(120 words, must include damp, meek, patron. ecstasy) Gallery director Stefan forlornly scanned the room. Every significant figure in the art world …
(100 word story using the following words: damp, meekly, patron, ecstasy) Shaded lamp in hand, Sister Monica crept out of her damp …
1 Min Read
It was the first time she’d been here since Helen had been reported missing. By rights she should have been at home …
4 Min Read
‘Here’s number eighteen,’ Caleb whispered. Zac knocked. A footman opened the door. ‘We’re here about the cockroach infestation,’ said Zac. ‘I assure …
3 Min Read
Dry autumn leaves swirl and scrape the pavements Making a sound like a drummer’s brush on a hi-hat, A furious wind pours …
1 Min Read
Thine birthday was a grand and hearty feast; We supped on fowl, roast beef and bread not stale. We gorged so much …
1 Min Read
In my time I seen some mighty perplexing things on this here river. One night one of those big steamboats ran aground …
10 Min Read
The vehicle screeched to a halt in a cloud of red dust. Joffra and Mitch leapt from the rover, firing their lasers …
3 Min Read
Under a cavernous, velvety sky with a gibbous moon floating like a silver dinar above the mountaintops, a travelling minstrel and his …
24 Min Read
He pulls his bowler hat down tight over his closely-shaven head and steps out into the cold night, his heavy boots making …
6 Min Read
Just after the turnoff to Griffith on the Sturt Highway, Jackson hit the brakes. The tyres squealed. He pulled the truck over …
11 Min Read
Lysandra opened her eyes and wished she were still asleep. Her head pounded as though a team of stonemasons was carving a …
20 Min Read
Fred takes one of the nails he holds between his lips and places it against the timber, hammering it home with far …
22 Min Read
It was a song oft repeated around the sly grog shops and two-up schools of the great metropolis. Some say Jim Grey …
3 Min Read
‘Have you balanced yet, Lothar? We can’t be staying here all evening.’ ‘Almost, Herr L-Langmann,’ said Lothar, his cheeks flushing red. He …
31 Min Read
The spectators cheered as the juggler hurled the fire sticks into the air. They soared into the darkening sky, spinning end over …
17 Min Read
The Royal Barge bumped against the quay. Lysandra, who had been dozing, grumbled when Jena tapped on the door. ‘Princess, we are …
13 Min Read
Ben was puffing from having sprinted down the platform. Thirty years ago he wouldn’t have raised a sweat, but now his legs …
13 Min Read
The surface of the Great River was completely still. Leaning over the rail of the royal barge, Lysandra gasped at the beauty …
17 Min Read
When I bought my new dress you smiled cheekily, lasciviously. At my graduation you put your arm around me, And said, “she’s …
1 Min Read
Oh glorious, silver orb, your beams drip deep through the dank damp earth until they reach me here in my resting place. …
2 Min Read
A drifter, my Pa had said. A young girl just passin’ through. I seen her next day in the big barn, watchin’ …
3 Min Read
Tara loved living near the mangroves, where the tides rolled in and out every day. At high tide the water was bustling …
14 Min Read
Lysandra felt almost invisible in her black cloak as she hurried in the darkness down the Avenue of the Pharaohs. The shadowy …
20 Min Read
Back in her private chambers it took a long time for Lysandra’s tears to stop flowing. Sitting on the end of the …
16 Min Read
Lysandra’s right foot came out of her sandal as she took the bend at pace. A troop of Roman soldiers marching in …
15 Min Read
Ah yes, The Barnacles! Don’t they seem to just grow right out of the rocky shores of Sydney Harbour. Regular readers of …
22 Min Read
Joey The wind blowing off Lake Michigan gives me jitters. It’s rattling the trolley wires, and the street lights hanging off them …
11 Min Read
Helena stepped back from the edge a second time. Breakers thudded against the rocks below and the sea-breeze ruffled the folds of …
3 Min Read
The shade from the London plane trees does a good job of extracting the sting of the sun. Now winter is over …
2 Min Read
“Shona, why are you gripping the stern rail so tight? Are you seasick?” Oh Christ! It’s Veronica, the gym junkie. “Just enjoying …
3 Min Read
Leo lay languidly under the acacia tree, picking at the morsels of meat caught between his molars. He thought about nothing in …
11 Min Read
‘Mum, I’m bored. Can we go to the shops?’ Corey’s mum held up her hand to shoosh him and told the Zoomed …
16 Min Read
Winter One winter’s day at sunset, four sulphur-crested cockatoos landed on my fence – one bird for each of the seasons. It …
6 Min Read
Elias’s cheeks were burning. He strode down the corridor, barely looking at his father walking beside him. The sound of the rain …
7 Min Read
You can’t bring her back you know. In the gloaming we queued, awaiting our deliverance from another week. The bus arrived just …
7 Min Read
Just a few days into the swimming program of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the world was astonished to see the …
13 Min Read
Jett pressed play on the CD and You ain’t Nothin’ but a Hound Dog rocked out across the empty rehearsal room. Normally …
8 Min Read