FSF Challenge - Marriage

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

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie posts one word for inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word.

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Another short one...

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Undying Devotion

  
 

"I'm sorry to hear about your wife, Mr. Jennings."
"Thank you, Sarah. She was good to me, and I miss her very much."
"How long were you married?"
He looked away, then speaking softly, said, "Forever."

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

For Tess

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My first pass at this poem was for Lillie McFerrin's Five Sentence Fiction, and is posted here. The ending is a bit dark and ominous, and I had reservations about writing it that way. The autumn is a time for reflection, and about enjoying nature at its best. The clear air, the bright colors, the holidays—there is so much about the season I enjoy. After the beginning of the year, however, there are the cold, short days of winter. While winter has its own charms, it can also be a dreary contrast to the fall. Just ask anyone with seasonal affective disorder. Perhaps that is what came out in my first poem. I had even thought about writing two versions of the same poem. When Tess made comments with some of the same concerns that I had, I decided to add a version with a brighter ending.

This one is for you, Tess.

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Autumn Dream

  

Twisting, turning, colors burning,
On the wind they dance,
Slowly strolling, gently rolling,
Down the lane they prance.

The season's call makes others fall
Like red and orange snow,
Forming waves of brown and beige
And yellow all aglow.

Then frosty nights trim leaves in white,
A fragile crystal lace,
And frigid air, despite due care,
Nips every child's face.

Spread like charms across the farms,
Pumpkins now appear,
And apples feed the occasional steed
Or wandering white-tailed deer.

Though hints of snow on north winds blow
That whisper wintry ways,
Young couples smile and pause a while
In dreams of autumn days.

                                                 K. R. Smith

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Somebody Loves Me

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Well, maybe not me personally. But someone liked my poem. Close enough...

 

I chanced upon a review of Gothic Blue Book III on Goodreads by Die Booth, and she mentioned my poem, The Ballad of Drunken Jack.

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'Gothic Blue Book III: The Graveyard Edition', published by Burial Day Books, is named after the Gothic Blue Books of the 19th century which were often abridged versions of popular gothic novels and as such were looked down upon as poor quality. The name and tone of 'Gothic Blue Book III' is where the similarity ends however, because this book is a great read full of entertaining new horror fiction, with most of the stories featuring a graveyard in some capacity.

These tales tend more towards the suspenseful and unsettling than the gory - although a few of them are outright terrifying. There's even a couple of poems thrown into the mix, and as someone not generally very fond of poetry I can confirm that I absolutely loved K.R. Smith's traditional-feeling murder tale 'The ballad of drunken Jack'.

The standout for me though has to be Jessica McHugh's 'Auntie Grave', personally one of the best horror shorts I've read in a long time, beautifully written, believably characterised and memorably unsettling.

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I couldn't have asked for a better review if I'd written it myself. (And, no, I didn't.)

Thank you, Ms. Booth! In my unbiased opinion, you are a person of superior intellect with refined literary tastes.

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Orange You Glad You Dropped By?

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It seems I am forever apologizing for my titles (sorry!), but I had to get the color orange in there somehow!

I have a new short story coming out as part of an anthology for middle-grade school kids. The title of the story is One Above Zero. It's about a girl named Zoe who is the target of bullying by her classmates because of a health problem. The book is Tales From the Bully Box and will be published by Elephant’s Bookshelf Press.

The anthology is in support of an anti-bullying effort by PACER. Orange is the color they have chosen to show support for their cause. And today, October 22, 2014, is designated as Unity Day when their supporters wear orange.

A post by Cat Woods, the editor and a contributor, describing how this project came about is found on The Bully Box web site. For kids interested in the book, Cat has this post.

The book is in the final stages of preparation, but the cover is ready and here it is!

More on this when the book is released!

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

This Week's Free Photo - If You Ever Thought Your Day Was Bad

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Yes, it's been a long time since I posted a weekly photo. I apologize. I've been meaning to put this on the blog since the summer, but I've been busy. It has nothing to do with writing, but every writer has a rough day, so... 

All I can say is, if you thought your day was bad, imagine how the guy with the red truck feels.

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Image TOW_TRUCK_GETS_TOWED_WITH_TRUCK.JPG ©2014 K. R. Smith - www.theworldofkrsmith.com - may be used, in whole or in part, with attribution.

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Falling

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

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie posts one word for inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word.

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A simple poem for autumn.

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The Price of Autumn
  

Twisting, turning, colors burning,
On the wind they dance,
Slowly strolling, gently rolling,
Down the lane they prance.

The season's call makes others fall
Like red and orange snow,
Forming waves of brown and beige
And yellow all aglow.

Then frosty nights trim leaves in white,
A fragile crystal lace,
And frigid air, despite due care,
Nips every child's face.

Spread like charms across the farms,
Pumpkins now appear,
And apples feed the occasional steed
Or wandering white-tailed deer.

Yet we must pay for such fine days
With darkness in our soul,
For shortened days and cloudy grays
Will soon be winter's toll.

                                                 K. R. Smith

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

HB Challenge #11 - Bad Hair Day

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Horror Bites Challenge #11

From the Office Mango website:

So this is an extremely late Horror Bites Challenge. What with the Referendum and the release of In Creeps the Night I’ve been kinda busy. Maybe I should get the hang of scheduling posts in advance lol

Anyway I was going to use a picture I took the other weekend when at family but the lovely Josie Beaudion has some totally amazing pics of Yellowstone Park and I couldn’t resist them. Look out for them in the coming weeks, you’ll spot a theme so maybe we’ll encourage some of you to write a continuing story…..

1:  Tales can be posted on your blogs & then just add to the wee linky tool, or add as a comment if you don’t have a blog.

2:  A word count of 200-350.

3:  Try to scare me, or at the very least create a little bit of darkness.

4:  This will be a fortnightly (two weeks) challenge from when the post goes live, so you’ve got plenty thinking time.

So come on what are you waiting for, go find your inner demons and get your scare on!

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BTW, as of October 16th, In Creeps the Night was:
   #6 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Anthologies & Literature Collections > Horror (US) 
  and
   #7 in Kindle Store > Books > Teen & Young Adult > Horror > Short Stories (UK)

Doing very nicely!

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Bad Hair Day

    "Okay, Henderson, you've called me out here all the way from Washington. What's so important about a three-point-five magnitude earthquake?"
    "It's not the magnitude that is of interest, sir, but what the quake left behind. When it hit, the soil liquefied. A lot of gas rose from the site."
    "That's not particularly unusual. Anytime that happens trapped gases can escape."
    "Most often, however, those gases are methane, carbon dioxide, or sulfur dioxide—you know—the stuff that gives a foul odor around volcanoes."
    "Sure, but you're not going to tell me this is a volcano erupting. The geology is all wrong."
    "Just the opposite, sir. The gas coming from this site is almost pure oxygen."
    "That can't be. Have you checked your instruments?"
    "More often than I'd like to admit. The oxygen level is particularly high around the structure in the center of the site. It wasn't there before the quake."
    "Do you mean that old tree trunk?"
    "It's not a tree. We took a sample, and it's nearly all protein. Under a microscope it has a structure similar to a rhinoceros horn."
    "I don't follow you, Henderson."
    "It's hair, sir. Compacted hair.
    "Hair?"
    "Yes. And it seems to be growing out of something."
    "Something? Can you be more specific?"
    "No, sir. But whether we destroy it, extract it, or bury it, I'm going to need a little help."

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What will Henderson do? Check back and maybe the story will continue!

(229 words without the title, and I do apologize for the title...) 

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Previous Horror Bites challenges: 

Cross Words (#10)
The Door (#9)
Wrapped in a Mystery (#8)
If The Shoe Fits (#7)
You Won't Feel A Thing (#6)
The Wings of Death (#5)

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Tales From The Bully Box Cover Reveal

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I'm not entirely sure how I became involved with this, but I have a new short story coming out as part of an anthology for middle-grade school kids. It's different from most of my stories in that it doesn't involve anything of a speculative nature. The title of the story is One Above Zero. It's about a girl named Zoe who is the target of bullying by her classmates because of a health problem. The book is Tales From the Bully Box and will be published by Elephant’s Bookshelf Press.

The anthology is in support of an anti-bullying effort by PACER. A post by Cat Woods, the editor and a contributor, describing how this project came about is found on The Bully Box web site. For kids interested in the book, Cat has this post.

The book is in the final stages of preparation, but the cover is ready and here it is!

More on this when the book is released!

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Horizon

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

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie posts one word for inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word.

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Another short one...

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The Journey

    "I just don't know if it's worth the effort." She ordered another drink before turning to her friend and saying, "I keep trying and trying, yet my goal seems just as far away now as when I started."
    "Perhaps that is all you really need."
    "I don't understand."
    "You can set your sail toward the horizon, and though you will never reach it, isn't the sunset beautiful?"

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Hunger

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

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie posts one word for inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word.

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A short one this week...

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Silent Plea

    "Why did you give that girl money?"
    "She needed help."
    "But she didn't say anything. How could you know?"
    "When I looked into her eyes I didn't just see the pains of an empty stomach, I could feel it."

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

We're Number 1...

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...in the UK.

 

50 creepy reasons 4 the season #shortstory #anthology #flashfiction #horror #Halloween http://t.co/ZJlV7YPzCK pic.twitter.com/6vh3XTCQC3

— BlueHarvestCreative (@JustAddBlue) October 6, 2014

Just saw that In Creeps the Night was #1 in Kindle books for teen and young adult horror short stories on Amazon UK (see orange block in image below). Since there are fifty stories, I'm claiming 1/50 of that.

 

Doing fair on this side of the pond (it was up to #2 in a couple of categories at one time, but now down to #9), but it could do better! Come on, USA! It's for charity!

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved