Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Christine runs. The childish footwear, pink flowered sandals, slow her down, and so she kicks them off. And then she is running away from the house and across the grass that is wet with dew. There is something so freeing, so thrilling about this act of disobedience – Christine is not allowed to leave the house by herself – until sh...
2021-11-04 12:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostI'm delighted to publish "The Reason", commissioned and imagined by Fossil, in full today. 🍰👦🚸 I hope you all enjoy this Parkdale tale - something special for those who have ever lost in love 💔.
with a double-length tale inspired by special helper Byron...
2021-11-02 20:10:14 +0000 UTC View PostThey fall asleep in each other’s arms. No bedtime story, no lonely snowman or Snow White. It’s already so late, such a special night, but they must get their sleep, they don’t want to be grouchy at nursery tomorrow, do they?
Robin looks at his sister in the illumination afforded by a twinkling nightlight. “You did it,” he whispers, now that Mum has delivered her goodnight kisses and left the room. Yoo diddih.
Lucy could frown with confusion, she cou...
2021-10-31 17:31:00 +0000 UTC View PostIt doesn’t take long.
The night lasts forever.
Trick-or-treating is over in half an hour.
Because Robin and Lucy are so young, and just the length of the street, two handfuls of homes, is more than enough. All the doorbells are answered (they take turns to press the buzzer, Mum lifting them up) because this is Parkdale and these visitors are expected, they are very welcome.
Besides, they’re hardly the only ones out tonight. They’re not even the youn...
2021-10-31 16:55:12 +0000 UTC View PostRobin has skived a lot of school since his dad walked out. So perhaps he missed the lesson when kids are taught what to do when they get younger. When there’s magic. When they’re left the same size (maybe a little smaller) than their baby sister. And when their mother acts none the wiser.
“What’s got into you?” Mum asks, looking down at Robin. “You’re acting so funny tonight.” But she’s asking the wrong questions, she’s missing the news headlines.
Robin lies on...
2021-10-30 17:18:54 +0000 UTC View PostI'm not able to post the rest of this month's exclusive until the weekend, so in the meantime, here's a favorite Halloween tale from before to tide us over, "Ditzy Dinah". (The rest of "Bobbing" is coming Saturday and Sunday)
I
It’s not easy, admitting that your daughter is stupid.
When she was younger, it didn’t matter. Well, I gu...
2021-10-28 17:25:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Bobbing for apples is for babies, like Lucy, already in her Halloween costume (a pink, polyester monstrosity inspired by Paw Patrol). She got to try bobbing first, while Mummy held back the fuzzy brown ears of Lucy’s headpiece.
A pink toddler, looking with trepidation at her watery reflection. Like any two year old, she isn’t self-conscio...
2021-10-25 19:01:56 +0000 UTC View Post
Halloween
Maynard, Kentucky
Kay ends up in the kitchen. She looks harried, she looks pinched and furious. Which is a shame, because she also looks cute, which is an impressive trick, dressed in a costume like that.
“Fuck,” she says. I get the feeling that she d...
2021-10-20 12:23:27 +0000 UTC View Post
I asked my special helpers for "7 Deadly Sins" ideas, and you responded. Thank you! ⭐Time now to vote on the idea(s) that you like the most. This vote is open to all patrons, and you can vote for as many ides as you want.
2021-10-16 21:33:36 +0000 UTC View PostA bonus-length flash tale to kick off one of AR's favorite holidays. Let me know if you like it!
Halloween
The first thing Paul does when he gets home is stare at his girlfriend.
Suzie spins around on her toes and then giggles. “What do you think?”
Paul exhales. “I think…didn’t Dee say it was a vintage theme? Isn...
2021-10-14 12:18:06 +0000 UTC View Post
A reminder, patrons, that we're looking for November story ideas, this time based on any of the 7 Deadly Sins (Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride).
Please share you ideas here. Ideas deadline is this Sunday.
2021-10-13 15:12:36 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello, special helpers! With October's Halloween tales in the works, I would love to see your AR ideas around the theme of:
the 7 deadly sins - Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride
So I guess we're up for anything naughty this time...
Please comment here with your one-line story ideas (as many as you like, but each idea can only be one line - this Is high-concept time, like...
2021-10-07 12:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostHe picks up Debbie, swings her around, as he always does. He makes a show of comparing the painting with the evidence outside. “That’s our house, and you painted our car too, that’s awesome.”
“Blue,” Debbie says with conviction. “The old car ...
2021-09-26 13:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostGrace wakes up to find herself in an ordinary daycare room. Except for the children.
The children are much too old, aren’t they?
Grace rubs her eyes, sits up and looks over at the group of adults dressed in matching yellow outfits. The one-piece like hers for women, overalls for men. Six in all, including her. Grace cou...
2021-09-26 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe wheels on the bus continue to go round, all through the town.
“I’m…oh, I’m so sorry.”
She has wet herself. She has created a puddle on the floor. Her face burns with humiliation. A fainting spell, a heart attack, anything would be less soul-destroying than wetting herself like a little girl.
“It was an accident,” Jodie replies. Her hands rest on Grace’s shoulders, looking straight into her eyes. “Could happen to anyone, please don’t worry.”
...
2021-09-25 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The drive to the new daycare has already taken forty-five minutes. Over an hour, if you count the journey from Grace’s apartment to pick up her niece. This isn’t the ‘quick drop-off’ that Grace’s sister promised, and it’s the 28-year-old, not the four-year-old, who wishes she would have used the bathroom before leaving the house. That banana smoothie has gone right through her.
Grac...
2021-09-23 20:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Thank you special helpers for submitting such spookily creative ideas! ⭐ Now everyone, it's time to vote for your favorite Halloween ideas, and help inspire our flash and exclusive tales for one of AR's favourite holidays.
Patrons, you can vote for as many stories as you like.
2021-09-18 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostAh, let's just read it now 😊
There were ten sessions. After each one, Dan returned home, and his wife asked, “How’d it go?”
Each time, Dan replied, “Fine.” He didn’t say anything more. And while Sheila was relieved that he hadn’t grown bored or frustrated with the sessions, she did grow more and more curious about what took place. But he wasn’t worried. The t...
2021-09-13 13:47:31 +0000 UTC View Post
A little pretentious, attending a movie premiere.
Okay, more than a little.
John and Cindy won the tickets when they donated to their local public radio, succumbing after a week of pleading during the shared drive home.
“It’s like the Italy trip they keep talking about,” said Cindy as they sat at a red light. “No one ever actually wins this stuff.”
Her com...
2021-09-11 14:59:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello, special helpers! With September's tales already in the works, I would love to see your AR ideas around the classic AR theme of:
halloween
Please comment here with your one-line story ideas (as many as you like, but each idea can only be one line - this Is high-concept time, like "man gets dream job, only to find that..." or "woman wins lottery and decides to show off her wealth but ends up..." - you get th...
2021-09-09 16:32:56 +0000 UTC View PostYou’re too stressed. You need to take a break. You’re going to burn out.
This is not what Nathan hears from Julia.
“What a wide-awake boy! Look at those bright eyes!”
It’s nothing but positive feedback from Julia this morning. Nathan feels the dopamine hit as her brightly pitched, sing-song words reach his ears. It’s stronger and more emphatic than any reaction to a Facebook like or Twitter retweet.
“Look at that smile! Are you happy? Are you Mom...
2021-08-30 23:24:27 +0000 UTC View PostThey get back home late afternoon. After sweating in the heat to clear up the things not sold in the yard sale and bagging them up for Goodwill, Nathan has a shower and Julia calls out for Mexican food.
Once Nathan is full of California burrito, Julia starts asking her questions. She always has things to ask after they spend the day together; as if she needs reassurance that Nathan sees events the same way, in case they’re on different pages of history. Julia hates miscommunications o...
2021-08-29 16:59:03 +0000 UTC View Post
