New Story Coming - A Tinker's Damn

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This image is property of The Were-Traveler

I just learned that my story, A Tinker's Damn, has been accepted by the The Were-Traveler for publication on their webzine. This will be my third story (and one drabble) they've accepted. It's a sort of dieselpunk* / steampunk horror. It should be available in early October. When it's up, I'll post a link on here on the blog. The other two stories I have on the site are:

Going Home  ( Werewolf  )

A Matter of Personal Taste  ( Mummy  ) 

Please stop by and give them (and the other stories) a read!

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* You just know if I have a chance to use the word dieselpunk anywhere, I'm going to do it...

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© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Magnetic

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This week's writing challenge from Five Sentence Fiction ( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt: Magnetic

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Science and romance, all in one!

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Northern Fights

     "The world is such a beautiful mystery," Meaghan said while gazing at the undulating bands of green light shimmering in the clear night sky.
     "It's not a mystery at all," Jack replied. "Just high-energy particles following a path along the Earth's magnetic field and interacting with the upper reaches of the atmosphere releasing photons of a particular frequency, depending, of course, upon the type of atom or molecule they encounter."
     Meaghan turned toward Jack in the chilly darkness, her eyes narrowing as she released her arm from around his.
     "You're such a jerk!" she proclaimed before stomping off down the snow-covered road toward town.

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Image "Aurora Borealis" by Victor Habbick / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Wild

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This week's writing challenge from Five Sentence Fiction ( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt: Wild

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Another poem. Had a little trouble with this one - took a while to make it work. I might revisit this at some point and try to get the flow a bit better... Six verses, five sentences.

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The Wind In The Grass

With a muted moan
The wind carries the fragrance of a silver-green sea
To the shore.

And on the beach,
Ivory flowers of foam take flight, blown by gentle gusts,
Scattering moist petals along their path.

Then over the sand the air swirls,
Drifting a myriad of tiny grains into an undulating mound
Flowing around unkempt tufts of grass sprouting beyond the reach of the tide.

Twirling in the breeze,
Their slender blades sway
In time with its siren song.

Finally, the cool mist caresses you
While dancing across the dunes,
Hair flowing around your soft curves,

As natural and wild
As the wind in the grass
That forever whispers your name.


                         K. R. Smith

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© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Flowers

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This week's writing challenge from Five Sentence Fiction ( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt: Flowers

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Before we proceed to my entries for flowers, I'd like to mention (shameless plug time) that I have had another short story accepted. A blog post about it and other submissions is here. I hope someday to actually see the stories that have been accepted in print. Acceptance is good; printing is better.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled stories...

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I haven't done a poem for a while, so I thought I'd give one a try.

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The Last Roses

I lay them down before you;
An offering you neither accept
Nor refuse.

Your eyes cannot see
The colors they show,
Your mind indifferent to their splendor.

They offer their fragrance to the air
That, although sweetly graced by their presence,
Drifts away unnoticed.

Your hands,
No longer troubled by the painful thorns,
Cannot enjoy the silken petals.

And yet I lay them down,
These useless tokens,
Because they are all I have.


                         K. R. Smith

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And as a bonus feature...

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The First Date

     "You're staring at me again! Stop it!"
     "Sorry," he replied, looking away uncomfortably.
     It was their first date, and the day had gone so terribly wrong that whatever he said came out as awkward or backward or worse to the point where he said little at all. How could he possibly explain the way she made the flowers in her hair look so beautiful instead of the other way around?

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Image "Flowers On The Cross" by topstep07 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image "Blond Girl On The Camomile Field" by -Marcus- / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Another Update On My Submissions

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This is just another brief update on my writing, as much for me as anyone. I'll update my on-line spreadsheets when I get the time.

The Fisherman and His Wife: (Short story - humor/fairy tale) Still supposed to be out some time later this year in Grimm & Grimmer IV. I'm waiting for something back from Fringeworks about a more concrete schedule.

Skarett's Treasure: (Short story - humor/horror/pirates) I got an e-mail from the new editor (Mellissa Black) a few days ago:

Good Morning!

I would like to offer your short story Skarrett's Treasure a spot in the Dead Men's Tales anthology. If your story is still available and you would like it included, please let me know immediately.

Thanks.

My first thought for a response was:

Yes, it is still available. Although thousands of requests from major publishing houses have poured in for the tale offering huge wads of cash (as humorous pirate stories are all the rage right now), I wanted you to have it.

Then, I thought, no, that sounds slightly embellished.

So anyway... after noting the nanosecond hand on the clock had nearly reached the next mark, I did reply that the story was, indeed, still available (who the heck else would want it?) and I'd be happy (somewhat of an understatement there) to have it included. This is to be through Knightwatch Press, an imprint taken over by Fringeworks. Hope to hear from you soon, Ms. Black!

Neersville: (Short story - horror/ghost) As reported previously, this was rejected. I may try to do some rewriting of this in the future, partly to eliminate some of the awkward areas required to get it within the size limit requested (it was way over before I cut it back). After that, I'll see if I can find a suitable market for it.

The Ballad of Drunken Jack: (Poetry - horror) This was accepted for inclusion in Gothic Blue Book III, and I am now waiting for additional instructions.

Miscellaneous items: The flash fiction steampunk/dieselpunk story, Tinker's Damn, was submitted to The Weretraveler's The Little Magazine of Magnificent Monsters issue. I'm waiting for a reply. I ran out of time for finishing the submission to James Ward Kirk Fiction for their anthology, The Cellar Door and for the short story, Final Judgment for the Horrified Press anthology, Tales of the Undead – Suffer Eternal Volume III. I'll finish them eventually and submit them where appropriate.

Now, after all of this, I must say that having my stories accepted is great, but I'd really like to see some of them in print, either paper or electronic. It seems that every step in getting something published takes a long time, or there is some delay. At this rate, most of my stories will be published posthumously (or else I'm going to have to live for a very long time...).

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Image "Feathered Quill And Ink Pot" by Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Beauty

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This week's writing challenge from Five Sentence Fiction ( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt: Beauty

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Semi-colons gone wild!

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Beauty and the Thieves

    The girl sat down next to her mother who was warming herself by the fire, despondent because she was not so attractive that the young men would take notice.
    "I don't want to end up like her," she said, pointing out an old woman sitting by herself making baskets.
    "Do not be so quick to judge her lot as she has been weaving her colored reeds many times longer than you have been alive not only to pay her way through life, but because she finds great pleasure in making the world a more pleasing place for others, even for those who will come long after."
    "What makes that so important?"
    "To have beauty is fortunate, but it can never be guarded so carefully that time cannot steal it away; to admire beauty is natural, but obsession and envy are thieves of your mind's pure thoughts; to create beauty, however, is to have everlasting joy that no one can take away."

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Image "Hopi woman weaving a basket, ca. 1900" / National Arcives - Online Public Access

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© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Monday Mixer - The Eyes Have It

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This week's writing challenge from Monday Mixer #28 ( The Latinum Vault ) Note: Original link no longer works

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A slightly risqué Monday Mixer...

Here are the choices for the location, thing & adjective (my choices in red):

Things:       1) slew              
              2) exemplar         
              3) decolletage

Verbs:        1) typify           
              2) debilitate 
              3) ensorcell

Adjectives:   1) prodigal
              2) fractious 
              3) vainglorious

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The Eyes Have It

     Miranda had a slew of learned skills at which she could pass herself off as an exemplar, but preferred instead to apply her natural assets via a scandalous decolletage to ensorcell her male rivals. Heads turned as she walked into the meeting room, her dress much more revealing than one that would typify traditional business attire, but there were no complaints. Certain of the outcome, she tried to hide the grin on her face as she took her seat at the table and pulled the revised contracts from her briefcase. As she sat across from Mr. Oldham, the chief financial officer, she couldn't resist one final vainglorious attempt to put him in his place and establish a superior position before the bargaining began.
     "My face is up here, Mr. Oldham."
     "Thanks," he replied. "Being blind, I'm never quite sure where I'm looking."
     It would be a long and difficult negotiation.

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Image "Sexy Breast" by adamr / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved