Category: Short stories

Would you choose to be frozen?

But could you choose who to unfreeze?

cryogenic-in-perpetuity-gif-500That’s the premise for my latest short story.

The vats are full and your failing cryonics company has to make room for a new batch of inmates. Who do you choose to terminate? And does first in, first out seem the fairest way of doing it?

This story was inspired by the real life case, of a young girl  dying from cancer at the tragically young age of 14, who wanted her body to be cryogenically preserved in the hope that a cure might be found one day in the future.

But, what if… Continue reading “Would you choose to be frozen?”

Who can resist Yorkshire pudding?

Serving up food in a short story

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There are a couple of competitions coming up that ask for food-related stories. I don’t like cooking. But I do like eating.

Today, I intended to write a short story featuring a multi-cultural meal, full of exotic tastes and fragrances from around the world. But I started off inside the head of John, a very traditional English man, who yearns for the Yorkshire puddings his wife used to make.

John just took over the story, and the finished piece turned into something a little bit different from the one I originally intended. Continue reading “Who can resist Yorkshire pudding?”

Yesterday I didn’t write a thing for NaNoWriMo…

That means today I have to write TWO stories

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I’ve finished the first one. Well, finished is a loose word. I mean  I’ve finished the first draft of Omnia Suo Loco.

It’s a ghost story. Sort of. Anyway, it features a spooky statue that keeps moving.

I guess I should credit Dr Who and the Weeping Angels, but I didn’t set out to write a piece that included a moving statue. Funny how some stories just insist on writing themselves. Spooky!

One down, another one to go. #30days30shorts

Another horrible murder for NaNo

I can’t stop writing about crime. What’s wrong with me?

apprentice-gif-500Yesterday, I sat down to write the first draft of another short, short story of 1,000 words. My structure was very simple and the story brutally brief.

An old and fading photographer takes on a young man as an apprentice with a view to partnership. But that was 10 years ago, and the young man is still doing all the menial work, carrying all the heavy equipment… and he’s feeling pretty fed up. Continue reading “Another horrible murder for NaNo”

Monks and relics

Brother of the Sack

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When a travelling monk seeks refuge in a monastery, he doesn’t expect to be accused of the theft of a precious holy relic.

Luckily, Brother Benjamin is blessed with a sharp mind and cleverly uncovers the real thief.

This #30days30shorts story was inspired by an information board overlooking a local field. It describes how an ancient priory once stood on the site, which housed the Friars of the Sack. Sadly, nothing much is known about the vanished priory, nor the monks who lived there. Continue reading “Monks and relics”