laughter and camaraderie found throughout the ages amidst the love of family Those of you who’ve followed my blog for a while may remember that I used to regularly join in with the One-Four challenge, editing a picture in four different ways over a month. Unfortunately, the challenge changed from being monthly to being quarterly, … More A Family Gathering
Memories “We’d spend hours down here, remember?” she said, gazing across at the familiar view, her memories dancing as ethereal spectres upon the sports field. They’d been such joy filled hours, packed with fun and games: skipping and jumping and turning cartwheels; running until breathless, before tumbling in a heap on the grass; vibrant … More Memories
Waiting for the Light Tamrir huddled in the darkness, willing the minutes to slow their passage as he awaited the coming dawn. His sister’s weight pressed reassuringly against his side, and he hugged her close. The night had been long. Ridiculously so. “Is it time yet?” He started, not having realised Ameyi was awake. “Nearly,” he … More Waiting for the Light
The Search “They were around here somewhere. I swear!” Tynen scrambled recklessly over the rocks ahead, peering into each nook and cranny with almost feverish intensity. Velana followed at a slower pace, choosing each footstep carefully as she climbed the craggy slope. “No one’s found any in years, Ty. Admit it – you imagined ’em.” Her … More The Search
Waiting for the Returning Tide “Suzy would’ve loved it here,” Janet said, her gaze fixed on the panoply of vessels bobbing idly in their moorings. “She was always fascinated by boats. Do you remember? They filled the bathtub!” “I remember.” “She was such a happy child. And that smile was so infectious. But she was … More Waiting for the Returning Tide
Silenced It seemed an age since music had last filled Abigail’s home. The piano remained covered: its melodies smothered by leather; its keyboard untouched. But it hadn’t always been so. Once, joyous refrains had resonated throughout the building. Music had been her life. Her passion. And Robert’s, too. Their skillful playing had filled concert halls around the globe. Their life together … More Silenced
Happy Families It was supposed to be a celebration. David drummed his fingers on the tabletop as his siblings exchanged barbs. Couldn’t they make an effort to get on? Just one evening was all he asked for. But no – they couldn’t even maintain the facade of a happy family for a few hours. He gritted his teeth. … More Happy Families
He’d wanted a picture-perfect life: a happy family and well paid job with all the perks. Instead, young voices argued yet again while bills piled high. He sighed as gentle hands massaged the stress away, accepting reality – his life might not be picture perfect, but he wouldn’t change a thing. This post is for Sonya’s Three Line Tales … More Picture-Perfect
Preservation Loreli scratched at her temples where the threads made contact. After nearly twenty years of treatment she should be used to the sensation by now, but they still made her skin crawl. After all, while she knew she’d visited the clinic for years, it wasn’t as if she could really remember it… “How much longer?” she murmured. The doctor would hear, no … More Preservation
Time to Reconnect She hadn’t written to them in far too long. Back in the early days, Felena had penned letters weekly, though each one had simply been added to the stack in her drawer. Eventually she’d forced herself to stop. She’d needed to move on. It was now over a decade since anything had actually been delivered to the … More Time to Reconnect
Each weekend they’d piled into the backseat, little ones on older siblings laps, ready for an adventure. It had been part of their family: the Flying Banana, the greatest car in the world. Which was why, despite being told it was only good for the scrapheap, the rusting wreck continued to sit in their garage – some day the banana would … More The Flying Banana
Seven PM Edmund stood on the shoreline. Waiting. It was something he was good at. As a child he’d waited for his father, watching the ticking clock. At seven pm, daily, the man would hear the governess’ report, granting him a fragment of his time: a smile, a question, a word of praise… if the report was fair. On days when … More Seven PM
This post is for Sonya’s Three Line Tales, a challenge that asks you to write three lines based on the photo prompt below. Tug-of-War With feet apart, teeth bared and fists clenched, they battled yet again for supremacy. Chloe turned away, dialling a familiar number on her phone. She refused to be the prize in … More TLT: Tug-of-War
No More You take and You take, Never caring, Never wondering who You hurt. You rant and You rave, Throwing accusations, Throwing blame Regardless of truth. It’s time, Time to realise The only one to blame For your misfortune Is you.
This post is for Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers, a flash fiction challenge hosted by Priceless Joy that asks you to write a piece of flash fiction of 75-175 words based on the photo prompt below. This week’s prompt was provided by momtheobscure. Thank you momtheobscure! The Weight of Duty Ieldu stared at the ruins … More FFfAW: The Weight of Duty
This story is in response to the Sunday Photo Fiction challenge, hosted by Alistair Forbes, that asks that you write a story / poem of around 200 words using the photo as a guide. Memento She’d always wondered what was kept in the garage. Frances clutched the key to her chest, curiosity battling with trepidation as she stood before the … More SPF: Memento
This post is for Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner challenge, run by Roger Shipp. This challenge asks that you write a story of up to 200 words in response to the photo prompt and an optional opening sentence. This week’s sentence is: “The last time, everything fit in three duffles…” I’m afraid I forgot to include it this time. Oops! The Long Search … More FFftPP: The Long Search
This post is in response to Cee’s Black and White Challenge. This week’s theme is, Backs of Things. I considered taking some photos of the backs of random items for this one but then I thought about all the pictures I’ve taken of my family that only show their backs . In the end I decided to create the … More Cee’s Black and White Challenge: Backs of Things
This post is in response to both Monday’s Finish the Story and the Sunday Photo Fiction flash fiction challenges, run by and Alistair Forbes, respectively. Monday’s Finish the Story, run by Barbara W. Beacham gives a picture prompt and the first line and asks that you finish the story in 100-150 words. The given line is in italics. Alistair … More MftS & SPF: A Sister’s Love
Here’s this week’s entry into Monday’s Finish the Story flash fiction challenge, run by Barbara W. Beacham. This challenge gives you a picture prompt and the first line and asks that you finish the story in 100-150 words. The given line is in italics. Black Fur and Whiskers He thought he found the perfect hiding … More MftS: Black Fur and Whiskers
This is my entry for this week’s Friday Fictioneers Challenge run by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s picture prompt was provided by Raina NG. The challenge is to write a story within 100 words. Beating Heart Mary’s gaze swept the kitchen one final time as she prepared to leave. The room was imbued with a lifetime of memories. Sometimes it seemed … More Friday Fictioneers: Beating Heart
This post if for the Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers (FFfAW) Challenge, run by Priceless Joy. This week’s picture was provided by Vanessa Rodriguez. The challenge is that you write a story of 75-175 words inspired by the photo prompt below. I hope you all like it. Complete Smiling in satisfaction, Samuel positioned the last figure … More FFfAW: Complete
This post is my entry into Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers Challenge. This challenge gives you a picture prompt and asks you to write a complete story in 100 words. This week’s picture was provided by Jan Wayne Fields. Ten Years I died in this room, ten years ago today. They’ve barely used it since. My family was broken like … More Friday Fictioneers: Ten Years
A Regenerative Agriculture Approach
Author Aspiring
an online journal of short writing
Beyond The Known
Colette O'Neill... Environmentalist, Author, Publisher, Photographer. Creator of Goddess Permaculture.
Celebrating the beauty, magic and struggle of creating a meaningful life
Exploring our connection to the wider world
Making literary art accessible 99 words at a time!
