Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Charmed

It's Friday! Thank goodness too, because it's been quite the week. I've been battling a cold all week, missing work, (which is not good when you're trying hard to save money for a trip), I gave a reading of a short story on Wednesday night as part of a celebration of the Writer in Residence program, and my house has sunk even further into the depths of severe messiness thanks to my aforementioned cold. But still, it's Friday and that's a good reason to celebrate, especially with some Five Sentence Fiction. So, let's get on with it already! This week's prompt is charmed. If you'd like to learn more about what it's all about or give it a try yourself, just visit Lillie McFerrin Writes. Enjoy!

She didn't usually let people into her house, especially not this late. But there was something about him, with that slightly crinkled and just a little dirty black suit, his bowler hat clutched in his hands as he ever so politely requested an invitation inside. There was something strangely familiar about his smile, that twinkle in his eye. If she had been in her right mind, she would resisted, would have remembered that she never invited strangers inside her house. But he was just so... charming. 

Voila! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and if you liked this little story, I hope you'll share it with friends. If you really liked it (and would also like to make my day) then please feel free to follow this blog and come find me on twitter @MelanieKCole. I look forward to reading your insights and comments below in the comments section. If you're still hungry for more Five Sentence Fiction, just follow the links below to read past week's editions. Thank you for reading, and come back soon!

Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Accident
Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Goggles
Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Festival
Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Shadows

The Summer of No TV - Week 1

The summer of no TV officially started last week sometime and so far I'm kind of surprised I'm not getting more done. I guess I figured without TV to distract me I'd be getting a lot more done. Somehow, my house is still a horrific mess, my writing is still stumbling along at a clumsy, procrastinating pace and my yard (although better than last year) is still decidedly unpretty. The laundry still sits in large piles on the laundry room floor and I'm just not sure what I've been doing with all those wasted TV hours.

True, I've been reading A LOT and I will not apologize for that. It's important. I think every human being should read every day, even if it's just a few pages. I'll also admit to napping a lot, but I'm pretty sure it's not more than usual. Of course, with the weather finally turning towards summer my husband and I have been taking the dog for increasingly long walks. But I still feel like I've gone through some kind of worm hole. Where's all the progress?

I'm hoping this is just the adjustment period and soon I'll be getting a little more proactive with all the work I should be doing. No matter what happens though, I still think it's a good idea to take some time off from the TV. It certainly can't be a bad decision... right?

Monday Book Review - Tolstoy and the Purple Chair

Welcome to Monday and this week's book recommendation. Enjoy!

TOLSTOY AND THE PURPLE CHAIR by Nina Sankovitch

 

This is a memoir by a woman who loses her sister at forty six to a sudden illness and spends three years trying to run from the reality of that loss until she finally decides to stop, sit down and deal with it the only way she knows how: by reading. She decides to read a book a day for a year, and use books to bring herself back to life and teach her how to keep the memory of her sister alive. 

I think I could probably go on and on about how much I loved this book. Where to start? Her retelling of the love she has for her sister, the vivid memories she has of her and her family are all so beautiful and fit perfectly with the lessons she learns from the books she reads. Of course, there's the enormity of the list of books I want to read, thanks to her recounting of the many fabulous authors she enjoyed over her year, not to mention the way she champions the importance of reading and how it heals us, teaches us, encourages us, sympathizes with us and of course, entertains us. I enjoyed how richly she painted the pictures of her memories, never failing to entwine those memories with the books she'd read. It was fantastic. 

If you're not much of a reader, you will be after this book. The author has managed to perfectly portray the magic of a good book (no easy task) as well as recommend some brilliant choices to get you on your way. I personally have never wanted to sit down with a good mystery more than after reading her memories of hot summer days spent enthralled in the twist and turns of a good who-dunnit. More than that though, I think the biggest take away from this book is the love of family, and the need to cherish the important people in our lives, to find the joy in each moment and hold them close to our heart. Well done, Nina, well done.

Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Accident

Welcome to Friday and this week's edition of Five Sentence Fiction! This week's prompt is accident. If you'd like to learn more about what it's all about, or give it a try yourself, just visit Lillie McFerrin Writes. Enjoy!

"It was an accident."
Her voice was flat and emotionless, her face blank as she stood on the edge of the roof, looking down at his mangled body below. She looked at me, seemed to stare right through to my thoughts, daring me to disagree with her. I thought about all the things he'd done, everything I'd seen and I'm sure the even more horrific things I hadn't.
I nodded,"of course it was."

I hope you enjoyed this little piece of fiction, and if you did, I hope you'll share it with friends. If you really liked it, then please feel free to follow this blog and come find me on twitter @MelanieKCole. If you're still in the mood for Five Sentence Fiction, just follow the links below to read past editions. Have a great weekend!

Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Goggles
Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Festival
Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Shadows
Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Angles

National Short Story Month

Did you know that May is National Short Story Month? I didn't until a few days ago when I saw someone mention it on twitter. So, with that in mind I'd like to share a short story with you that I wrote for last month's Your Story competition in Writer's Digest. The prompt was to write a short story in 750 words or fewer, in which you are stranded on desert island with a coconut, a mask and a dictionary, and explain how you escape the island using only those three objects. I didn't win, but I hate to see a good story go to waste therefore I'm sharing it here. I hope you enjoy it and happy National Short Story Month!

One Way

Hope●less: [hohp-lis] adjective, providing no hope; beyond optimism or hope; desperate

I looked up from the wrinkled pages of the dictionary, staring out at the endless water. It was a sheet of glass, disappearing into the horizon. There was not a soul to be seen, nor had there been since I washed up on this desolate little island, so small I could walk its periphery in an hour.

I'd lost track of the days, the hours I'd sat here on the sand staring out at the water, watching for something, anything. I was almost out of food, a single coconut left.

I was going to die here. It was a fact; pure, simple and inescapable. I turned the pages, trailing my finger along the words.

In●es●cap●a●ble: [in-uh-skey-puh-buh l] adjective, incapable of being escaped, ignored or avoided

The only choice I had left was how it would end. Would it be slow and pitiful, stretched out over days, hours, starving slowly until my body shut down, or...

I picked up the mask I'd set in the sand beside me, slowly turned it over in my hands. Aside from the dictionary and the coconut, it was the only possession I had. It was porcelain, with narrow slits for eyes and small painted on lips in bright crimson, like a doll's mouth. It had flaming red and gold designs over the forehead and temples that caught the light as I turned it. It was attached to a long wand decorated with ribbons and feathers, for holding it to your face during a masquerade. It was a glittering feather festooned work of the imagination, bought in Venice in another life to take home and hang on the wall.

The sand was too soft and powdery where I sat, so I picked up the coconut and carried it with the mask down closer to the water where the ground was firmer. I set the mask down, pressed it lightly into the damp sand and raised the coconut above my head. I brought it down hard on the mask, feeling the shattering of it beneath my hands as much as hearing it. I picked through the softly glittering pieces until I found the right one.

I trekked back up the beach and settled myself under a palm tree, pulling the old, weathered dictionary onto my lap. The pages were crinkly and wrinkled from the humidity, slightly yellowed from the touch of too many hands. They slid through my fingers with a soft rustle as I searched for the correct page.

When I found it, I nestled the open dictionary into the sand beside me, placing a stone on each side to hold it open to the right place.

There was only one way off this island. Just one.

With a steady hand I drew the sharp edge of the porcelain down my wrist.

Lib●er●ate: [lib-uh-reyt] verb, to set free, as from imprisonment or bondage

Monday Book Review - Sunshine

Maybe this week's choice was inspired by yesterday's abundance of it, or it could be that destiny simply made the book's spine sparkle just so as I walked by, reminding me that I simply must tell the world of it's brilliance, or it could be that the three books I read last week simply weren't up to snuff enough to offer up as a book recommendation, causing me to cast further back into my subconscious for a truly good read. Either way, you're in for a treat.

SUNSHINE by Robin McKinley

 

 Sunshine is not your typical vampire story. I know, I know. We're all sick to death of vampires. Twilight has ruled them horribly uncool for the foreseeable future. But I promise you, this book is so much more than the typical vomit worthy love story of the pathetic girl who can't seem to fit in meets charming, dark fellow who turns out to be a vampire with a heart of gold. Blech. Been there, done that. No, this story is filled with whimsy, magic, darkness and pure imagination. Gone is the melancholy beautiful man struggling through eternity. And good riddance!

The writing is exquisite (no big surprise, if you've read Robin McKinley's other works), the story completely original. I guarantee you've never read anything like it. I especially love the main character, Sunshine. She's strong, complex and without a single genre cliche. The story is told perfectly, unfolding just right at just the right times. It's the kind of book I love most. The kind you just can't put down.

So, if you're looking for something different, something intoxicating, this is it. A fantastic story told by an incredibly talented author. (I also highly suggest Deerskin, another work of hers that I just love.)

Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Goggles

It's Friday, which means it's time for some Five Sentence Fiction. (I'm excited, how bout you?) This week's prompt is goggles. If you'd like to learn more about what it's all about, or give it a try yourself, just visit Lillie McFerrin Writes. Enjoy!

"Stephanie, honey, could you please take off those damn goggles?"
Stephanie could tell her mother was exasperated but she just shook her head. The goggles were important, they were the only way to tell when someone was telling the truth. She watched her mother on the phone with her dad, through the lenses of the goggles she could see the blue fog pour out of her mouth. She was lying to him about something, she just wasn't sure what. 

I hope you enjoyed this week's edition of Five Sentence Fiction. If you're in the mood for more, just follow the links below and read past editions. If you really liked it, then I hope you'll follow this blog and/or come find me on twitter @MelanieKCole. Have a great weekend!

Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Festival
Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Shadows
Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Angles
Five Sentence Fiction Friday - Edge