Sunday 24 February 2013

Five Sentence Fiction - Abandoned

Lillie's Five Sentence Fiction this week has brought out the saddest of stories in all of us and mine is no exception.

But what do you expect when she posts the word 

ABANDONED 

as a prompt!

Tissues at the ready, don't forget to check out some of the other stories by clicking on the link above. They may be sad but they are beautifully written!


You left me, standing there all alone!

No I didn’t.

You walked straight past me.

I never saw you, just some homeless guy with a beat up face, clinging to a lamppost, too drunk to stand unaided probably.

I wasn’t drunk but that was me.


I haven't used the picture but maybe it will inspire you to write a five sentence fiction too!

Saturday 23 February 2013

Visual Dare 8 - Kitty McClaw's Grand Day Out

What with half term and the excitement of a book launch to digest I've not had much time to write any flash fiction.

Well it's time to remedy that with an exercise in stretching the imagination set by Angela Goff and her amazing Visual Dare photo prompt.

This one took me on a flight of fancy down to the deepest darkest tunnels of the underground...

Kitty McClaw's Grand Day Out

Kitty McClaw was the queen of the Jubilee Line. She prowled the dark tunnels surviving on her wits and the mice that carelessly crossed her tracks. 

By a quirk of curiosity she found herself in the deserted carriage that day. Generally she was cautious of human endeavour but this train had an alluring sparkle and none of the associated repugnant odours.

While admiring her reflection in the polished floor the doors automatically closed. The train started moving. 

Jumping on a seat Kitty watched her world go by. Flashes of daylight and well lit stations punctured the familiar darkness.

Finally her journey ended. Kitty descended her viewing platform. 

With one last look behind her she spied the majestic woman enter bringing with her a sweet scent of lavender.

They stared at each other for only a moment, before Kitty flicked her tail and bolted.

This world was alien to them both.

150 words

Thursday 21 February 2013

where it all began...


On Friday I went to the Faith Stories book launch at Bishopthorpe Palace, the home of the Archbishop of York. The book was out yesterday so you can go out and buy it!



I’ve written about it before and how my story is in it but here is the video to accompany my story. So now you know what I look and sound like!



Because it is half term and York is kind of on the way, well in the right direction, I decided to visit my parents for a long weekend. My brother and his young son stayed Saturday night too and Sunday morning after they left I realised it was still early enough for me to go to church.

I don’t often visit this church but it is the one I grew up in, where I was baptised as a baby, where I was confirmed as a young teen and where as an older teen I would slide along the pew with my friends to see how many of us we could fit in a row!

The building holds special memories for me. As I sat there a stained glass window caught my eye. Part of the image is of a young woman with braided hair standing on tiptoe listening to Jesus. She is almost like an old friend to me.

It’s not just the building that evokes strong feelings; a church is really the people not he bricks and mortar.

The congregation has changed over the years, new people have come while others have left for pastures new, this side of heaven or the other.

Some of the congregation are like permanent fixtures, faithful and enduring.

At coffee time I sat with my old guide leader, my friend’s mum, a mother and daughter who always sat in the same pew as me and my grandma. Also there were my old youth leaders, a man who I once led the pathfinders group with and a woman who was my housegroup leader.

Before me were people who had a part in my upbringing, who remember me as a little girl or as a teenager or as a young adult before I left home and married.

I have fond memories of them all and enjoyed being in their company once more. I was almost the last to leave I was so busy chatting.

This is where my faith story really began and it was good to go back and remember.

Thursday 14 February 2013

A leap too far?


While working in the church shop on Tuesday one of my colleagues called me over to look at something.

She had been sorting out the greeting cards and wanted to show me the verse from Jeremiah 29 where God says

“I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you…”

I gave her a hug; these often quoted words were just what I needed to hear.

You see I have been watching the videos from the other contributors to the Archbishop’s Faith Stories book. I’d like to know who these people are before I meet them at the book launch on Friday. I’m interested in their stories and want to find some common ground to talk to them.

A lot of them are ordained ministers in the church and those that aren’t run projects working with the homeless or they go into prisons or they have set up a hospice! Really big important stuff.

I’m feeling very ordinary with my own little story, I feel like I don’t fit!

I’d love to turn my blog writing into a book. I’d like to think my words could reach out to people and touch them where they are, helping others who find themselves on a similar journey.

But at this moment in time it’s all a dream in my head.

Maybe in ten or twenty years’ time I’ll have done something to make me deserve a place in a book along with these other amazing people.

I told a friend how I was feeling and she sent me this text 

“Be strong and know that God has got you this far.”

Yes somehow God is in the midst of all this doubt; He knows where I am going even if I don’t have a clue.

It reminded me of a scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – any excuse to add a clip of Harrison Ford to my blog…


Indy has to take a leap of faith, he has to trust that something will break his fall and he won’t go tumbling into the chasm below.

Notice his heart is pounding, he is sweating, he consults his book, he pauses and re-evaluates the situation but eventually there is nothing left but to take that bold step.

I know exactly how he feels.

There is a wide crater before me full of immense possibilities. My imagination tries to fill it but all I am doing is throwing tiny pebbles into a deep well. I have no idea how I will get to the other side or what I will find when I get there.

My ideas don’t stand up but God’s imagination is so much more vast than mine and he says trust me, I will be with you, this is in my plans.

All I can do is hold on tight to the hand that created the universe and believe this leap of faith isn’t actually a leap too far!

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Five Sentence Fiction - Purple

With only hours to spare here is my latest  Five Sentence Fiction. Lillie's prompt this week was

PURPLE

 

Round her mouth it looked as if she had been scoffing rich and juicy blackberries, but it was the puffiness of her face she found most alarming.

When she heard voices drawing near she quickly hid the mirror under her pillow .

He knew instinctively what she’s been up to, they never listened to his advice.

Sliding his hand between the starched cotton he removed the compact.

“I told you, no peeking until the procedure is completely healed.” 


There are twenty-eight other stories to read -  Miranda Kate's story will break your heart but Mark Ethridge's should make you smile :-)

Go and see what else you find....

Tuesday 12 February 2013

My #LoveBites Anti♥Valentine Blog Hop Story

A Guide to Dating for the Clueless

 

Derek believed his talents were wasted as a postman; he would have made an excellent detective.

Birthday cards, bills and bank statements all passed through his hands, clues to the lives lived behind the letterboxes.

Crystal at number 26 was a popular girl usually receiving lots of letters but her post box was distinctly empty on Valentine’s Day. 

To investigate he followed her discretely to the bus stop watching her cry for a bit before approaching.

She declined the screwed up handkerchief he offered but smiled so politely he took a chance and asked her on a date.

He was sure he hadn’t accidently spat on her, it was a mild affliction he suffered with, although he remembered salivating when she accepted.

The local cinema was showing his favourite film, Psycho. When she said she’d never seen this classic he took this as a cue to educate her and waxed lyrically about the beautifully portrayed mother son relationship.

He couldn’t comprehend why she hid her face behind her manicured fingers for so much of the film. She completely missed all the best bits.

When the film finished he insisted on driving her home, a gentlemanly gesture saving her from catching the last bus home.

But she practically opened the car door before he even stopped and he was a little perplexed why she shunned his advances for a goodnight kiss.

He couldn’t quite figure out what had gone wrong with the evening.

There must be some clue he had overlooked.