tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67012156727537029842024-03-05T22:33:26.843-07:00Chaotically YoursL. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.comBlogger299125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-77053802329390508022025-07-01T21:09:00.000-06:002017-07-01T21:10:07.232-06:00Now at Wordpress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6GNWJj0YXcyyvr439iHecd2w1nmcnDvExKg31rMFi_GL9SOGmPkNmwL9xzoUaIjaUeUlD0MobWRz1T7EU04_tnma0JvRRGDdD2IKbpXo-sbOk3qeCJlSmkrvhSMHOOrKntN3-PxoReKp/s1600/tree+2+banner+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1026" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6GNWJj0YXcyyvr439iHecd2w1nmcnDvExKg31rMFi_GL9SOGmPkNmwL9xzoUaIjaUeUlD0MobWRz1T7EU04_tnma0JvRRGDdD2IKbpXo-sbOk3qeCJlSmkrvhSMHOOrKntN3-PxoReKp/s320/tree+2+banner+copy.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you're looking for me, you can find me over at <a href="https://chaoticallyyours.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><i><b>Chaotically Yours on Wordpress</b></i></a>. </div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-65562692062497123832017-09-30T00:00:00.000-06:002017-09-30T00:00:01.025-06:00[Saturday Shorts] 9-30-17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><b>Write 200 words about being lost in the woods. </b></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1tHV4zpX4hOQXIeZdv4qhQfDmUAmotygUqEEIo8DEUPD2WDeJtkKiP3emgpI4YbdNOYZT5f2BFnSacCTIELBcy5npi6TCyeYsMeWlpJm6zZT8Ld5a7gWbi49zbnCntf4ZhLT_Uk-ikTS/s1600/summer-1619916-640x360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1tHV4zpX4hOQXIeZdv4qhQfDmUAmotygUqEEIo8DEUPD2WDeJtkKiP3emgpI4YbdNOYZT5f2BFnSacCTIELBcy5npi6TCyeYsMeWlpJm6zZT8Ld5a7gWbi49zbnCntf4ZhLT_Uk-ikTS/s320/summer-1619916-640x360.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Leave or link to your story in the comments by midnight on Sunday and I'll tweet about it this week. <i><b> </b></i></div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-55973898952093666842017-08-26T00:00:00.000-06:002017-08-26T00:00:00.165-06:00[Saturday Shorts] 8-26-17<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Prompt</b><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tell a 500 word story that begins with the following sentence:</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><i style="font-weight: bold;">When the world ended, there were fireworks....</i></h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Via "<a href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/350829">Active</a>" - Stock Xchng.</span></td></tr>
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Leave your work or a link to your work in the comments before midnight on Sunday and I'll tweet about it. <br />
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<br />L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-82381289591323417172017-07-29T00:00:00.000-06:002017-07-29T00:00:09.057-06:00[Saturday Shorts] 7-29-17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Your prompt: </b><br />
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The song hits its climax then fades away. She switches the mp3 player off, pulls the ear buds from her ears, bundles the mess together and drops it on her night table.<br />
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Rolling onto her side in the cool, pitch black room, she pulls the covers up to her chin, flops her head on the pillow.<br />
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There's a sudden scratch of sound in the darkness. A voice hissing her name.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU76-3Yl_9Aaaow4Jm6Lfh_V8RnIoCHbRYUXAIQBR5g1jWPznHyVP6Wrt0zbaIGOtc2t0nykj7y2JJIsqMxcUIk1YzBV0tj4wesD-UsLEqDl-WznL4vM7yfebOKmGsH1RQZewMaDfWWMnu/s1600/bedroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU76-3Yl_9Aaaow4Jm6Lfh_V8RnIoCHbRYUXAIQBR5g1jWPznHyVP6Wrt0zbaIGOtc2t0nykj7y2JJIsqMxcUIk1YzBV0tj4wesD-UsLEqDl-WznL4vM7yfebOKmGsH1RQZewMaDfWWMnu/s1600/bedroom.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><i> In 200 words, what happens next?</i></b><br />
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Leave your work or a link to your work in the comments before midnight on Sunday and I'll tweet about it.<b><i><br /></i></b><br />
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<!-- end InLinkz script -->L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-75162052850236211002017-06-24T00:00:00.000-06:002017-06-24T00:00:27.325-06:00[Saturday Shorts] 6-24-17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPgu1jDGkapMFse3-KJitlYpPtU3p8bF8EvjOjNXVxBrh45KrPgODVk91dQmRohOKMaxCu_MMkm3Wd1b5pyld2tmnqFkCxAsNjreyfq7843rchyphenhypheniI9mTiOYZPimDqvYeAlv1TUZGawNw-/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPgu1jDGkapMFse3-KJitlYpPtU3p8bF8EvjOjNXVxBrh45KrPgODVk91dQmRohOKMaxCu_MMkm3Wd1b5pyld2tmnqFkCxAsNjreyfq7843rchyphenhypheniI9mTiOYZPimDqvYeAlv1TUZGawNw-/s400/sat+shorts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Travel is something that's generally encouraged: gap years, collegiate exchange programs, business trips, vacations. Travel expands our boundaries, provides us with new experiences. And that's good. At least, within reason.<br />
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Once you move from tourist-vacationer to nomad, people start getting a little suspicious. There's a long running trope, in life and in art, that travelers are running from something. Maybe a bad childhood, a love affair gone sour, a shady job.<br />
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I grew up a military brat, so travel was part of my life. During one stretch, I lived in three different states and one different country in a five year period. It didn't seem like anything at the time. It still doesn't. But to a lot of people, that's a strange existence. If I'd been an adult, on my own, I've no doubt some people would have been wondering what my deal was.<br />
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I'm not as nomadic these days (it's easier when your parents are shuffling you around or when you're being sponsored by an employer) but I like to travel.<br />
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I like visiting places I've never been before, revisiting places that speak to me. I rent, I don't buy. I'm not really interested in putting down roots; if the opportunity presents itself, I want few obstructions to keep me from packing up everything I own and leaving. (If I owned less, that'd be easier...but that's another post entirely. See also: George Carlin's bit on "Stuff.")<br />
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<b>THE PROMPT</b></div>
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Write a 1,000 word story about travel. Nomadism. Is your character running away from something? Or are they running toward something? Maybe both?<br />
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Need some extra <i>oomph</i>? Try this song.</div>
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<i>I look back then I look away</i></div>
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<i>Way that that blue sky fades</i></div>
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<i>Feels like I'm runnin' away</i></div>
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<i>And I'm headin' out to Santa Fe</i></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/6cssvT1W4c8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></h3>
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L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-47944256048602420782017-05-27T00:00:00.000-06:002017-05-27T00:00:33.017-06:00[Saturday Shorts] 5-27-17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPgu1jDGkapMFse3-KJitlYpPtU3p8bF8EvjOjNXVxBrh45KrPgODVk91dQmRohOKMaxCu_MMkm3Wd1b5pyld2tmnqFkCxAsNjreyfq7843rchyphenhypheniI9mTiOYZPimDqvYeAlv1TUZGawNw-/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPgu1jDGkapMFse3-KJitlYpPtU3p8bF8EvjOjNXVxBrh45KrPgODVk91dQmRohOKMaxCu_MMkm3Wd1b5pyld2tmnqFkCxAsNjreyfq7843rchyphenhypheniI9mTiOYZPimDqvYeAlv1TUZGawNw-/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" /></a></div>
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Doors are such a common, everyday sight that we pass them and pass through them without giving thought to the role they play in our lives, our mythology, our fiction. <br />
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They act as barriers and gateways. <br />
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The doors to our home keep us safe from the things that go bump in the night. They keep us safe from the world. Sometimes, they keep the world safe from us. <br />
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They are entrances. And exits. <br />
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They are in-between places. Stand in the middle of a doorway and you're neither in the place you've just left nor in the place you're going.<br />
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<i><b>Write a 500 word story about doorways.</b></i> </div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-58167646876148672412017-04-29T00:00:00.000-06:002017-04-29T00:00:02.690-06:00[Saturday Shorts] 4-29-17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ2xZbhNyNvk7B5uU3Uob674w3v2msW1Hcvcf0BUFW7ec7ZjLqzCXwinQhelY0Wp3gAZN1RAW2RQOmLotAFBaCjDbWGj294FnedKRur2D-K2zv1aYj3UiRmhkY3FX-KAtUeRr3SyUXswJ/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ2xZbhNyNvk7B5uU3Uob674w3v2msW1Hcvcf0BUFW7ec7ZjLqzCXwinQhelY0Wp3gAZN1RAW2RQOmLotAFBaCjDbWGj294FnedKRur2D-K2zv1aYj3UiRmhkY3FX-KAtUeRr3SyUXswJ/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>Write a <b>six word</b> story about loss. </i></div>
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Losing someone to death, to a new relationship, to a move. Losing a treasured item. Whatever it is that they've lost, tell the story in six words.<br />
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Come back by Sunday to link up in the comments. I'll tweet about it. If you don't have a blog, post your story in the comments. L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-56158559241214856342017-03-25T00:00:00.000-06:002017-03-25T00:00:07.101-06:00[Saturday Shorts] 3-25-17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPgu1jDGkapMFse3-KJitlYpPtU3p8bF8EvjOjNXVxBrh45KrPgODVk91dQmRohOKMaxCu_MMkm3Wd1b5pyld2tmnqFkCxAsNjreyfq7843rchyphenhypheniI9mTiOYZPimDqvYeAlv1TUZGawNw-/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPgu1jDGkapMFse3-KJitlYpPtU3p8bF8EvjOjNXVxBrh45KrPgODVk91dQmRohOKMaxCu_MMkm3Wd1b5pyld2tmnqFkCxAsNjreyfq7843rchyphenhypheniI9mTiOYZPimDqvYeAlv1TUZGawNw-/s400/sat+shorts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Write a 100 word story based on this quote from Nietzsche: </div>
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<i><b>"I tell you: one must still have chaos within oneself, to give birth to a dancing star."</b></i></div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-41196715523216147282017-02-25T00:00:00.000-07:002017-02-25T00:00:12.005-07:00[Saturday Shorts] 2-25-17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ2xZbhNyNvk7B5uU3Uob674w3v2msW1Hcvcf0BUFW7ec7ZjLqzCXwinQhelY0Wp3gAZN1RAW2RQOmLotAFBaCjDbWGj294FnedKRur2D-K2zv1aYj3UiRmhkY3FX-KAtUeRr3SyUXswJ/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ2xZbhNyNvk7B5uU3Uob674w3v2msW1Hcvcf0BUFW7ec7ZjLqzCXwinQhelY0Wp3gAZN1RAW2RQOmLotAFBaCjDbWGj294FnedKRur2D-K2zv1aYj3UiRmhkY3FX-KAtUeRr3SyUXswJ/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Write a <b>100 word</b> story that includes the following: a cubicle, a gnome, and Xanax.</i></div>
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Link up in the comments by Sunday night. Read. Comment. Spread the word about the Saturday Shorts challenge. (Make it grow.) <br />
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<br />L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-65324145077963903252017-01-28T00:00:00.000-07:002017-01-28T00:00:07.444-07:00[Saturday Shorts] 1-28-17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ2xZbhNyNvk7B5uU3Uob674w3v2msW1Hcvcf0BUFW7ec7ZjLqzCXwinQhelY0Wp3gAZN1RAW2RQOmLotAFBaCjDbWGj294FnedKRur2D-K2zv1aYj3UiRmhkY3FX-KAtUeRr3SyUXswJ/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ2xZbhNyNvk7B5uU3Uob674w3v2msW1Hcvcf0BUFW7ec7ZjLqzCXwinQhelY0Wp3gAZN1RAW2RQOmLotAFBaCjDbWGj294FnedKRur2D-K2zv1aYj3UiRmhkY3FX-KAtUeRr3SyUXswJ/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" /></a></div>
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Write a <b><i>100 word</i></b> story about wings. </div>
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Tell a friend about the challenge. Come back by Sunday night to link up in the comments. If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave your story in the comments. I'll tweet about it. </div>
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L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-72876527296329739762017-01-27T08:00:00.000-07:002017-01-27T08:00:04.469-07:00[Fiction Friday] A Woman and a Blackbird Are One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"My darling," he greeted, stepping inside and pulling off his cloak so fast that a flurry of rain water went dancing through the air, shining like diamonds. "Did you have a pleasant day?"<br />
<br />
He moved nearer the large cage. Its iron bars, painted gold in hue, gave off a pleasant hum when he touched them. Every movement in and around the cage was recorded, in his absence, by the simplest of spells and fed back to him through the tips of his fingers. <br />
<br />
He closed his dark eyes, a smile pulling at his mouth. "You'll only hurt yourself if you keep rushing the bars like that, my darling. This cage was built to withstand even your powers." He opened his eyes, gazed at the wonder of the prize within. A bird of the rarest kind, thought to be extinct for centuries. Truly, you had only to know where to look. And, of course, how to hold.<br />
<br />
She was large as a raven; legs pale as birch and lean with four toes that curled into smooth, opalescent claws. Her feathers reflected light with every move, glossy black throwing off an array of violet, green, blue, and red. She was stunning in daylight and he was sad that he could not take her outside more often. But after that last, almost disastrous, outing....<br />
<br />
He shook his head, looked at the black, black eyes and the pale curved beak that managed so much contempt for features that weren't meant to hold such an expression.<br />
<br />
"Sing," he said, moving to the kitchen, taking the bread from the shelf, the cheese and smoked meat from the larder. At her silence he turned, one finger raised speculatively to his mouth. "Sing. And I'll let you out of that cage." He paused, poured wine into a cup and sipped. "Sing for me and you may stay out for the night."<br />
<br />
The bird shuffled on her perch, head twisting to and fro before she stilled, ruffled the feathers along her throat and opened her mouth to emit a sound that was too pure for this side of the veil. It was spring rain and autumn sunshine filtered through the boughs of oaks in winter.<br />
<br />
He closed his eyes, let the music wash over him, through him until the last notes crested and faded.<br />
<br />
"My darling," was barely a whisper across his lips. He went to the cage, sliding a key from his pocket and into the lock. "Come," he said, one hand sliding through the door and the bird stepped gingerly onto his palm, allowed him to guide her out.<br />
<br />
As soon as he set her on the floor, she shivered, feathers spreading. Her small body bowed, bent, arched under the pressure of leaving the form in which she was never meant to spend her life. The feathers shrank away from her pale legs, rose over her belly, revealing soft, white flesh beneath. The legs themselves lengthened, filled, took on curves and contours, human feet.<br />
<br />
Wings splayed, became human arms, hands with delicate nails tipping the fingers. Feathers receded along her skin like tides ebbing, except for a strip along her head that merged into a long black mass, reflecting jewel tones in the firelight.<br />
<br />
Her face was the last to change. Beak sliding back to form a narrow nose, with a delicate arch. Her face lengthened, revealed high cheekbones, large dark eyes surrounded by thick lashes and heavy black brows that gave her an innocently vicious appearance.<br />
<br />
Black hair, like a silken ribbon, streamed over her shoulders and down her back, stark against her paleness, parting to give teasing glances of her breasts, the soft curve of her belly, the slope of her hips.<br />
<br />
Mouth curving at the corners, he held out his hand once more, "Come. It's time for bed."<br /><br />_________________________<br />
Title from Wallace Stevens's "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird."<br />
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L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-39874925032580873782017-01-22T10:50:00.001-07:002017-01-22T10:51:50.624-07:00[Gathered Thoughts on an Inauguration] On A DayThere are some days that you hope only happen once in your lifetime, if they happen at all. Some days that you hope only happen once in a lifetime or not at all. Days that cast long shadows and make you shiver. Days where what's happening weighs on you because you know it's not just, not right, not going to have a good outcome (even though you hope otherwise). Days that make you itch beneath your skin with the need to do <i>something</i>, even when you can't quite pinpoint what that something is, for you. <br />
<br />
On a day like Friday, January 20th, 2017, when someone<span class="st" data-hveid="44" data-ved="0ahUKEwi6y7SzptbRAhXGy1QKHTx8CEwQ4EUILDAB">—</span>who is ill equipped for the status in both manner and experience<span class="st" data-hveid="44" data-ved="0ahUKEwi6y7SzptbRAhXGy1QKHTx8CEwQ4EUILDAB">—</span>ascends to the highest office in a country of great influence over world affairs, after running a campaign where xenophobia and sexism and racism and bigotry were the order of the day, I encountered of all of these sensations. <br />
<br />
<br />
This is not a political blog insomuch as I don't actively post about politics here (I have other social media for that). But I'm certain, from some of the pieces I write, you can easily guess at my politics. Writing is personal therefore writing is political. And I'm getting more personal for a moment. <br />
<br />
I'm an introvert. I subsist on a few close relationships and the company of books and notebooks and the quiet of sparsely populated rooms. I'm not flashy. I don't bloom under attention. I'm not a great orator. That is to say, I'm not the type of person I think of when I think of a person leading social interventions, rallies, marches, movements. <br />
<br />
But I will lead. When other people aren't fit. When other people won't stand up. When something is <i>wrong</i>. I'll do it quietly. Forcefully, if need be. And I'll do it my way.<br />
<br />
My way means, first and foremost, with words. Words pouring out through ink and paper or keyboard and monitor. Through fiction and non-fiction. On social media and in emails and written letters to those in office who need to be consistently reminded that they are meant to represent me and people like me.<br />
<br />
My way means calling out falsities when I see them, and there's a lot of work ahead in that. This last year has been chock full of misinformation, both intentional and unintentional, garnished with click-bait headlines. And this misinformation runs from Breitbart to Occupy Democrats, from Fox News to CNN. The truth and a lie are not "sort of the same thing," and a lie on the left, while maybe targeted to a different purpose, is just as bad as a lie on the right.<br />
<br />
So my role is to call out, to corroborate, to cite reliable sources and to deliver the message: until you can corroborate a story - especially a story that seems too good to be true or too terrible to be true - with at least three or four other reputable, reliable sources, with at least one not having a stake in the story, consider it suspect.<br />
<br />
My way is making a promise to myself to read even more in 2017, especially non-fiction. To explore realms of political and social science with which I'm only tangentially familiar, because I'm constantly realizing how much I <i>don't</i> know. And it bothers me. (Though I realize, as much as I'd like to, it's simply not possible to know everything.)<br />
<br />
My way is involvement. A culmination of all of the above put into action through lending myself and my time and energy, as I have it, to some kind of outreach (social media, phone banking), to internal and administrative support for the people or organizations that need it. <br />
<br />
My way is through my privilege. I'm not rich. If a catastrophic personal event happened, I would, inevitably, wind up in a place that most people do: with expenses I can't pay and worries of losing my livelihood. But right now, I'm comfortable. Together, my husband and I make a decent living and we, unlike many, have no real debt. We're lucky. We're privileged. And it's my job to use that privilege to make things better. So I'll be "voting with my dollar," as it were, donating to organizations and causes that are dear to me and that will help, not just affect positive change but to decrease the negatives that will no doubt come with this administration and maintain the gains we've made over the last eight years.<br />
<br />
I'll also be subscribing to at least one of my favorite journalistic outlets, because from what we've seen so far there is a tug-of-war going on with the media and I don't want it to become a full fledged war. We have a very real need for strong journalism in this country. Not just today, but tomorrow and every day and every year as we keep moving forward. Accountability is key and, even when it has its faults, journalism helps keep the public, and those who serve the public, accountable. <br />
<br />
<br />
And it will be hard. <br />
<br />
For some people, these next years may be the hardest they've been through.<br />
<br />
These next years will be exhausting, and thankless and at times, they will probably seem endless. We've passed the end of one era and are in the beginning of another but, eventually, this era will too end. We may not come out of it unscathed or without losses, but we <i>will</i> come out of it. <br />
<br />
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<br />L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-64957656431280719592017-01-11T09:30:00.000-07:002017-01-11T09:30:29.723-07:00[Impossible Things Journal] What Does the Owl Say?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>The awkward owl asks "What?"</i></div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-53030850357426082342017-01-03T19:21:00.001-07:002017-01-03T19:21:40.287-07:00[Fiction] The Work, Part 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Note:</b> This is part four in an ongoing series. The previous parts are listed here. The end of part three is in italics.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><a href="https://chaoticallyyours.blogspot.com/2014/08/fiction-work.html" target="_blank">The Work</a> (Part I)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><a href="https://chaoticallyyours.blogspot.com/2014/08/fiction-work-part-2.html" target="_blank">The Work</a> (Part II) </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><a href="https://chaoticallyyours.blogspot.com/2015/02/fiction-work-part-3.html" target="_blank">The Work</a> (Part III)</b></span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="line-height: 16px;">“Well, you were right,” Jasper said,
glancing at her. “It's big.” He turned back to Michael. “You, my friend,
are wearing the body of a convicted murderer.”</span></i><br />
<br />
________________________<br />
<br />
“Are you sure?” Eva said.<br />
<br />
“Positive.” Jasper drummed his fingers along the wood of the coffee table. “Someone snatches a spirit out of a body like this, it leaves behind a….shadow. Like an afterimage? Echoes of who inhabited the body before, where they’d gone, what they’d done. That kind of thing. I couldn’t see much. And I don’t want to see more, thank you. But the person who owned this body was a murderer. And also,” Jasper slid off the table to grab the remote control, “it’s been on TV.”<br />
<br />
He flicked the television on, turned it to the local news channel and a few human interest stories later the face of the body Michael wore filled the screen, the anchor announcing that the body of a convicted killer, who had been murdered in prison, had gone missing during transport to the funeral home in Kingsland. The driver hadn’t realized it until he’d arrived on site and gone to unload the body.<br />
<br />
“From what I got,” Jasper spoke up again looking at Michael, “he slipped away when the driver made a pit stop. Found you parked. Pulled you out of the car. Sound about right?”<br />
<br />
Michael’s eyes focused on something in the distance, mouth drawing down at the corners, the silver-grey smoke nearly obscuring his face as he spoke. “I was at a light. I’d just sent a text to my sister telling her I couldn’t come for dinner this weekend. The door opened. He yanked me out. And—it felt like….” Michael closed his eyes, mouth thinning out, chasing the memory of a feeling. “Velcro being ripped apart. I was looking down at my own face, smiling up at me. I’ve never smiled like that before. He pushed me into a ditch. Took my car. I—“ He trailed off, grew inhumanly still, milky eyes distant, floating in the murky water of memory and then his body shuddered as he remembered to draw breath, make words. “I saw you. At your house. I don’t remember getting there.”<br />
<br />
“Not surprising,” Eva said. “Death is a big enough confusion on its own. Displacement is even worse,” she continued, Jasper nodding along. “Your spirit wasn’t ready to leave your body.”<br />
<br />
The room was quiet for a moment. Then:<br />
<br />
“What do I do?” The words were simple. She heard them every day. But Michael’s voice was full of enough grief, enough despair that Eva felt her stomach churn and clench as if it were trying to devour itself.<br />
<br />
“First things first,” Jasper said. “You need to get this boy a new suit. He can’t be walking around in the body of a dead murderer. That’s the opposite of low key.”<br />
<br />
"Any ideas? It’s not like we can just walk into the body store and pick out a new model."<br />
<br />
"No?” There was edge to Jasper’s grin that Eva didn’t like. He stood, pulling out his wallet and fishing a card from inside. He handed it to her. “Try Blue Mountain. I'd recommend looking for ones with, ah, no grieving relatives.... There's at least one that's bound to be a better fit than...this." He wrinkled his nose. “And it won’t be rotting, either. That,” he nodded to the card, “is a friend of mine. You tell her what you need, she’ll help you out.”<br />
<br />
“And you,” Michael said, wary, curious. “What will you be doing?”<br />
<br />
“Putting out a spiritual APB for your body. The thing about people like us, Michael,” Jasper grinned, gesturing to Eva and himself “is that we really do have eyes and ears everywhere.”<br />
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For the <b><a href="http://bekindrewrite.com/2016/12/19/inspiration-monday-edible-portal/" target="_blank">Inspiration Monday</a> </b>prompt "chasing a feeling."<br />
<br />
Loosely, for the <a href="http://ourwriteside.com/coming-up-for-air/" target="_blank"><b>Darkroom promp</b>t</a> "coming up for air," at Our Write Side.<br />
<br />
Oh, I admit, it's loosely for both prompts. <br />
<br />
It's been nearly a year since I added to this piece. And I'm going to blame that firmly on grad school (which I finished this past summer, yay!). <br />
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And, as always, this piece is posted with little polishing, as part of my attempts to get over the perfectionist tendencies that plague me when it comes to first drafts.<br />
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<br />L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-44760950163332930152016-12-31T11:35:00.001-07:002016-12-31T12:18:26.805-07:00[100 Words] The Aftermath of a Betrayal<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2-rr7ZdCU71sVNmv_4Pn8rML1dIPsHLBVQYAwG27DKi8rrRS4fNO8NxriDA34eEeTSaJVS1wGgeKIWf_nHLnXLEoxDpkNm1BFLGutLREF9GfRsjcDWgUjH4RupXs7FdFOW8LV5EfRkk6/s1600/glass-1497232_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2-rr7ZdCU71sVNmv_4Pn8rML1dIPsHLBVQYAwG27DKi8rrRS4fNO8NxriDA34eEeTSaJVS1wGgeKIWf_nHLnXLEoxDpkNm1BFLGutLREF9GfRsjcDWgUjH4RupXs7FdFOW8LV5EfRkk6/s320/glass-1497232_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Sorry only counts in church. And even then, I’m not sure it
counts for much,” Evan says. “So just…don’t.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The air hangs between them, charged and brittle; one wrong
spoken word will set the whole room alight, shatter the spun glass delicate
truce they’ve spent hours wringing out of their tears; their raised voices; the
unsteady sleep they’d found, half afraid to touch but bodies arching toward
each other, chilled from not being pressed tight together. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Okay,” Paolo says, breathes out slowly, looks at the time. Sunday
morning. “Breakfast at the diner?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Evan sighs. “Yeah.”</div>
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_________________________________</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tara R, over at <a href="https://thinspiralnotebook.com/">Thin Spiral Notebook</a>, has taken over the 100 Word
Challenge from <a href="http://www.velvetverbosity.com/">Velvet Verbosity</a>. (And I'm so glad someone stepped up to do so. Even though it's been a while since I've participated, I always loved this quick, weekly challenge.) </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
This week's word prompt was "Sorry."</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
New Year. New Job. New.....everything. I'm hoping I'll be back with another response next week.<br />
<br />
___________ </div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-25468508531691744572016-12-31T00:00:00.000-07:002016-12-31T00:00:07.269-07:00Saturday Shorts 12-31-16<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ2xZbhNyNvk7B5uU3Uob674w3v2msW1Hcvcf0BUFW7ec7ZjLqzCXwinQhelY0Wp3gAZN1RAW2RQOmLotAFBaCjDbWGj294FnedKRur2D-K2zv1aYj3UiRmhkY3FX-KAtUeRr3SyUXswJ/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ2xZbhNyNvk7B5uU3Uob674w3v2msW1Hcvcf0BUFW7ec7ZjLqzCXwinQhelY0Wp3gAZN1RAW2RQOmLotAFBaCjDbWGj294FnedKRur2D-K2zv1aYj3UiRmhkY3FX-KAtUeRr3SyUXswJ/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
A miniscule challenge this weekend. The telling of an entire story with a short breath. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Tell me the story of a struggling artist in <b>six words</b>.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br />
</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br />
</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Come back before midnight on Sunday and leave a link to your response in the comments. I'll share it on Twitter. Pay a visit to anyone else who's participated. Have fun. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-56505770321083886572016-12-23T10:00:00.000-07:002016-12-23T10:00:09.738-07:00[Impossible Things Journal] Gingerbread Houses<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7oidc9OMatVPn3OB3O_viX74IE_f-adVgaxBX6Ha3PlleCxaW94DNdiB1AI7nZoBq03B_3UwrIRGETuAJiq45jn9W4OPYk4WlHFDBlO6lF0_ckbhcFFFJ378SjyJAMCgH5QoHAuQzwsW/s1600/gingerbread+house+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7oidc9OMatVPn3OB3O_viX74IE_f-adVgaxBX6Ha3PlleCxaW94DNdiB1AI7nZoBq03B_3UwrIRGETuAJiq45jn9W4OPYk4WlHFDBlO6lF0_ckbhcFFFJ378SjyJAMCgH5QoHAuQzwsW/s400/gingerbread+house+copy.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Building gingerbread houses gives Yuletide Faeries somewhere to stay while they work their holiday magic. </i></div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-76677868659853514122016-12-09T11:30:00.000-07:002016-12-09T11:30:07.274-07:00[Impossible Things Journal] Peacocks<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQhxjVDUbJJHHIGacwbppPpC0510UH9ChHJ2nC1jAwkNs4bpVE4s6y2vc90ZvWP02a2v2dGOqJTtzEsgJ292mjUPjx6Ylyq2DwPnYtd0lWw_YdeNYrpE2CzxI6x8p8pS7ukviEU1b8llB/s1600/vibrant+peacock+eyes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQhxjVDUbJJHHIGacwbppPpC0510UH9ChHJ2nC1jAwkNs4bpVE4s6y2vc90ZvWP02a2v2dGOqJTtzEsgJ292mjUPjx6Ylyq2DwPnYtd0lWw_YdeNYrpE2CzxI6x8p8pS7ukviEU1b8llB/s400/vibrant+peacock+eyes.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Peacocks have a unique perspective on the world. One bird, so many eyes. </i></div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-70600412798161120062016-12-09T08:00:00.000-07:002016-12-09T08:00:00.151-07:00[Six Sentence Fiction] Walking the Aisle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBAmH8vBXQN0LtD895DOdVQVOTvI5uRLretPT_ROvs7U853nADn38W1wMHT_9KIVY2jz4rKnfrMoxPmggnPBIbW5dFyDM1Se12vdJjw5Z16ChYpz8wrRk8KHBR08vS-HNtTuwkw_bC0x3l/s1600/aisle+walk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBAmH8vBXQN0LtD895DOdVQVOTvI5uRLretPT_ROvs7U853nADn38W1wMHT_9KIVY2jz4rKnfrMoxPmggnPBIbW5dFyDM1Se12vdJjw5Z16ChYpz8wrRk8KHBR08vS-HNtTuwkw_bC0x3l/s400/aisle+walk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Head bowed, he breathes deep and chokes on the odor of
flowers, the subtle cloying scent of lily and sharp tang of lilac settling on
the back of his tongue. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She’s next to him, holding his arm; he can feel the soft
swell of her breast against his tricep and the sturdy warmth of her body molded
against him from torso to calf. She breaks away as the double doors open,
twining her fingers with his, and guides him down the aisle to the resonant
thrum of organ music; his gait hitches right along with his breath. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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At the front of the room, he finally raises his head,
falters and loses a step, shiny black shoes scuffing the threadbare chapel
carpet. The coffin, draped in flowers, sits on the middle of a dais with lights
beaming down on it; if he didn’t know any better, he’d think he was staring at
the opening scenes of some play, but the bowed heads of people in the pews, the
whisper-soft sobs and rasps of tissue against wet cheeks remind him that this
is reality. </div>
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She slides onto the hard wooden pew reserved for family and
he follows her, looks at her, waits for her to tighten her fingers around his
hand and then he turns his face forward—breathes out, breathes in—and whispers:
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodbye, brother</i>.</div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-13051332672261340152016-11-26T00:00:00.000-07:002016-11-26T00:00:16.459-07:00[Saturday Shorts] 11 - 26 - 16<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/f3t9SfrfDZM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This town rips the bones from your back </span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap </span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">We gotta get out while we're young </span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">`Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run.</span></i></span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Write a <i><b>100 word </b></i>story based on or inspired by this song.
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*Leave your story or a link to your story in the comments by midnight on Sunday and I'll share it/tweet about it. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-19433346198537030742016-10-29T00:00:00.000-06:002016-10-29T00:00:15.777-06:00[Saturday Shorts] 10-29-16<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ2xZbhNyNvk7B5uU3Uob674w3v2msW1Hcvcf0BUFW7ec7ZjLqzCXwinQhelY0Wp3gAZN1RAW2RQOmLotAFBaCjDbWGj294FnedKRur2D-K2zv1aYj3UiRmhkY3FX-KAtUeRr3SyUXswJ/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZ2xZbhNyNvk7B5uU3Uob674w3v2msW1Hcvcf0BUFW7ec7ZjLqzCXwinQhelY0Wp3gAZN1RAW2RQOmLotAFBaCjDbWGj294FnedKRur2D-K2zv1aYj3UiRmhkY3FX-KAtUeRr3SyUXswJ/s1600/sat+shorts.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Write a <b><i>100 word</i></b> story that starts with "The corpse sat across from me..."</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<br />
Just in time for Halloween. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-61607637543523124192016-10-14T13:00:00.000-06:002016-10-14T13:00:12.920-06:00[Six Sentence Fiction] Encounter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHukH2G9P0GjDEYDb5a7vgZZiS2VCorz-nZNB0rON0h7DSAGTjafweGZsUjxOFLftVeh8RglfnY2GKQjjw2C5TLAgQOLgpE7di-UBc7E4hGU-f24J6ObXZSWTU4EHypF8oWIuJhRYFewXr/s1600/clothesline+encounter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHukH2G9P0GjDEYDb5a7vgZZiS2VCorz-nZNB0rON0h7DSAGTjafweGZsUjxOFLftVeh8RglfnY2GKQjjw2C5TLAgQOLgpE7di-UBc7E4hGU-f24J6ObXZSWTU4EHypF8oWIuJhRYFewXr/s400/clothesline+encounter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was stringing up laundry in the backyard when I saw him
standing at the edge of the woods, naked as you please, the only thing giving
him some shred of decency being the thigh length rat’s nest of hair hanging
over his shoulders. </div>
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Nan used to warn me about naked woodsmen, telling me “run if
you see ‘em girl cause they’ll do you a goodly bit of mischief and no Christian
woman needs that on her conscience.” But really, I’d always thought she was a
little senile if not totally full of shit and besides, I wasn’t a Christian woman,
so I went on hanging the laundry and keeping one eye on him. </div>
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Wild-animal timid, he’d creep close and pull back, watching
me, until I ran out of laundry. I sat down on the stoop to see what he’d do and
that’s when he struck, lunging into my $70 Northern Nights sheets and snapping
my clothes line; I screamed and threw an empty planter at him. When he leapt
out of the tangled clothes line and shot for the woods, he had my husband’s Day-Glo Incredible Hulk boxer shorts in his hand.<br />
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L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-80941939083905151362016-10-10T07:30:00.000-06:002016-10-10T07:30:00.729-06:00[Music Monday] Haunted Antique Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-XWAWVeZ_zXDLjidaVRdPQcV4vVzOJZtxTOtC-ZLIRj7UGM1IPwIi-Cg6gvDYKNXM38b2mT80ui_IYoEuq3sFchY-cHje4beaOWXkVMNirjJPln2bWb4n1tBG0tIV0AmgYLAxfMJ5n3_/s1600/music_mondays_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-XWAWVeZ_zXDLjidaVRdPQcV4vVzOJZtxTOtC-ZLIRj7UGM1IPwIi-Cg6gvDYKNXM38b2mT80ui_IYoEuq3sFchY-cHje4beaOWXkVMNirjJPln2bWb4n1tBG0tIV0AmgYLAxfMJ5n3_/s1600/music_mondays_.jpg" /></a></div>
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Music from the 1930s-1950s often has a haunting quality about it. It may speak to something about the era. The world on the brink of war, then in the midst of war and then locked in a cold war. Death and destruction lurking in the shadows, occasionally making itself known.<br />
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Here are a select few of those haunting songs.They'd be great for a Halloween party. <br />
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"Miss Otis Regrets" - Ethel Waters</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gP2UypjZbMo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gP2UypjZbMo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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"Nightmare" - Artie Shaw</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-W59FzOwYIs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-W59FzOwYIs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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"It's All over But the Crying" - The Inkspots</div>
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L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-70423626248019948122016-10-07T09:00:00.000-06:002016-10-07T09:00:17.149-06:00[Impossible Things Journal] Moon Whispers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAA8enYUCwUnrBNvuFztlfq70hmH5f4QxUpN4L6nBlPejgdsAwLow9Y2iaZpRcztpVdxkAHdLP4cABVReTH1lVhUMJ5psrwHoEQTRgoJ2fVBAUS-pa6FqyLfB6XtYvL-CFUfyUMi0as7ZD/s1600/moon+listen+i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Moon and stars above a treeline. " border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAA8enYUCwUnrBNvuFztlfq70hmH5f4QxUpN4L6nBlPejgdsAwLow9Y2iaZpRcztpVdxkAHdLP4cABVReTH1lVhUMJ5psrwHoEQTRgoJ2fVBAUS-pa6FqyLfB6XtYvL-CFUfyUMi0as7ZD/s400/moon+listen+i.jpg" title="Listening Moon" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The moon listens in on conversations. Sometimes, she whispers what she hears to the stars. So when you think the stars are twinkling just for you....you might be right. </i></div>
L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701215672753702984.post-82510170447275188182016-10-03T07:00:00.000-06:002016-10-03T07:00:02.366-06:00[Music Mondays] October Kickoff Edition<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-XWAWVeZ_zXDLjidaVRdPQcV4vVzOJZtxTOtC-ZLIRj7UGM1IPwIi-Cg6gvDYKNXM38b2mT80ui_IYoEuq3sFchY-cHje4beaOWXkVMNirjJPln2bWb4n1tBG0tIV0AmgYLAxfMJ5n3_/s1600/music_mondays_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-XWAWVeZ_zXDLjidaVRdPQcV4vVzOJZtxTOtC-ZLIRj7UGM1IPwIi-Cg6gvDYKNXM38b2mT80ui_IYoEuq3sFchY-cHje4beaOWXkVMNirjJPln2bWb4n1tBG0tIV0AmgYLAxfMJ5n3_/s1600/music_mondays_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
It's that time of year again. The weather's growing cooler, the day's shorter, the leaves are changing, and the world is taking on a slightly different hue: red and gold cast in black shadows.<br />
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Do you ever find yourself looking over your shoulder a little more at this time of year? Doing a double take to make sure you saw (or didn't see) what you think you saw?<br />
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I do. Shadows are slick and wily in October. They might be hiding something. <br />
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To celebrate this haunted month, I'm digging through my favorite media (everything from movies to video games to fanfiction) for some songs that are appropriate for all those lengthening shadows, falling leaves, and those moments where you just can't help but follow that figure that's appeared in your peripheral vision. Even though it's probably just the cat. Probably.<br />
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Here are a few for this Monday. <br />
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"The Star Spangled Soldier" / The Star Spangled Banner - Chase <span class="st">Holfelder</span></div>
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"House of the Rising Sun" - Lauren O'Connell</div>
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"Oh Death" - Jen Titus</div>
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L. M. Leffewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03622710354642535249noreply@blogger.com0