100 Worder Three Little Words

100 Worder

Dawn Knox

Three Little Words

Lemon tea – quick to make and slightly sharp

She'd been longing to hear those three little words and now, here he was across the table, making and breaking eye contact as he swallowed again, summoning the courage to speak. How easy it would have been to say the words for him but she too would have struggled. She placed her hand on his and squeezed encouragingly. Why was it so hard for them both to express their feelings and share their thoughts? Finally, he took a deep breath, cleared his throat and unable to hold her gaze, he looked over her shoulder into the distance. 'It’s over, Laura.'

About the author

Dawn Knox has been writing for several years and has had horror and sci-fi stories published in various anthologies and romances published in magazines. She enjoys a writing challenge and this is her first foray into Flash Fiction.

 If you want to send us a story in exactly 100 words check out the 100-Word Challenge here: LINK

100 Worder Every Day

100 Worder

Ore-Ofe Morakinyo

Every Day

Tap Water

Every day is identical, the same routine as any other. In the morning I wake up to see the abyss of loneliness in our ramshackle house. Breakfast also proves my families debt as I digest an almost raw egg and one week expired slice of bread which – to my luck – hasn't grown any moulds yet. I can never afford the fancy combs and lip gloss I see the other girls use. Even though, I stare into my glossy pink hand mirror which had been cracked approximately three years ago. I put on a smile while I walk out the door.

About the author

Ore-Ofe Morakinyo lives in London with a family of six. At the age of twelve, she likes writing because the thought of making a story is just too interesting, especially creating characters. Sometimes it helps her get away from the world. She loves the idea of being published in a book because it gives her a step closer towards her dream of becoming an internationally known author, artists and maybe someday actor (her word for this is Autorist) and right now she is writing her own series.

Her first story is being published this year in the Paws n Claws collection of children’s writing for Born Free Wild n Free Too

Follow her on Twitter @GraceMorak.

If you want to send us a story in exactly 100 words check out the 100-Word Challenge here: LINK

100 Worder Genesis of a Retirement

100 Worder

Gill James

Genesis of a Retirement

Well Deserved Cuppa

Jack retired on Friday.

On Monday the electrician came to put in the fancy new light system in the loft. It was a gift from his work-mates.

On Tuesday Jack put up the table he’d bought from Ikea and moulded some ponds and hills.

Wednesday he put down the grass and the track.

Thursday he put up some houses and little people.

And on Friday he worked out how the signals and the points would work. .

On Saturday he prepared the engines.  

On Sunday Jack set the trains going on the tracks. He saw that his creation was good.  

    

About the author

Gill James (www.gilljames.co.uk) writes novels for children and young adults. She writes short fiction and flash fiction for all ages. The latter is published on in various anthologies an online.

Follow her blog here. (http://gilljames.blogspot.co.uk/)

She lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Salford. (http://www.seek.salford.ac.uk/profiles/GJAMES.jsp)

Her latest novel Veiled Dreams is published on 26 July 2013. http://www.ourstreet-books.com/blogs/ourstreet/excerpt-from-veiled-dreams-by-gill-james/         

If you want to send us a story in exactly 100 words check out the 100-Word Challenge here: LINK

100 Worder: Window Shopping

100 Worder

Roger Noons

Window Shopping

A mug of milky coffee

Her facial expression was one of radiance, as she proudly pushed the buggy along the pavement in the High Street. She paused, gazed in through the window of the Early Learning Centre, enthralled as much by the decorations, as she was by the goods displayed. Smoothing her skirt and pulling around her the worn blue duffle coat, she continued her journey. Regulars smiled as they passed; strangers, after peering into the pram, frowned and shook their heads.

    Later, in her bed-sit, lit merely by two advent candles, Alison stared at the television and daydreamed that one day …

About the Author

Having spent the best part of thirty-five years writing reports on such subjects as ‘Provision of Caravan Sites for Travellers’ and ’Aspects of Pest Control in the Urban Environment’, Roger Noons began even more creative writing in 2006, when he completed a screenplay for a friend who is an amateur film maker. After the film was made, he wrote further scripts and having become addicted, began to pen short stories and poems. He occasionally produces memoirs and other non-fiction. He has begun to perform his poems, and has just published ’An A to Z by RLN’, an anthology of 26 short stories. He intends by the end of the year to have followed that up with a novella.

He is a member of two Writers Groups and tries his hardest to write something every day. As well as CaféLit, he has had credits in West Midlands newspapers, The Daily Telegraph, Paragraph Planet, Raw Edge and a number of Anthologies.

Roger is a regular contributor to the CaféLit site and a couple of his stories have been selected for the Best of CaféLit 2012.

If you want to send us a story in exactly 100 words check out the 100-Word Challenge here: LINK

100 Worder It's Not My Time

100 Worder

Alan Cadman

It’s Not My Time

‘Just a sip of water … please’

In his twilight years, Michael often wondered how his departure from the world would take place. He hoped, like most people, it would be painless and in his sleep. It might happen when I cross a busy road, or left to languish in a care home, he pondered as he lay on a hospital trolley.

                Michael had been told, even with a minor operation, there were still some risks. It’s not my time, he thought, I’ll be up and playing bowls within a couple of days. 

                ‘Can you relax your arm please, the anaesthetist said, it’s just a small scratch.’

About the author

Alan has been writing short stories for six years. Before that, he was the editor of a civic society newsletter for seven years. When he first started writing fiction, his published work was rewarded with complimentary copies from magazines. His first cheque arrived on Christmas Eve 2009.

In 2011 he made the short list for one story and became a prize winner for flash fiction. Alan also won first prize, of £100, in a poetry competition in 2013. The last three accolades were awarded by the same best-selling UK magazine for writers. Alan’s work has been read out on Internet radio and

his stories are now published in hard copy magazines and e-zines.

If you want to send us a story in exactly 100 words check out the 100-Word Challenge here: LINK

100-Worder: Mirrors

100 Worder

Daniel Lamb

Mirrors

A shot of something strong

Have you ever wondered about mirrors?

      I have.

      What if mirrors lie?

      What if the person you see reflected in them isn’t really you? You could never know for sure, could you? You rely on them to show you what you look like, but you never know for sure whether what they’re showing you is the truth.

      What if something happens to the light before it reaches your eyes, what if mirrors distort it somehow? What if they alter the image reflected back at you according to what you expect to see?

      Have you ever wondered about life?

      I have.

About the author

Daniel Lamb has always wanted to be a writer. Actually, there was a brief period of time in his youth when he wanted to be an actor, and an even briefer period of time when he had aspirations of rock superstardom. In a way, he considers writing to be a form of acting anyway and has thus decided that he is killing two birds with one stone. As for dreams of rock superstardom, these were sadly quashed when he realised that upon picking up a guitar he is killing two birds with his complete lack of musical talent and subsequent noise pollution.

      He lives in a small village in the North West where nothing much ever happens and he has to make things up instead.

If you want to send us a story in exactly 100 words check out the 100-Word Challenge here: LINK

Butterflies

Debz Hobbs-Wyatt

Butterflies

Pink Lemonade

Liliya stands at the door, fingers wrapped over a walking cane, watching Hana turn circles.

Ten pound notes flutter from the sky like butterflies.

In the house, an open newspaper, an obituary: Aleksandr Tastarov. Fifty years but still she remembers. She was Hana’s age, lying on the grass.

“Make a wish,” Alek said.

“Money,” she said, “falling from the sky.  No one has to be poor again.”

             Hana has his eyes. Not that he’d know, or that he had a son. He was long gone by then.  He always said he’d be rich.

             Hana catches ten pound notes.

 Liliya wonders.

              

              

About the author

Debz Hobbs-Wyatt has had several short stories published. She was nominated for the prestigious US Pushcart Prize 2013 and has made the short list of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2013 and won the Bath Short Story Award 2013.

Her debut novel While No One Was Watching will be published by Parthian Books this October. 

She edits and critiques for publishers and writers and has a daily writing Blog.

Website: www.debzhobbs-wyatt.co.uk

Blog: http://wordznerd.wordpress.com/

Author Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/DebzHobbsWyattAuthor

Twitter @DebzHobbsWyatt