RESULTS – Microcosms 89

Thank cube… er… sorry… Thank you to all who submitted an entry to Microcosms 89. There were 13 entries this week  – including my ‘just-4-fun’ one. And there was yet another late entry from a new entrant: welcome to Microcosms, Lucian Carter – please see my comment on the MC 89 Contest post.

Please keep returning to Microcosms, and retweet / spread the word about this contest among your followers and friends.

Don’t forget that Microcosms exists primarily to provide a platform for the flash fiction community to hone their skills, and secondarily to give entrants a chance of receiving an accolade from that week’s judge. We also have the vote button for anyone, not just fellow entrants, to register their favourite/favorite(s) and thus establish a Community Pick.

Remember, you can reply with a comment to any and all of the entries AT ANY TIME: It’s good to have feedback.

Due to the late post of MC 88 Results, Steph Ellis kindly agreed to stand in as judge for this contest. Here’s what she had to say:

Hello all,

Geoff certainly didn’t make it easy for you this week, taking away the crutch of the spinner with his challenge to incorporate nine elements from Rory’s Story Cubes®; not an easy task, but one which you all attacked with a rainbow of creativity and in some cases, a sting in the tale.

Beneath a flickering light bulb, I saw behind masks of comedy and tragedy and read of triumphs and disasters magnified in our microcosmic world. As always, the key to my heart is the magnetism of good writing, strong imagery, emotive language, the stories which pull me back to read again and again.

Thank you for making my task so enjoyable.

Steph

[ Clever preamble, Steph – but did you get the flash light / torch in there? GH]

 Favourite / Favorite Lines

Geoff Holme – ‘Do you mean,’ chuckled Jack, ‘I was on the verge of extinction?
Nthato Morakabi – Blood-roses spiralling from the carved cavities of contorted countenances.
Sian Brighal – … and in the cupboard, shop-bought honey. This was so much worse than murder.
mirandats – He’d swum with fish people in the river and seen trees transform into beautiful women, and spent the night dancing with the wee-folk.
Eloise – Ben tried to fly but he felt like a drunken soldier.
Steve Lodge – Of course, if they dangle you over a ravine or force you to smell the exquisite scents of white flowered jasmine, then resistance may be futile.
Angelique Pacheco – “Follow the rainbow”, he had said before knocking me on the head with his shillelagh.
Bill Engleson – Charming whiffs of country life to remember.
Jeff Messick – He sat back down, feeling the waves of harsh emotion cresting over his darkened heart.
Laura Besley – We’re like two North Pole magnets: frosty and repelling.
JK – The Witch is trying to open the fog machine and direct it toward the bees hoping to push them to the back of the stage away from Clyde.
Nancy M Beach – If I take a magnifying glass to anyone else’s life, would they have secrets like me? Do they wear masks like me?
Firdaus Parvez – When I was younger, rainbows looked like bridges to heaven and pain was just scraped knees, bumblebee stings and homework.

 

Special Mention

Angelique Pacheco – The Shillelagh Wielder and His Shenanigans

For the sheer romance of that first line. How could a girl not fall for him?

 

Honorable / Honourable Mentions

mirandats – Rory’s Memories

A seamless piece of writing, burying the prompts so subtly I had to go back through and check. Lovely fantasy memoir.

 

Laura Besley – Late Bloomer

This twin certainly had amazing patience before getting her own back on her sister. I just wonder how long she’ll have to enjoy her moment of glory.

 

Second Runner-up

Jeff Messick – Personal Battles

A powerful tale of personal conflict and despair. The strength of the parental bond shines through, preventing the tragedy that almost happened.

 

First Runner-up

Nancy M Beach – The Illusion of Happiness

Poignant and emotive writing at its best. The introspection of the narrator as she watches the elderly couple in the sort of loving relationship she could only dream about is heart-breaking.

 

And now, without further ado, we present the winners of Microcosms 89.

 

(insert drumroll here)

 

Community Pick AND Judge’s Pick

Steve Lodge – George Luvvy’s Cookbook: Recipe #31

A wonderful recipe with which to extract revenge on those pesky theatre critics. The ingredients for retribution must’ve taken some collecting, however; I mean ‘a bee’s urine’ and ‘giggling slime’? Genius!

A lovely humorous piece much needed after a long week at work. A gentler version of “Hammer’s Theatre of Blood”.

204 words
Cookery

George Luvvy’s Cookbook: Recipe #31

Before cooking a dinner at home for theatre critics, I generally get what I call a ‘light bulb’ moment – a flash of inspiration, usually based on how my latest performance on the stage has been reviewed by my dinner guests. Here is a personal favourite.

Having marinated everything, including my apron, beforehand using a marinator, I dice the potatoes, morass and turnips, add some witches’ fingers, some iron filings and the foreskin of a marrow. For seasoning, I add a splash of bee’s urine, then stir by magnet. Later I cook for 6 minutes using sunlight reflected through a rainbow via a magnifying glass on a light Tuscan stove. Serve with garnish on a platter, surrounded by giggling slime.

Now this is key. Never tell your guests the ingredients you have used, even if tortured under flashlight or beaten with a walking stick, tied to a cypress tree and forced to yodel. Do not give in, even if you are made to sing obscure melodies like “Lotus In A Breeze” or “Mickey, The Sarong Pedlar” or “You Pelikan I”. Of course, if they dangle you over a ravine, or force you to smell the exquisite scents of white-flowered jasmine, then resistance may be futile.

 

Congratulations, Steve. As Community Pick AND Judge’s Pick, you are invited to judge the next round of Microcosms. Please click HERE to let us know whether or not you are interested!