Heroine chic

This piece was written for the Carrot Ranch's weekly 99-word flash fiction challenge, with the prompt of 'rethink the hero'. A ballsy Amazon, with a prodigious cleavage and legs that go all the way up to her backside, storms into a cave and kicks the crap out of The Devil Personified and, supposedly, women everywhere …

Occasional ravings: The write sexuality

Dear editors of Hairy Nosed Wombat Magazine I have read your submission guidelines and note that you only accept the work of writers that identify as being somewhere on the spectrum of sexuality that doesn’t include traditional male and female role models, aka LGBTQI2S+, or are Persons Of Colour or have a disability. Before I …

The Mickelmouse Club

This piece was written for the Six Sentence story challenge with the prompt word of 'home'. The former country pile had been the home of the descendants of the robber baron, the Earl of Mickelmouse, but had fallen into disrepair after the last of the line accidentally wandered into the front line during the Battle …

Owl’d lang syne

This was written for the monthly Blog Battle challenge, up to 2000 words, with the prompt word of 'owl'. This piece is 1400+ words. As Carter made his way carefully along the rutted track in his ancient, poorly-suspended car, he wondered for the umpteenth time why McGee had invited him to celebrate him to celebrate …

Perpetual motion

This piece was written for the Six Sentence challenge with the prompt word of 'gear'. Albert A. Stone did not want to be just another cog in the wheel of life, meshing with others to make some soulless machine rotate endlessly, although he could imagine deriving some perverse pleasure, for a short time at least, …

Gotcha laundry

This piece of fluff was written for the D'Verse Poetics challenge to write a laundry poem. When the permanent press get a whiff and start to sniff the stained seats of power, they start to front-load the ‘news’ and then rinse and repeat until their designated target gets the heat of the hearsay tumble dryer …

Free birds

This piece was written for the Carrot Ranch 99-word challenge with the prompt of 'escape'. You could resign, storm out in high dudgeon and let the cards fall where they may. You could fantasise about finding another job where your skills are finally appreciated and imagine submitting your resignation with an air of smugness. You …

Customer Service Guarantee

This piece was written for the Six Sentence challenge, with the prompt word 'service. Here at (insert name of corporation, business, government agency, etc) we value our service to our customers extremely highly and we do all that we can to ensure complete customer satisfaction in all our interactions. From our highly professional call centre …

Scouts? More like the Ging Gang Goolie Goolie gang!

This piece of nonsense was written for the D'Verse quadrille poetry challenge (i.e. 44 words only) with the prompt word of 'knot'. It’s not only knot knutters that are knotty and not nice and need to be knotified to the noosepapers at a rapid rate of knots but also boy scouts need to be dib …

Unfiltered

This story was written for the Six Sentence story challenge with the prompt word of 'filter'. You know that filter that’s supposed to intervene between what you think and what you say, that filter that weighs up the consequences of honesty versus the need to be polite and to consider the future consequences for your …