Lettuce Stretch Into A Thriller! (Sorry!) Flash Fiction Draw Challenge Draws for August, 2024 form Mike Mayak. (August 5, 2024)

Posted on August 5, 2024 by jeffbaker307

FFDC Draws, August 5th, 2024

First, here’s the prompts for the August 2024 Flash Fiction Draw Challenge. Then my usual long-winded explanation:

A Thriller

Involving A Box Of Rubber Bands

Set at A Field of Lettuce

Now, on to the details.

Hi! I’m Mike Mayak, I also write as Jeff Baker and I’m the current moderator for the monthly Flash Fiction Draw Challenge, which was started by ‘Nathan Burgoine a few years ago and carried on by Cait Gordon and Jeffrey Ricker. It’s a monthly writing challenge mainly for stress-free fun that anyone can play.

Here’s how it works: the first Monday of every month I draw three cards; a heart, a diamond and a club. These correspond to a list naming a genre, a setting and an object that must appear in the story. Participants write up a flash fiction story, 1,000 words or less, post it to their website and link it here in the comments. I’ll post the results (including, hopefully, one of my own!)

As I’m no good making videos I did the drawing offstage. So, the results were the Five of Hearts (a Thriller), the Six of Diamonds (A Field of Lettuce) and the Nine of Clubs (A Box of Rubber Bands.) So we will write a Thriller, set in a Field of Lettuce, involving A Box of Rubber Bands.

We’ll have the results here in this same space around Monday August 12, 2024.

So, get to writing and I’ll post the results next week! And I’m putting the 2024 Flash Draw sheet at the end of this message, again! (* indicates those have been used.)

Thanks for playing, and I’ll see you in a couple of weeks!

And have fun!

——mike

Flash Draw Sheet for 2024 (“*” indicates prompt has been used.)

Clubs

*A A Slippery Slide

2 A Rubber Duck

*3 Warm Woolen Mittens

4 A Snow Globe

5 Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers

*6 A Pepper Mill

*7. A Giant Mallet

*8 A Giant Penny

* 9 A Box of Rubber Bands

*10 A Grapefruit

J A Cellphone

Q A Dumpster

*K A Comic Book

Hearts

A. Science Fiction

2 A Romance

3 Paranormal

*4 A Mystery

* 5 A Thriller

*6 An Adventure Story

*7. A Bedtime Story

8 A Monster Story

*9 A Fantasy

10 A Horror Story

*J A Crime Story

*Q A Melodrama

*K A Legend

Diamonds

*A A Burger Place

* 2 A Herd of Horses

*3 A Roomful of Hats

*4 An Empty Gymnasium

*5 The Temple of Diana In Greece

*6 A Field of Lettuce

7 A Haunted House

8 A Western Ghost Town

9 A Greenhouse

*10 A Giant Teepee

J A Costume Shop

Q A Cake Shop

*K An Outdoor Stage

Posted in Mike Mayak, Monthly Flash Fiction Draw Challenge | 1 Comment

Rainbow Snippets, August 2nd, 2024. “Christmas In Reverse,” from Jeff Baker.

Posted on August 2, 2024 by jeffbaker307

Every week we post six lines from a work of ours, a work-in-progress or published or a recommendation of someone else’s work with at least one LGBT character. Posted at Rainbow Snippets here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/963484217054974

Here’s a snippet from my latest Friday Flash Fiction story “Christmas In Reverse.” https://authorjeffbaker.com/2024/08/02/christmas-in-reverse-friday-flash-fics-by-jeff-baker-august-2nd-2024/ We meet Chris and Terry, a happily ensconced M/M couple who just had new carpet installed in their house and are moving the furniture back where it belongs. Here, they’re taking a break on the sofa they just moved.

“But we have made progress,” Cliff said looking around the house. “All that furniture we had crammed into the living room and kitchen yesterday.”

“And all your folks’ and my folks’ stuff was, well, still where it was.” Terry said with a laugh.

“Yeah.” Cliff said. “I wish you could have met my Mom. She would have liked you.”

“Thanks.” Terry said, holding Cliff’s hand and reaching over to kiss his husband.

“Look at that stuff,” Terry said. “It’s kind of like Christmas in reverse!”

“And we gotta put it all back. “Ho-ho-ho.” Cliff said.

I based this a little on helping some family move furniture last week. Next week, since it’s hot, something hot. In fact, NSFW! Till then, I am ever yours—-jeff

Posted in LGBT, Rainbow Snippets | 2 Comments

“Christmas In Reverse.” Friday Flash Fics by Jeff Baker. August 2nd, 2024.

Posted on August 2, 2024 by jeffbaker307

Christmas In Reverse

by Jeff Baker

“Okay…OOOMPF! Watch the carpet!” Cliff Rogers grunted as he and Terry Slater edged the sofa back to its usual position under the living room window.

“Yeah…got it!” Terry said, carefully edging the end of the sofa against the corner. “Just gotta watch my feet!”

“You’re the one going barefoot!” Cliff said with a grin.

“No shoes on the carpet, remember?” Terry said grinning back. “There! Got it perfect.”

The two forty-somethings who still thought of themselves as young men surveyed the sofa pushed against the corner of the wall.

“Not perfect,” Cliff said. “The little cabinet goes in the corner there, remember? Next to the plug for our chargers and you Mom’s old lamp?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Terry said, glancing over at the stacks of furniture in the dining room which covered and blocked the table they’d pushed against the back wall. “And I think the cabinet is under all that stuff.”

“Swell.” Cliff said. “We can get that all done. But I’m taking a break!”

Cliff plopped down on the sofa and Terry sat down right next to him.

“But we have made progress,” Cliff said looking around the house. “All that furniture we had crammed into the living room and kitchen yesterday.”

“And all your folks’ and my folks’ stuff was, well, still where it was.” Terry said with a laugh.

“Yeah.” Cliff said. “I wish you could have met my Mom. She would have liked you.”

“Thanks.” Terry said, holding Cliff’s hand and reaching over to kiss his husband.

“Look at that stuff,” Terry said after a minute. “It’s kind of like Christmas in reverse! And we have to put all the presents back where we found them!”

“And it’s 95 degrees outside. Ho-ho-ho.” Cliff said.

In another moment an orange streak bounded up to the couch and jumped onto Cliff and Terry, stretching onto their laps and kneading with her paws in their chests.

“Hey, Scooter!” Terry said. “No, we didn’t lose the cat food! Or your bowl.”

“Where was he?” Cliff asked. “I thought he was outside?”

“Hid under the bed as soon as we put it back in the bedroom.” Terry said.

“Bed sounds good.” Cliff said.

“Yeah. After we get that stuff…”

“I know! I know!” Cliff said with another grin.

“Hey,” Terry said to the cat. “We’re getting up. You want to help?”

Scooter looked from one of them to the other, then hopped off their laps and down the hallway to the bedroom as they started getting up.

“Oh well, once more unto the breach?” Cliff said.

“Yeah.” Terry said. “Order pizza later?”

“Sounds good.” Cliff said.

“Okay,” Terry said. “Grab that end of the couch and I got this end. Move it back just…about…yeah.”

—end–

Posted in Christmas, Fiction, Friday Flash Fics, Friday Flash Fictions, LGBT, Short-Stories | Leave a comment

Transfigured Night, or 4000 Miles Round-Trip. By Jeff “Mike” Baker. July 31, 2024.

Posted on August 1, 2024 by jeffbaker307

Tucumcari, NM

Transfigured Night

by Jeff Baker

Here’s a couple of stories from my long (4,000+ miles!) drive from Wichita through Arizona, New Mexico and California and back again.

“We left for Frisco in your Rambler…” —Diesel, Sausilito Summernight

I left the kitties with my Brother’s family in Western Kansas in early June 2024 and barreled out to drive to San Francisco, California (actually Livermore!) to scatter Darryl’s ashes in the Bay. I packed water, food bars and notebooks along with necessities like clothes. But I had a multiple purpose in driving out there.

The route I was taking was through New Mexico and Arizona. Decades ago I had family in the Southwest and I wanted to see a few places again. (I planned a stop in Albuquerque where my Great-Grandmother and Great-Aunt had lived for the trip back. I almost didn’t realize I was in Albuquerque because of the high wall on the highway!) I drove through New Mexico, gawked at the beauty of the desert and continued on into Arizona.

My plan was to do the trip in two stages; I had originally planned to drive to Needles, CA and stay the night, but I changed it to a stop in Flagstaff, Arizona. That would make it a ten-hour drive both days. Well, actually a twelve-hour drive as I stopped to use the loo and do just a bit of sightseeing.

I took note of the signs for turnoffs to the Grand Canyon (been there about 50 years ago!) and Phoenix. We had gone through Phoenix on our way to the Grand Canyon about 1973 or so. Not this time.

So twelve hours it was and I was getting pooped when I hit Flagstaff (a really beautiful area!) found a Super 8 Motel just off the highway and pulled in to the parking lot. The clock on my dashboard said about 6:00pm.

But that wasn’t quite right—I had crossed into the Arizona Time Zone and it was about Four in the afternoon. I realized that through a quirk of geography I had two extra hours and that I had arrived for my first overnight stay in late afternoon, just like my Grandparents and I did when we would drive to Albuquerque from Wichita decades ago. I checked in, unpacked, set my alarm and crashed. Woke up a few hours later, heated up the food I brought (thank you Super 8 Motel for microwaves and cups in the rooms!) and sat around watching videos on my smartphone.

At no point during either of my motel stays on the trip did I even think of turning on the television.

Alarm set I snoozed and got up before the alarm, somewhere around five thirty to throw my stuff into my bag, toss the stuff into my car, check out and continue the drive to California.

I’ll go into more of my adventures getting to Livermore another time. Right now I want to talk about the return trip, heading back to my Brother’s house from Flagstaff and another Super 8 Motel and losing two hours.

I slept in more than I should, had breakfast at the motel (Yum! No, really!) and hit the road about seven-ish or so. I’ll go into my first visit to Albuquerque in 45 years in a later post. But here’s what happened after I left there.

Pretty simple heading back to Tucumcari, New Mexico on I-40 but I got turned around looking for Highway 54 in the dusk there—it was not clearly marked. I had to ask directions. Stupid! I came in on the road heading to the mountain two weeks earlier, and even took a picture! I should just go away from the mountain on the only paved road heading to/away from it. Finally did that and headed through Arizona, a bit of Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle, Highway 54 a two lane highway, feeling very much like a backroads trip or like I was on the highway in the 1960s. I fueled up and used the facilities at a convenience store in maybe Dalhart as the wind was whipping up and it did sprinkle on me just a bit during the trip. My companion through those late-night hours was the SIRIUS XM radio station “Radio Classics” which was playing episodes of the fun show “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.” Somehow the 40s/50s ambiance fit with the ancient-seeming back road drive in the dark.

I hit Kansas after midnight and pulled into my Brother’s driveway about One in the morning. Sat there for a few minutes relieved to be back. Texted the family to tell them I was finally there and wondered what my kitties would think of me bailing and leaving them. I needn’t have worried. I unlocked the door and went in through the back porch, snuck downstairs in the quiet house and left my bags (and laptop) in the guest room. Then I hopped upstairs to grab something from the fridge.

At least one of my kitties greeted me, sort of indifferently like they hadn’t noticed I was gone. But they were sweet. It was good to be at the home-away-from-home.

I ate, hopped back downstairs, checked mail and then crashed, realizing that if I ever got back to California I wouldn’t be doing the driving but I was glad I did it this way this time!

Woke up next afternoon and wandered through the house. Nobody there but me and the kitties.

—end—

——jeff baker, July 31, 2024.

NOTE: Borrowed the title from a piece by Arnold Schoenberg. —-j

End Milage, Hugoton, KS

Motel, Flagstaff, AZ

Posted in Essay, Family, Flagstaff | Leave a comment

Rainbow Snippets “Fireworks In Hudson City.” From Jeff Baker, July 27, 2024.

Posted on July 27, 2024 by jeffbaker307

Every week we post six lines from a work of ours, a work-in-progress or published or a recommendation of someone else’s work with at least one LGBT character. Posted at Rainbow Snippets here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/963484217054974

We’re late with this Fourth Of July story (celebrated in the US with barbecues and fireworks.) I posted a snippet of the romantic beginning of this story a couple of years ago Kip Starkwell has reason to duck out on his boyfriend in “Fireworks in Hudson City.” https://authorjeffbaker.com/2022/07/08/fireworks-in-hudson-city-friday-flash-fics-for-july-8-a-few-days-late-2022-from-jeff-baker/ with news of a fire in the city…

“Hey, Tommy, hold my sparkler, okay?” Kip handed the nearly burned down sparkler to Tommy and rushed off, yelling over his shoulder. “I gotta go take a leak.”

Tommy stared. “Shoulda done that before you left the house,” he muttered.

Okay, just a bit more

Kip ducked between two of the tall old apartment buildings and darted into the alley behind them, quickly shucking off his duster, t-shirt, shoes and jeans, pulling a pair of welder’s goggles out of the duster pocket, wadded the clothes up and tossed them behind a dumpster as he muttered

“Fire, fire, blazing way

Carry me to the sky today”

In an instant, his skin radiated heat, then fire, then a sheen like molten rock, rippled with streaks of flame. In another moment, a twister of fire surrounded Kip and he swiftly rose into the sky, what was left of the clothes he’d been wearing reduced to cinders.

Maybe more than six lines but it’s a superhero transformation and takeoff. Gotta have that! I’ve written a few stories about the superheroes (and villains) in Hudson City and this may be my favorite. Next week, more snippets.—jeff

Posted in Hudson City, LGBT, Rainbow Snippets | Leave a comment

The Chicken Queen Hits Gotha…I Mean Goat’s Town. Friday Flash Fics from Jeff Baker. July 26, 2024.

Posted on July 26, 2024 by jeffbaker307

The Chicken’s Big Cluck/Flat Out Of Luck

by Jeff Baker

The dead of night at Liverwurst Labs at the edge of Goat’s Town. Home to the nation’s preeminent scientists and their cutting edge discoveries. But what’s this? Two familiar figures skulking about in the dark?

“Golly Captain Ecology!” Compost Boy whispered. “Why are we staking out the Labs on tonight of all nights?”

“My sources tell me that The Chicken Queen has been nesting in Goat’s Town, and with his vast intellect and thirst for power the labs are his most likely target.” Captain Ecology said. “Why their work on computers alone could…Compost Boy are you all right?”

“Uh, yeah, Cap. It’s just that…well I guess…”

“There you are, caped do-gooders!” came the familiar, nasal voice, a voice somehow tinged with a leer. Captain Ecology thought it sounded like the actor who was in the center of that tick-tack-toe game show. “I’ve got the plans for the technology that will revolutionize storing information right here in my grubby hand!”

He was wearing a dark blue suit, a thin mask over his eyes and a shirt emblazoned with a yellow chicken emblem. He laughed evilly and nasally as he waved a sheaf of papers.

“And I’ll destroy it all unless you give me what I want!” The Chicken Queen laughed again. Again evilly and nasally.

“What could we possibly give a megalomaniac like you?” Captain Ecology said through grit teeth.

“Him, that’s what!” said the super villain, pointing at Compost Boy.

“Me? Golly!” Compost Boy said, a shocked look on his masked face.

“You fiend!” Captain Ecology said, striding up to the villain, fists upraised. “How dare you endanger an innocent lad with your…”

“Uh, hold it Captain.” Compost Boy said raising a hand. “Um, everything’s fine. I don’t think those are the plans of anything.”

“What?” Captain Ecology said.

“Remember that long phone call I made this afternoon? That was, uh, with him.” Compost Boy pointed at the Chicken Queen. “We kind of set this up.”

“Set this up?” Captain Ecology said.

“We used to date,” the Chicken Queen said with a shrug.

“Date?!” Captain Ecology said, floored. “I know he plays around but I will not let you soil the innocence of…”

“Hey, I’m twenty-five years old, remember?” Compost Boy said. “And I just work with you, you don’t plan my social life.”

“But this criminal broke in here…” Captain Ecology started to say.

“Not exactly broke in,” Compost Boy said. “He works here.”

“I have a key,” the Chicken Queen said with another shrug.

“Um, so you take the Ecolo-Car back and I’ll call a cab,” Compost Boy said grinning at the Chicken Queen. “Later!”

The Captain gave a halfhearted wave as Compost Boy walked over to the Chicken Queen.

“Hey, you’re not gonna tie me up again are you?” Compost Boy asked.

“Heavens no!” The Chicken Queen said. “A little dinner, some wine, some dancing and then…”

Captain Ecology waved again as the pair walked out of sight. The Nineteen-Seventies were getting weird.

—end—

NOTE: The Chicken Queen character was from an idea by the late Darryl Thompson. Thanks.

—–jeff

Posted in Captain Ecology and Compost Boy, Fiction, Friday Flash Fics, Friday Flash Fictions, LGBT, Science Fiction, Short-Stories | Leave a comment

When I’m Sixty-Four by Jeff Baker. July 21, 2024.

Posted on July 21, 2024 by jeffbaker307

I turned 64 on Saturday July 20th, 2024! Celebrated with some good friends (like kitty above!) and grilled burgers and ate too much cake.

The night sky was cloudy or I would have gone out Moon-watching. The near-full Moon on my birthday is also on the anniversary of the July 20, 1969 arrival of astronauts on the Moon. Literally the first Moonwalk! And I watched it on our old black-and-white TV on our back patio (extension cord) keeping an eye on the Moon in the evening sky above me as history played out on the screen. Fifty-Five years ago.

Lots of history. What will the next year bring?

Posted in Essay, Moon | 2 Comments

Rainbow Snippets At The Continental Divide. (Sounds like a Fellini Western!) from Jeff Baker. July 19th, 2024.

Posted on July 19, 2024 by jeffbaker307

Every week we post six lines from a work of ours, a work-in-progress or published or a recommendation of someone else’s work with at least one LGBT character. Posted at Rainbow Snippets here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/963484217054974

The prompt pic (above) was one I took in New Mexico on my recent travels. The Continental Divide is the elevated point where water drains toward the Atlantic on one side and the Pacific on the other. The marker was too good not to use for a story.

As for whether my characters are LGBT, I think they probably would have a much different definition of gender. Of course I called my story “Continental Divide” https://authorjeffbaker.com/2024/06/21/continental-divide-welcome-back-friday-flash-fics-for-june-21st-2024-by-jeff-baker/ but the title has more than the geographical meaning.

“Over here,” Dad/Mom said, actually walking on the road. “Just a short ways.”

I followed him/her, breathing in uncycled air and feeling the flat, hard road under my shoes.

“Right here,” Dad/Mom said. There was a large sign, almost as tall as Dad/Mom and taller than me just off the road. It was some kind of sturdy board. “Do you read Murcan?”

“Of course,” I said. “I did my Languology last year.” I stared at the board. “But this is Ancient Languology. Old Murcan.”

A little more than six lines, but too good not to use. Here’s more.

I studied the words. The Ancient words were slightly different but not that hard to read.

Continental Divide

Elevation 7,295 feet

Rainfall divides at this point

To the West it drains

Into the Pacific Ocean

And the remaining words were worn away. Maybe by the curious feeling antiquity with their fingers.

And we leave it there. Next week, we celebrate a holiday a bit late in Hudson City. —jeff

Posted in Fiction, LGBT, Rainbow Snippets, Science Fiction | 2 Comments

Progress Report For June/July 2024 from Jeff Baker. (July 19th, 2024)

Posted on July 19, 2024 by jeffbaker307

Progress Report; June/July 2024 from Jeff Baker

Really not a lot of progress to report this month. Maybe I was coming down from driving 4,000 miles last month.

I did the usual Friday Flash Fiction stories and wrote the Flash Fiction Draw Challenge story. Also did a couple of the columns for Queer Sci Fi, including one about going to Sacramento and finally meeting J. Scott Coatsworth. A delight to meet, a delight to write!

Also finished reading through an anthology that will be the QSF column for Halloween.

I sort of did some writing. Read through the longer story that I am going to finish soon and did a little research (and even some tweaking) on some stories I have in the pipe. Started a story and an essay that I will finish. And I wrote and revised at least two poems.

Plus, I scoped-out markets for some of my stories.

I have only really kicked it back into high gear in the last week or so.

So, that’s about it for now! (And tomorrow I turn 64!)

—-jeff baker, July 19th, 2024

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Reading Report; June/July 2024 from Jeff Baker. (July 19th, 2024)

Posted on July 19, 2024 by jeffbaker307

Reading Report June/July 2024 from Jeff Baker

Not a lot of actual reading done this period. Maybe I was coming down from the long car trip.

Read my usual online delights: Kaje Harper’s weekly story and J. Scott Coatsworth’s serial novel-in-progress (“Down The River”) which is updated weekly. (See previous Reading Reports for links; both author’s works are highly recommended!)

Started reading “We Mostly Come Out At Night,” a YA anthology edited by Rob Costello. Bummed through it and used it to write a column.

Speaking of Rob Costello; I read a fine story of his, “The Hole Of Dark Kill Hollow” in a Y.A. anthology called “Rural Voices.”

Read the graphic novel “Nightwing; Get Grayson.”

And read more of Scotty Bowers’ book “Full Service.” (Took me a bit to get the double meaning of the title!)

Posted in Books, Reading, Reading Report | Leave a comment