Saturday Centus - Family Secrets Part 1

Once again, it's time to join Jenny Matlock at Off On My Tangent for our weekly fix of Saturday Centus. Yes, I said fix. If you've participated, you know what I mean. If not, believe me, this fun little meme is addictive! This is week 39. I jumped into the pool late, having been intimidated by all the fantastic writers out there. Don't let that stop you. This is an incredibly supportive group of people. Unless you write about the South. Then Tom's muse is going to start cracking wise about 'possums and outhouses. But I digress. The discipline involved in writing these short little jewels is an amazing way to develop your writing chops. In case you don't know the drill, Jenny (or a guest) provides us with a writing prompt. Use this to write a story of 100 words or less, exclusive of the prompt. The link stays live all week, so if you wake up Saturday with no inspiration, you still have 7 days to come up with something. But be warned, once you start participating, it's hard to stop. Think of Saturday Centus as the "Lays" of blog events - you can't stop at just one!

This week's prompt was given to us by Judie at Rogue Artists Speak. If you haven't met Judie, stop by. You'll be glad you did. She is a gifted artist and writer, and I always look forward to her contributions to Saturday Centus.

Here is my story for this week. The prompt is in bold font.

The room looked just as she remembered. Except for the dust. Grandma never would have stood for that. The old four poster bed and dresser that her great grandmother had shipped from Ireland. Intricate lace curtains, now yellow with age. The beautifully carved chest at the foot of the bed, handed down to generations of first born daughters.

She had returned to the old home place to find some solitude. Peace and quiet. No cable or internet, cell phone service erratic at best. Nothing to distract her from her writing. Instead, she'd stirred up a hornet's nest of trouble. Trembling, She lifted the stack of letters from the ancient chest.

Saturday Centus - That Child is Touched

Jenny, Jenny, Jenny. Did I do something to offend you? Have I broken the rules and not been aware of it? Why else would you do this to me? Ok, last week was bad. You threw down the gauntlet of 25 words and I delivered. But Sci Fi? Really? Science flippin' fiction? Other than a couple of Asimov stories, I never, ever read Sci Fi. Ok, I did read A Handmaid's Tale, but that was a trick. It was written by Margaret Atwood. Had no idea that it was sci fi until I had already purchased it. In case you don't know why I'm grumbling like an old bear, visit Jenny Matlock at Off on my Tangent. She has this neat little weekly event called Saturday Centus. Jenny provides us with a prompt and we write a story of 100 words or less exclusive of the prompt. Last week, she cut us to 25 words plus the prompt. This week, she gave us back the missing 75 words, but we have to write a science fiction story. Make sure that you visit all the links, this is a truly amazing group of wordsmiths. However, I am making absolutely no promises with mine this week. You'll have to take your chances, and if it's dreadful, go yell at Jenny! As usual, the prompt is in bold font. Oh, and I almost forgot. After getting over the shock of the genre, I read the prompt. And proceeded to spill my coffee thanks to a coughing fit. I actually know what show the line comes from. And (forgive me in advance all you Trekkies out there) I can't stand that show. Once again, I'm stealing Jenny's favorite line. Sigh ....

Lying on the dew soaked grass, Ariel gazed at the stars. Twinkling against the black velvet of the sky, more beautiful than any display at Tiffany's. She cringed as she heard the shouting from the house. Great, they were arguing again. About her, no doubt. She shouldn't have told her mother about her friend. She was much too rigid to believe in such nonsense. They always thought Ariel was different. Now they thought she was nuts! But she had proof that there were other worlds out there. And he promised to take her. Summoning her courage, she closed her eyes. "Beam me up, Scottie"...

Saturday Centus - The Heart Attack

Good morning! Jumped out of bed, all excited to see what Miss Jenny had in store for us today. I wanted to get right on it, because I have to work today. Have to keep paying that internet bill, so I can stay in contact. So anyway, got out of bed, poured a big mug of coffee, stretched my fingers in preparation for that 100 word writing marathon and what do I find? A joke from Jenny. No, really, this has to be a joke, right? She loves to shake things up, and this week we are limited to 25 words. Not 250 - I was hoping that she had forgotten to type the zero on the end. But her instructions are quite clear. 25 words. I've told Jenny before, and I'll tell you now. My flippin' grocery list has more than 25 words. TWENTY FIVE WORDS. The recording on my voice mail has more than that. My standard phone greeting at work has almost that many words. Now some of you may be hopping up and down for joy. I, on the other hand, have a rare condition known as "vox plenteous". Which loosely translated from the Latin means big mouth. Really. Look it up. If you don't have a clue what I am rambling on about, visit Jenny Matlock at Off On My Tangent. Saturday Centus is a fun (usually) weekly meme in which Jenny gives us a writing prompt and we then craft a story of 100 words or less exclusive of the prompt. Yes, you read that correctly. We usually get 100 words, which is hard enough. This week, 25 lousy stinking words. This should be interesting! Make sure to visit all the links. The writing is great, and the stories are so short - especially this week - that you should have no trouble visiting everyone.

Now, if you've been paying attention, my introduction up to this point has 311 words. Let's see what I can manage in 25 - TWENTY FIVE! The prompt is in bold font. That's even skimpy this week, just 3 little words. In the immortal words of our lovely hostess, sigh ...

The smell of antiseptic, the whisper of rubber soled shoes, the sting of an IV catheter. As memory returned, I sat bolt upright. Where was the lottery ticket?

Saturday Centus - The Last Laugh

Good morning fellow Centusians! I always look forward to Saturday morning (except the ones I have to work tee hee) to see just what our Miss Jenny has in store for us. Time to knock the cobwebs out of our brains, down gallons of coffee and write a short - really short - story of 100 words or less based on a writing prompt supplied by Jenny Matlock at Off On My Tangent. The rules remain the same. No pictures, no vulgarity, and no splitting the prompt. And Jenny, being the soul of generosity that she is, keeps the link live all week, so we have plenty of time to come up with something. This week, Jenny is shaking things up. No written prompt, we have to write our story based on this picture.

Seriously? Try and visit all the links. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for this!

Here goes nothing folks, hope you enjoy.

The Last Laugh

Well, well, well. What do we have here? A snowstorm! Ada couldn't wait until all those naysayers woke to see what Mother Nature brought last night. Living in an orange grove was pretty boring most times. When little Miss Cindy came back from her New York shopping trip, she brought tiny hats for us oranges. She said it would keep us from getting cold. Ina and the others had laughed when Ada wore hers with pride, rain or shine. She wasn't going to be the one to stifle that child's imagination. Bet they won't be laughing today!

Saturday Centus - Happy New Year

Hello! I'm back! Sorry I've been MIA, but it has been crazy around here. Now the holidays are behind us and it's time to get back to work. Time to rejoin Jenny Matlock at Off on My Tangent

for another round of Saturday Centus. Just a quick refresher. Jenny gives us a writing prompt, and we spin a tale of 100 words or less (exclusive of the prompt). No pictures, no vulgarity, no splitting the prompt. Jenny leaves the link live for a full week, so you have plenty of time to join. And make sure that you visit all the links, there are some amazing writers participating.

To all my fellow Centusians, I hope I don't get kicked out for being absent for 3 weeks, I've missed you guys! This week's prompt is in bold font.

Kate stared at the strips of wallpaper hanging in the front hallway. Another project that never got off the ground. Stacks of half read books lay scattered throughout the house, the new bookcases standing unfinished in the guest room. New Year's always started with such promise. But as the year wore on, it became apparent that it was going to be the same old, same old. No time, energy, or money. She glanced at her crumpled up list of resolutions. Grabbing her notebook, she wrote

Eat more, exercise less, gain weight, procrastinate...

Kate laughed. Finally, a list of resolutions that she would have no trouble keeping!