This morning’s routine was enlivened by the arrival of the Mayor’s kitchen boy, panting like the bellows. Turned out he’d run the whole way up to my cottage. What was cause? Another of those damn magicked paintings. I started to wonder about the mayor’s wife’s ancestry. One thing I’ll give her, she’s intelligent and learns …
It was an old washing line, wooden posts holding up each end, with the four strands of line sagging between them. Cora thought a few too many blankets on there in one load would be enough to bring the whole thing crashing to the ground. Her mind conjured a picture of Flossie, the maid most …
In spite of Marya’s best efforts, she hadn't been able to time a day off to coincide with one of Leila’s until spring was in full riot across the island. Leila woke to a brisk knock on her door, with Marya calling through the boards. “Come on sleepyhead, we have things to do today.” She …
A very strange prompt that got completely out of hand... Write about a purple-winged fallen angel, a phosphorescent orc king and a psychotic elf with a valuable mug, full of rice pudding Ash wondered if he could stay right here, flat on his back in the hollow he’d created when he fell, for the rest …
Bianca snorted a laugh, Leila thought it was as much at Dani's expression as Tareya's pronouncement. Her reply, though, was mild. "I'm afraid you won't find any shops with pre-made clothing in Port Watch. It's never caught on here." Tareya's face fell. "Oh." She brightened. “Oh well. Papa said it wasn’t seemly for me to …
Mara poured a glass of wine from the chilled crystal decanter left for her on the table and wandered slowly to the window. From here, you could see so far, the city on this side of the castle was a small margin of clutter and stone before the trees began, hard up against the wall. …
The beginning is here, the end is below. There's no middle at this stage. With Trevor unconscious, and trussed up like a Christmas turkey, they trooped down into the cellar, Kaiden and Jenna in the lead, then the mage team following with their prisoner, he was too dangerous to leave behind. Kaiden listened, then led …
Another exercise from Steering the Craft - to try and communicate a big wad of factual information in a way readers aren't going to skip. Anne looked on as David went through First Aid basics for the group of teens they’d been assigned for the afternoon. She managed to hold her tongue until he got …
I was dared to write a story without using names. It's a snippet, but name-free. The young woman stood at the top of the stairs. If it wasn’t enough to have her staring at him down several acres of white marble, she was also looking down her nose at him. Apparently the lady did not …
Leila turned back into the shop to find it all but empty of customers, and Bianca watching her with a raised brow. Her breath caught. Had she overstepped herself? She should have left Mistress Gilder to Bianca’s practiced attentions. “For such a quiet, shy little thing, you have quite the silver tongue.” Leila swallowed and …
The DNA of Stories 