31 Days Of Flash Fiction - Day 3

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Okay, I'm cheating a little here. This isn't a brand new story.

I wrote it last year for a flash fiction challenge over at Chuck Wendig's blog, and I won! Anyways, here we go.

Goodbye
"I'll see you in little bits!" Allen called over his shoulder as he made his way to the entry of the house.
"What?" his wife asked over the hum of her hairdryer. 
"You heard me," Allen said, nodding to the man with the fire axe as they passed each other in the hall.

31 Days Of Flash Fiction

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Here we go again. Hope you guys enjoy this one as much as yesterday's.

Dead End
The boy tries to whistle in the moonlight, tries and fails.
The shadow of the man passing the opposite way on the other side of the dirt road nods at him, and keeps nodding forward as long, pointed limbs begin to grow from the man’s back.
The boy runs, his house a dark silhouette at the end of the road. Footsteps and gurgling laughter behind him.
He bursts through the door but doesn’t shut it behind him.
Blood and gore everywhere. His family in pieces.
The voice behind him, close now. Whispering. “Where did you think I was coming from?” 

31 Days Of Flash Fiction

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I love October.

I love Halloween.

I love fall, the leaves turning and then gradually falling, one by one off the trees. It makes me want to create.

So this is what I'm going to do: Every day of October (barring a catastrophe) I'll be posting a flash fiction piece on my blog. The theme will obviously be horror. I'm going to try to keep the stories as close to a hundred words as possible.

Here we go.

With Sympathy
The card came today.
I knew I’d get mine sooner or later. When I open up the mailbox, the afternoon sun shining on my head, it’s the only thing in there. I open it on the way to the house, my hands trembling as the off-white cardstock comes into view, the words ‘With Sympathy’ on the front emblazoned in gold ink.
So I follow the instructions inside, just like I know my friends and family did before me.
One cup of bleach.
A half cup of gasoline.
Three tablespoons of lye.
I grimace as I drink it down.

New Flash Fiction

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Fall is my favorite time of year and always breeds creativity for me, for some reason the Autumnal tones of yellow and red leaves kick start my writing gears and new things come to me. Here's a little flash fiction I jotted down the other night, hope everyone digs it!

The Walk

Their feet slapped the pavement and echoed back to them from the houses lining the road.
Mathew giggled, his small body straining forward while the laughter inside him weakened his muscles.
“I’m gonna get you, Matt!” Justin yelled at his son. His pace was slow enough to allow the boy just enough room to think he was going to get away.
“Nuh uh!” Matthew said between bubbling laughs.
They ran down the looping road that lined their neighborhood, nice houses scrolling by, the last rays of sun barely filtering through the trees. It was beginning to cool off, only early September but already the days were shorter, the temperature never climbing above sixty degrees during the day.
Mathew turned the corner on the loop and jogged down a small hill, his little legs pumping harder now that he had momentum. “Can’t catch me now, dad, I’m an airplane!”
“What? Oh, you’re an airplane? Well then I’m a fighter jet!” Justin made a hissing sound and spread his arms out wide like wings, poured on a burst of speed and scooped his son up into his arms.
“No fair,” Matthew said amidst giggles. “You’re bigger than me.”
“You’re right, but someday you’ll be bigger than dad and then you’ll be able to pick me up.”
The little boy seemed to consider it for a moment, his forehead furrowing into lines, eyebrows raised high, a hint of sorrow on his face. “I won’t ever be bigger than you, dad.”
“You never know,” Justin said, placing his son back on his feet. “Now, it’s getting late, we better get going home, still need to make dinner and everything.”
“Already?”
“Already.”
“I’m really tired.”
“From running? But you’re young, you should have more energy than I do.”
“I just really tired.”
“Need a ride.”
“Yeah.”
Justin scooped the boy high into the air and sat him on his shoulders while they walked. The evening blossomed with shadows patching the sides of the road. Several lights began to glow behind windows, illuminating long squares of manicured grass across lawns. Crickets played a constant symphony and a few birds flitted overhead in search of nests before nightfall.
They were still a quarter mile from home when Matthew kicked his feet once. “I think I can walk now, dad.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m starting to get cold.”
Justin lowered him to the ground and felt a bit of dismay at not thinking to put a sweatshirt on his son. He wore his favorite t-shirt, the one he always seemed to have on. “Sorry, buddy, I should’ve brought a long sleeve for you.”
“It’s okay, dad, I won’t be cold for long. We’ll be home soon, right?”
“We sure will, buddy, and I’ll make you some soup.”
Matthew pointed ahead of them at the dusky street. “Dad, who’s that?”
Justin looked up and saw a tall figure approaching on the left side of the road. Up until then he hadn’t noticed they weren’t alone. How had he missed the person on the straight stretch? As the figure neared he let out a breath he hadn’t consciously been holding. It was their neighbor, Dan Parsons. The wash of fear receded, leaving him feel foolish, but you could never be too careful, especially with your kids.
“Evening Justin.” The old man said as he neared them. “Beautiful night.”
“It sure is,” Justin said, feeling the warmth of Matthew’s hand slide into his own. “We couldn’t resist a walk, could we Matty?”
Matthew shook his head, staring up at the tall man with wrinkles deeply set in his face like a ploughed field. Parsons glanced down at his shoes and smiled in a sad way. “How have you been lately, Justin, everything going okay?”
“Yeah, just fine. Busy at work and whatnot. How about you? How’s Elsie?”
“She’s good, wants you to stop by for dinner again soon.”
“That’d be really nice, we’d like that.”
Dan nodded, glanced around the deserted road. “You sure you don’t want to come inside, talk for a bit?”
“No, that’s okay, better get the little guy home, but thanks. I’ll catch up with you soon.” Justin held Mathew’s hand and set off down the road toward their waiting house leaving Dan to stand by himself listening to the coming night.
Dan finally sighed and walked a hundred yards to his own driveway, pausing to check the mail but Elsie had gotten it already. The windows glowing gold looked so inviting, but he hesitated, breathing in the evening air before going inside.
Elsie was popping popcorn when he hung his coat up and pulled his shoes off. She glanced away from the pan for a moment as he stepped into the kitchen.
“Saw you talking to Justin. He was out for a walk?”
“Yes, I need to speak with Jill, she’s letting him have too much freedom lately, I worry he’s going to wander off one of these times.”
“Well, why didn’t you invite him in?”
Dan waited, watching Elsie shake the popcorn pan, her gray hair bouncing a little. He closed his eyes. “Because he had Matthew with him.”
Elsie stopped shaking the pan, her spine slowly going rigid. She stared ahead out of the window, now opaque to all but their reflections. “I thought he was getting better.”
“So did I.”
She sighed, her fragile frame weakening, almost buckling over the stove. “We should move him in here.”
“We’ve went over this before, I think that would only make it worse.”
Elsie took the pan off the burner and faced him. Her eyes had lost what gleam they had only minutes earlier. “We’ll have to tell Jill to change his medication.”
Dan sighed, remembering the way his son looked at him like an acquaintance. “Sometimes I just wish that I could still see him too.”    

My Feelings On Back To School

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Tomorrow's the first day of school for my kids.

They're not super-excited. A little, but not super.

I thought about how this time of year makes me feel and needed to put down my thoughts.

Hey! My blog! I'll put down my thoughts!

So here we go.

Today we did lots of fun stuff together as a family, got home in time for me to cook dinner. My wife cleaned out their backpacks, washed them, hung them up to dry. My daughter labeled her pencils for a half hour so no one would take them tomorrow.

As a writer I get to stay home and do what I love to do everyday, but I must admit, when there's no one else in the house, I do get more done. I'm alone with my thoughts. It's quiet. I can think clearly with my ideas making the loudest noises I hear. Tomorrow I'm going to sit down and pound out a couple thousand words on my WIP. Then I'm going to go workout, and then pick my kids up from their respective schools.

And as much as I'll relish the time to work, I'll be truly looking forward to getting them back home and listen to them tell me about their first day. I'm going to make them snacks and cook them a special dinner and help them do their homework. The quintessential feeling is hard to express but it's something along the lines of appreciating what you have when it's not there.

I do love my time alone to write.

But the house gets too quiet sometimes.

And when my family gathers together in the evening is when things are the best.

That's it, a little gushing about my loved ones. Thought I'd share. Hope everyone else who's sending their children off to school tomorrow has a great day.

And a great evening when they come back home again.

New Novel Unveiling

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So I've been busy writing my fingers off and editing my brains out and it's finally time to reveal my latest novel which will be out August 6th.

The River Is Dark is my first foray into thriller territory and I'm really excited about it. Below is the synopsis.

Ex-homicide detective Liam Dempsey is waiting to die. 

His career, the only thing he ever knew how to do well, is over. The single solace each day brings is the ever-growing contemplation of suicide. 

But when his estranged brother and sister-in-law are brutally murdered in their bucolic town set on the banks of the Mississippi River, he is drawn into an investigation surrounding a string of killings unlike anything he has ever seen before. The murderer is ruthless, cunning, and without conscience. 

Soon Liam learns that the river is dark. 

And so are its secrets.

So that's it for now. Like I said,

The River Is Dark

comes out August 6th and I'd be really pleased if everyone took a peek at it when it goes live. Thanks for stopping by! 

A Writer's Blessing

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May your fingers be nimble on your keys
And the blank page a welcome instead of a foreboding sea of white 
May your characters speak to you and for you with voices of their own
May you write a thousand words of truth everyday
Without a hint of self doubt
May your critics enlighten you
May your friends and family encourage you
To step after your dreams
May your plots be tight and without holes
And your adverbs limited
May you find your audience or your audience find you
May your ideas flourish in the light of a thousand minds
And blossom into stories that will never be forgotten.