As an antidote to the post publication doldrums I have decided to do a daily flash fiction to get the writer brain going and keep the sentence construction chops sharp. On Fridays I think I will do it here, live, after a fashion. I’ll draw from my handy Storymatic bank of prompts, and write up a little snippet.

I will do minimal corrections, so you all can see what a terrible typist I am. Maybe I’ll post a photo or two I’ve taken in the last week or so.

Also! If you have a movie/Netflix/Prime that you would like to see me review, let me know in the comments. I’m game.

Flash Fiction 12.11.2020 Prompts: bookworm, dancer, a rumor is going around town.

First time I saw Janie I could smell the vanilla oil on her skin. Messy bun, glasses, stupid lumpy cardigan. She wasn’t even a librarian, just an over zealous volunteer.

But the smell caught hold of something in my memory. A night out a month or so back. A bachelor party a couple counties over. Most of my buddies too gone to care who was who and what was what. But remembered that scent.

So I looked again. Everything was different. The posture, the shyness, the look of adoration for each book she shelved. But then she went up on her tiptoes to get some hefty tome to a top shelf and it snapped into place.

“Cupcake?”

Her head whipped round, sending the bun tumbling down her back. Eyes wide, she went pale then pink.

“I, I don’t know– um, the cooking aisle is two over if you’re looking for a cook book.” She turned away and started pulling her hair back up.

“I think you do know. And I know.” I didn’t want it to come off was a threat. I wasn’t trying to put her in a bind. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anybody. Just wanted to say, you left an impression.”

She looked around to mae sure we weren’t being overheard. “Rumors can do real damage in a town like this. THey’d kick me out of the library.”

“Like I said, I won’t say nothing.” I pulled the nearest book off the shelf, some memoir, and flipped it around so she could see the cover and the title. “I’m gonna go check this out. You want to go out some time, you know how to look me up.”

Yeah, this is what happens when you write raw. It’s not great. It’s never great without a bit of polish, but sometimes whatever bubbles up to the surface can be fun, with a gem or two hidden within. THat’s all for today. Happy Friday everybody!