FSF Challenge - Erased

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

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A dark story, perhaps appropriate for the times...

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Manual Deletion

     To most, he was just another face in the crowd until he disappeared one night. After that, his name was spoken everywhere, but only in the hushed tones of frightened people who were now his followers, followers of a man most had never seen and never would. There was no explanation coming from the government, and none brave enough to ask, but those in power were unwilling to risk that someone might. They ordered the electronic commands issued that would traverse every network, invade every system, remove any connection to those who knew him, and delete every record of his existence. Slowly, the man who was just another face in the crowd became the man without a face at all.

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This comment came in via Twitter - not sure why the comments weren't working at the time, so I'll post it here:

@WOKRSmith For some reason I can't comment on your blog. But, I wanted to say how spectacular your FSF is this week! Love it!
— FSF (@5SentenceFic) November 6, 2013

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

Gothic Blue Book III Available

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Gothic Blue Book III from Burial Day Books is now available from Amazon (Kindle edition)! 

Gothic Blue Book III,
Edited by Cynthia Pelayo

I'm rather excited about this since it contains my poem, The Ballad of Drunken Jack!

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Authors and their works in this issue:

Meg Belviso              MUST LOVE CHILDREN AND CATS 
Die Booth                THE GHOST BRIDE 
Melissa J. Davies        EZABELL FROWNED

Lance Davis              THE VIEWING 
Nicole DeGennaro         THE KEEPER 
Mathias Jansson          DEAR MADAME INSANE

K. Trap Jones            THE BASEMENT 
Michael Kellar           THAT WHICH REMAINS 
Edward J. McFadden III   SINS OF OUR MOTHER

Jessica McHugh           AUNTIE GRAVE 
Georgina Morales         A DIARY OF MADNESS 
Cortney Philip           DIARY OF A DOOR MOUSE

Jennifer A. Smith        AND ALL THE TRIMMINGS 
K. R. Smith              THE BALLAD OF DRUNKEN JACK 
Peter Adam Salomon       THE QUESTIONER’S APPRENTICE

Jay Wilburn              REST 

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I guess I'm going to have to set up an Amazon author's page now! The Kindle edition is only $0.99. The printed book will be about $7.00, and should be out soon.

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

FSF Challenge - Determination

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

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This is Part II of a Five Sentence Fiction story I wrote some time ago called Wardrobe Malfunction. It was based on a dieselpunk/steampunk story from another FSF writer, Rogue Tinker. And by continuing the story, I get to use the word dieselpunk again which, for some reason, always excites me.

When we last left our heroine, she was trapped on the side of an enormous analog computational engine that controlled the city's entire infrastructure, with part of her goggles jamming the works...

Yes, I know that's happened to all of us at one time or another, so I'll try to come up with something more original in the future.

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Escape

(or Wardrobe Malfunction, Part II)

     Her muscles were beginning to quiver, exhausted from clinging to the side of the enormous mechanical beast that governed the city's workings, but she was determined not to have her life end splattered on the ground below—or worse—pureed among the pinions. Unable to move the top of her body because of the goggle strap jamming the mechanism, Ysabelle slowly raised her foot closer to where her right hand had a tenuous grip on the oily metal. With her foot finally resting on the metal bar beside her fingers, she pulled a small knife from her boot before wedging her leg into the framework for support, and then delicately sliced the leather to free herself. Once again able to maneuver, she used the blade to extricate the strap end out of the cogs, and the myriad of gears resumed their rotation, as did, unfortunately, the entire section of clockwork on which she was perched. Although Ysabelle was hiding the fact that she was a young woman from those who thought her occupation to be the soul domain of men, few in the crowd that had gathered to observe the spectacle would have suspected even if they had been within earshot, for the next words she uttered were most assuredly unladylike.

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Image courtesy of Lillie McFerrin's FSF website / Lillie McFerrin Writes

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

This Week's Free Photo - Bumble Bee On Sedum

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I took this a couple of years ago on flowers I'd planted around the house using a Canon SD850 on macro setting.

Bumble bee on sedum

Feel free to use the picture as long as attribution is given. You can use the text below for that:

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Image "Bumble_Bee_On_Sedum.jpg" ©2013 K. R. Smith - www.theworldofkrsmith.com

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

FSF Challenge - Malice

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

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I had to have a little fun with this one....

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Communications Breakdown

     "To help everyone understand all of the new words we've learned, we're going to play a little game," the teacher said, "where everyone gets to tell me something about those words. We'll start by describing something you might experience from malice."
     The teacher called on each young student as she went around the room, all of them describing in great detail some dark scenario, until she noticed a girl in the back nearly in tears. When questioned, she asked, "Why does everyone hate me?"
     The confused teacher put her arm around the child and said, "We don't hate you, Alice!"

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Image "Girl Crying In Mothers Arm" courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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

This Week's Free Photo - White Heath Aster

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I snapped this cute flower along the banks of the Little Gunpowder River.

Feel free to use the picture as long as attribution is given. You can use the text below for that:

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Image "White_Heath_Aster.jpg" courtesy of K. R. Smith - www.theworldofkrsmith.com

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

Flash Fiction - A Tinker's Damn

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My flash fiction story, A Tinker's Damn, is now available on the latest issue of The Were-Traveler webzine. It's just a story about a fellow and his hobby.

It's a sort of dieselpunk* / steampunk horror.

The other two stories I have on the site are:

Going Home  ( It's tough finding out you're a werewolf )

A Matter of Personal Taste  ( My mummy always told me not to play with my food ) 

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...

Image "Spider" courtesy of bejim / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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

This Week's Free Photo - Clouds

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It's been a while since I posted a weekly photo, so I figured I'd better put one out here. This week's photo is of the sun behind the clouds. I took this while stuck in a traffic jam during the ride home from work a few weeks back.

Feel free to use the picture as long as attribution is given. You can use the text below for that:

Image "Clouds_7_2013_M.jpg" courtesy of K. R. Smith - www.theworldofkrsmith.com

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

FSF Challenge - Celebration

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

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A story to which many writers can relate.

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Electronic Ecstasy

     It was an e-mail reply from a publisher, but he wasn't sure he wanted to read it. He'd sent out so many submissions and they had all come back with the word "rejected" somewhere in the first sentence. After much consternation, Wilbur clicked on the icon. He didn't even check which of his writings it was in response to before his eyes locked onto the words, "Your story has been accepted." 
     There would be a celebration that night.

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You can read other entries for this week's Five Sentence Fiction challenge by clicking HERE.

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Image "Email Icon On Screen" courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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