether Books is no longer with us so here’s … Continue reading ‘Daniel’s Level’ – Eight Days of Ether
‘When you can’t go on’ – Eight Days of Ether
Eight Days of Ether: every day a new theme and only 24 hours to submit. Day 6 – Tragedy When you can’t go on. Awards ceremony. Posh frock; pale peach … A very cheap shot, this one! When the clear impetus was towards difficult human experiences, I only heard The Bee Gees[1]. It’s a 22 worder and, ladies, you’ll know what I’m saying! Here’s the link [1] Tragedy – in case you’re so very, very young http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPcsMMEMbfw Continue reading ‘When you can’t go on’ – Eight Days of Ether
‘The People Indoors’ – Eight Days of Ether
Eight Days of Ether: every day a new theme and only 24 hours to submit. Day 5 – The People Indoors. Edited 21/01/2025 to include the full text. Carole mostly drives the body for the big stuff but they all do a few day-to-day things like shopping, which accounts for the odd items Carole finds around the house. The camouflage underwear for instance, that’s The Robin. Tofu is The Emily’s doing, with her vegan fads and tendency to throw up if any of the others eats a burger, and the Metallica album she woke up to in the early hours one … Continue reading ‘The People Indoors’ – Eight Days of Ether
‘Where Things Come From’ – Eight Days of Ether
Eight Days of Ether: every day a new theme and only 24 hours to submit. Day 4 – Desire Where Things Come From. Chocolates – dark and bitter and containing surprises such as a chilli-coated scorpion or a gingered locust. Desire is sometimes, I think, about things we find ourselves valuing above almost anything else even though they’re often shallow and meaningless. But sometimes it’s about a deeper, more personal need, a longing for something solid, profoundly meaningful such as a connection with other people that is unconditional. This story, at first glance, seems to be saying a lot about materialism – … Continue reading ‘Where Things Come From’ – Eight Days of Ether
‘When’ – Eight Days of Ether
Eight Days of Ether: every day a new theme and only 24 hours to submit. Day 3 – Time When. When you don’t have any left because something in you stopped working. When you have too much and it hangs like wet blankets in your head and over your eyes. When someone steals it by gossiping … I own up right away to hearing ‘If’[1] in the background all the way through writing this and I apologise to the spirit of Rudyard Kipling for my impertinence. This is not so much one story as many; probably ones we’ve all experienced … Continue reading ‘When’ – Eight Days of Ether
‘Pretending not to see’ – Eight Days of Ether
Eight Days of Ether: every day a new theme and only 24 hours to submit. Day 2 – Hats When Jodie put on her magic hat, she became invisible …She ran, crawled, dived, and shot enemies. There’s a saying, ‘I’m wearing my X hat today’, when we want to be seen as a particular sort of person. But some hats send us into the background where we become one of many or just a number. Children generally want to fit in, to be the same, until they reach a certain age and then they want to stand out. But not … Continue reading ‘Pretending not to see’ – Eight Days of Ether
Dr Suzanne Conboy-Hill 