Today – 12th August – is a popular day to croak, kick the bucket, cash in one’s chips, pop one’s clogs, assume room temperature, cease to be… It’s the D.O.D. for:
- Last active pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, Cleopatra – 30 BC
- Steam locomotive pioneer, George Stephenson – 1848
- Author of Death In Venice (1912), Thomas Mann – 1955
- Author of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1964), Ian Fleming – 1964
- Star of the 1957 movie Twelve Angry Men, Henry Fonda – 1982
- Composer of the infamous 1952 opus 4’33”, John Cage – 1992
not to mention – since it is The Glorious Twelfth – countless grouse…
So let’s bear these people in mind as we turn our attention to Microcosms 32.
As usual, our contest will begin with three things: character, setting and genre.
We spun, and our three elements are character: Inventor, setting: Grand Hotel, and genre: Fantasy.
Write a story using those OR feel free to click on the “Spin!” button, and the slot machine will come up with a new set. Be sure to include which three elements you’re using.
- Consort
- Engineer
- Famous Author
- Inventor
- Juror
- Composer
- Alexandria
- Time Trials
- Grand Hotel
- English Village
- Murder Trial
- Concert Hall
- Historical Fiction
- Thriller
- Romance
- Fantasy
- Drama
- Parody
- Horror
- Comedy
- Fairy Tale
Judging this week is Microcosm 31 Judge’s Pick AND Community Pick, Geoff Le Pard.
All submissions should be a maximum of 300 words in length. You have until midnight, New York time to submit. (If you are new to Microcosms, check out the full submission guidelines.)
All being well, results will be posted on Monday.
If you like, you may use the following picture to inspire you (optional).

(reused under Creative Commons License)
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