Leila was up early the next day. She washed and slipped into her brown dress, this time with the cream bodice beneath. It would help her fade into the background a little, what with the shop's wood panelling within and cream paint without.Juanita was already in the kitchen, lighting the stove and pulling food for …
The vivid, intense blues of Sydney Harbour, reflecting the delicately cloud-dotted sky above it, looked like someone had applied some Photoshop filter to real life. The sun danced off the waves, refracting diamonds across kilometres of water. Ferrys, yachts and kayaks skittered across its surface, while gentle waves lapped at the white-gold sand of the …
Jenna pulled into the driveway of her new home, killed the engine and sat for a minute, looking at the deceptively peaceful house in front of her. She still had no idea why she’d bought it, other than it being so insanely cheap she’d been able to buy it outright and still have savings left …
Jenna followed the deputy head down the echoing, locker-lined corridor of yet another new school. Her parents said they were likely to be here for a while, so she needed to make a bit of an effort to fit in. Like that was easy. The woman in front of her opened a door and looked …
She dropped by the bakery on her way back, making her way to the counter, where Marya smiled and chatted and took orders and payments. Leila thought she looked like she'd been working there for years, rather than a day or so. When she reached the counter, another girl gave her a vague smile. "What …
He gazed wearily at the furious woman before him, "I suppose you're here for vengeance too?" She blinked, "Yes?" "You're not sure?" "Well I want my bill paid. If you count that as vengeance, then yes, if you count it as a very stupid way of doing business, then no." He sat up, suddenly interested, …
The rest of the preparations were completed without drama, although the wound to Anaria’s heart still ached. Finally, she was pronounced ready, and her helpers led her from the room. She was escorted downstairs by the group of laughing, chattering women and felt warmed by their happiness on her behalf. Well, if her mother couldn’t …
This is the exercise from the final week of the Virtual Writing Academy. Stumbled across the whole playlist one day and had an absolute ball doing the sessions. Delaney jerked, jolted from the delicate task of breaking out of the museum archive. The cops were here. She heard the sirens, flinched from the flashing red …
The very first section was drawn from an exercise to write without punctuation. It'll need some added in the edit, but I like the breathlessness it gives the paragraph. Memories People were running everywhere scattering and screaming and crying and bleeding as he watched in helpless terror while his arm continued to move the leaden …
They began walking slowly down the path running beside the wall. Isobel paused and turned to the maid. “Oh, please take my sewing back to my sitting room, I don’t think I’ll be doing any more this morning, and my guardians will be here soon enough to chaperone us.” Duncan added, “And if anyone takes …
The DNA of Stories 