FLASH FICTION TUESDAY: A New York State of Mind

 

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Now on Tuesdays…at least for the foreseeable future…welcome to Flash Fiction Tuesday. In case you don’t know what flash fiction is, it is an extremely short story (sometimes created in 100 words or less) with a beginning, middle, and an ending,

But in my case, I write flash fiction with an open ending. I allow my readers to draw their own conclusion as to what happens. This week’s story leaves us wondering if we should give LIFE a second chance…

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The old man cautiously looked at the people jamming the streets in front of him. How was he ever going to get through that crowd? Martha needed him. She had always needed him, ever since that day the Bufford boys pushed her down in the mud and stole her newspaper money. Times were hard back then and the editor had a soft heart. Martha convinced him to let her sell leftover editions to the butcher on the corner. Fish couldn’t read anyway so what did it matter to them if it was yesterday’s news?

Pulling threadbare lapels higher on his neck, the old man shuffled slowly through the lines of people. He remembered the first time Martha held out that coat for him to try on. Their first Christmas together and her fingers were still covered in bandages from all the extra sewing she’d done for the money. You would have thought he was the Crown Prince and that second-hand trench coat was made of the finest leather the way her face split in two with a silly grin when he finally tore open the package. She kissed him there, right under the small sprig of mistletoe he had snuck from the corner florist, and told him how much she needed him. Funny thing is, Martha never realized just how much he needed her. His day couldn’t begin until she smiled that pretty smile of hers. Old man McCraney’s complaints about him being lazy meant nothing once Martha hugged him as he walked in the door after pulling a double shift down at the docks. Why, she even kept the bottle from getting the better of him when they got that war department letter back in the winter of ’43. Lordy, what would he do without his Martha?

Mumbling his pardons along the way, the old man continued to make his way through the crowds until he finally made it to the corner and opened the door of the same florist he snatched mistletoe from all those years ago. Shuffling up to the counter, he waited for the young clerk to notice him before asking, “Would you have some white lilies, please? They’re for my Martha”….

 

***Okay, where is Martha? And why is he buying flowers for her? Add a line or a paragraph in the comments below and join the fun!***

 

 

***WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!***
***WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!***

 

I’m happy to announce the winner of week eight of my TWELVE WEEKS OF LUNADAR free giveaway! Laurie Kutscera has won the Yankee Candle fragrance locket. Thanks for following me on Twitter! Congratulations! Look for my email on how to get your prize…

 
Week Nine


***DON’T FORGET! It’s week nine of THE TWELVE WEEKS OF LUNADAR giveaway and this week you get a chance to accessorize your desk or nightstand with the cute doggie bookstand shown above! Just click on the pile of presents to the right of this post and choose how you would like to enter the FREE giveaway. Winners will be announced every Monday in my INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY post!

***Also, both ebook and paperback versions of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound are on sale through the holidays! You can grab the ebook copy for just $1.99 and the paperback for $12.49 through Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Nook, Books A Million or dozens of other online retailers. Books make great Christmas gifts!

 
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Ruler by day, a reluctant pirate by night, 18-year-old Princess Ariana fights for her subjects in the waterfall city of LUNADAR. In a kingdom surrounded by fairies and mermaids, and ravaged by deadly Drundles, only a chosen few are trusted to guard her daughter, Candra, as the secret heir to the throne.

But it only takes one ill-fated meeting for Ariana to suddenly be plunged into an escalating web of secrets found in her father’s journal, a deadly kidnapping, and an ever-weakening resolve to turn her back on the call of the merman’s song.

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of LUNADAR at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

 
donna

 
International best selling, award-winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy), is now available in ebook and print form from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, and other online retailers.

Donna L

Hybrid award winning author; aspiring sketch artist; and 4th Degree Senior Certified Taekwondo Instructor. Host of BOOK NOOK REVIEWS. Member of SCBWI. Mom to fabulous son and adventurer delving into the tricky world of indie-publishing.

2 thoughts on “FLASH FICTION TUESDAY: A New York State of Mind

  • November 20, 2018 at 8:14 pm
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    I don’t have a positive feeling about where Martha is, so I won’t say. I’d love to read more about the winter of ’43.

    Reply

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