Worthing Flash

Thank you to all those who have written flash fiction for #worthingflash this year. I welcome any story which meets the only rule (maximum 1000 words). Any writer can also advertise their books, webpage or works which have been published elsewhere. There is no fee * hurrah * but alas no payment either! All the best Derek McMillan

The Griffin of the bridge likes The Heights, from where she can see her prey from a distance. She knows the way they will travel; there is only one track across the river. Just below The Heights. Just one way for her two-legged prey to get food into their den. Their den of wood and stones. She watches her prey a lot, and still, she can’t really understand them. She has learnt to watch, really closely, for the stragglers. A mistake might be fatal, as it had been for her mate. But no success in the hunt means no food for the hatchlings. There are only three of them left now. At first, when she and her mate had built their nest on The Heights hunting was easy. The prey would scatter and scream as the two of them struck from the skies together. Didn’t the prey know they could never hide while making that noise? And by splitting they were easier to take one by one. But hunting is getting much harder now. And the hatchlings are getting much hungrier. And this doesn’t feel lik...

Our river guides have gone on strike. Citizens who live well away from the river think they will not be affected, but are mistaken. Those near the river’s edge know the peril that comes of the river losing its way. The striking river guides hold their raucous rallies on the highest ground in town, by inference pointing out what their continued inattention could portend. The river patters and crackles along, content to abide by its last set of instructions. But wait until the next good rain. Then we will parse the river guides’ demands, admit we have overlooked their standing. Ken Poyner www.kpoyner.com, www.barkingmoosepress.com   At indie bookseller Sundial Books, https://sundialbooks.net/search?q=ken%20poyner.   Science Is Not Enough—speculative poetry Winter’s Last Apple—poetry, prose poetry, micro-fiction Stone the Monsters, or Dance – speculative poetry Lessons From Lingering Houses – speculative poetry Engaging Cattle – flash fiction The Revenge of the House Hur...

A sunny Saturday morning in September, 1960. Bert Platt, the World’s Best Dad (he has the cup from Woolies to prove it), is standing under a pawnshop’s three golden balls and peering through the grimy window at a ‘JOMMETRY SET’. Beside him is a Brylcreemed short back and sides in a new school uniform. Bert left school at fourteen and got a job in the Jacob’s Biscuit factory. He is very proud and a little in awe of his clever son Tommy, who has just started in the A class of The Collegiate, one of the best grammar schools in Liverpool, and is now doing things like Maths and Latin. Bert gazes at the stainless steel compass and dividers nestling in the (slightly dented) black case among unredeemed watches and wedding rings. Then he eyes the price tag beside it. He sucks his false teeth at the thought of all the pints and ciggies he’ll have to miss if he splashes out the nineteen shillings and eleven pence. But he wants his lad to make the most of the opportunities his own generatio...

Astarte Eau de Toilette is the bedrock of the origins of alchemy. An icy infusion of facets of citron and persimmon creates a unique fruity accord with a truly unforgettable sillage. Astarte – the luminous fragrance of those ‘Gansos’ who refuse to abide by just one Friday a week. #CANCER CURED You guys have been asking like forever about natural cures and such stuff. So I teamed up with Dr. Vibrant Grube. An incredibly cherished experience. I feel so very blessed. Who he? Only literally a global superstar health guru! Check out his book Nature Rocks. It will totally SAVE YOUR LIFE 10/10 recommend!! Whats absolutely the worst disease you can think of? Ofc it’s the BIG C. Well he has proven definitively that cancer is cured by SESAME SEEDS!!! Yeah you read that right. Just eat 66 sesame seeds every day for a month and cancer is totally cured NO CAP. Btw if someone is a bit down while waiting for the cure to kick in Dr Grube validates that sucking an ORANGE while takin...

I received a number of queries from Grigory Lukin  and these are the answers. I hope they are helpful. a There is no charge but that means no payment either. People can of course advertise their books if they have any published. b Simultaneous submissions are fine because I like people to have their work published elsewhere as well as  #worthingflash  . c I have never had to tell people to avoid racism or bad language in their work because nobody has tried. d I respond as soon as I can. Have a look at  http://worthingflash.blogspot ,com to see the vast range of stories I receive. Derek McMillan Editor of #worthingflash 1m Reply