Roots and Branches

Roots and Branches

92 23 26

True tales from my family tree. A counterfeiter flees on skis across the snowy slopes of Norway. A young New Zealander sails off to seek his fortune in the Australian gold rush. Homesteaders struggle through the tough times of the Great Depression, while moonshiners and bank robbers in Model T Fords prowl the back roads of Minnesota and Wyoming, not to mention Henry Ford putting in an appearance.Quick reads of only 500-600 words each!…

Flashback: tales from ages past

Flashback: tales from ages past

765 196 53

Glimpses out of the misty reaches of the past: Celtic rebels, a footsore Norman squire, a Roman lost in a haunted forest, & many more tales.…

Bits of Whimsy

Bits of Whimsy

131 58 11

A collection of whimsical flash fiction, written to weekly prompts…

Crazy Quilt: (memoir) stitching life's tales together any which way

Crazy Quilt: (memoir) stitching life's tales together any which way

289 101 26

This is a patchwork collection of tales from my life. Every word is true!…

Drabbles

Drabbles

150 60 14

Just an oddball collection of drabbles. (Each drabble is 100 words. Sometimes even less!)…

Gossamer

Gossamer

625 239 50

(cozy fantasy.)Her aging heart sputters, her life drawing near its end. Emily barely musters the strength to follow a trio of cats one evening, into an eerie light that winds like silken strands through the night. Gossamer threads tangle and flare then die away, leaving Emily feeling younger than her years. She abandons her walker and waltzes on nimble feet down the dark neighborhood street, marveling at all the intertwining tendrils that most humans can't see. But one is a muddy muted color, jagged and spiked, leading from one vandalism to another. The broken window of her friend's house frames the prowler -- just as he catches sight of old Emily, wandering the streets alone.Cover photo: by Thomas Stephan on Unsplash…

Footnotes

Footnotes

14 7 1

A goofy piece written for a weekly prompt…

Spun Again   3: folktales, world-wide

Spun Again 3: folktales, world-wide

598 148 28

Retold folklore from around the world…

Hatchlings: fantasy and sci fi tales

Hatchlings: fantasy and sci fi tales

694 131 46

A menagerie of flash fiction, hatched from ideas of many colors from here, there, and elsewhere: mostly fantasy but a sprinkling of sci-fi and contemporary.…

Writing Tips Galore

Writing Tips Galore

163 26 12

I'm a hoarder of information. Want a peek at my hoard of writing tips? I'm not a dragon jealously guarding a pile of riches. I'm glad to share!A hoard of tips... a horde of tips... Ah, that whimsical, baffling language puzzle that is English!…

Fiddle and Fjell: a family saga of Telemark, Norway

Fiddle and Fjell: a family saga of Telemark, Norway

2,578 750 124

A tale of my ancestors in Norway, from 1701 to 1843. Upon a barren framework of names, relationships, place names, and fragmentary dates of life events, I built a saga of what might have been, bolstered by tons of research and then a thrilling personal visit to the sites themselves.…

Refuge: excerpt from Troll and Trylleri

Refuge: excerpt from Troll and Trylleri

9 5 1

Jorunn (age 15) and Oddleif (age 12) are already spooked by the claw-tipped tracks of trolls in the snow. Midwinter, near dusk, not the best time to be snowshoeing through the 9th-century uplands of Norway! Check out this scene from the end of Chapter Two.…

Golden Horseshoe, Golden Harp: Norse ballad into prose

Golden Horseshoe, Golden Harp: Norse ballad into prose

107 42 4

A tale of love and enchantment from the Norse ballad "Villemann og Magnill"…

Three Magic Boxes

Three Magic Boxes

174 54 12

Addie and Liam have three magic boxes and a jillion wacky adventures. Come see what happens next!Written for a sick little 4-year-old.…

Spun Again 2: folktales from Telemark

Spun Again 2: folktales from Telemark

954 8 2

Retold folklore from Telemark, Norway. Main source: Tussar og Trolldom, by Kjetil A. Flatin, 1930, with Tov Flatin, 1991…

From Bay to Backwoods

From Bay to Backwoods

153 20 7

Dramatized family history from two centuries ago, the west side of the Pond. Follow two twining lines until they ply together. ~ Names, dates, places, and relationships: from fact. Settings and background events: based on fact and history. Dialogue, unnamed characters, incidental details: product of author's imagination.…

Ghost Riders

Ghost Riders

15 5 1

Wayne is a drunken son-of-a-gun cowpoke, riding a battered cowpony named Coot. Trudging home from a wild visit to town, Wayne gets a wake-up call that comes galloping out of the storm. Flash fiction based on an old country-western song.…

Uprooted

Uprooted

10 6 1

A ten-week hiatus from the Weekend Write-In means 10 missed prompts. Can I weave them all into one bit of flash fiction?…

Tuesday

Tuesday

27 3 1

Tyr finds himself in the pivotal and perilous position of risking his own life for the sake of all the Nine Worlds. Trust and treachery, which will win out?…

Wednesday

Wednesday

13 2 1

Odin goes in search of the remains of Kvasir the Wise, who had suffered a bloody death.…