Last year in May, Cherie Reich hosted
a Flash Fiction Blogfest. She enjoyed it so much, she decided to host it again this
year.
Here are the
rules:
1. Entries must begin with
the two words: Lightning flashed.
2. Entries must be 300
words or less and be in prose. I'm not versed enough in poetry verse to judge it
properly.
3. Entries must be posted
on your blog between May 21 - 23.
4. You must sign up in the
linky on her site.
On May 25, she will announce
the six finalists and open voting through May 28th.
On May 29th, Cherie's third year
blogversary, she will announce the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners as well as a
random winner selected from the participants list. All ties will be broken by
Random.org.
Now what are the
prizes?
First place - $25 gift card
from AmazonSecond place - $20 gift card from Amazon
Third place - $15 gift card from Amazon
Random prize - $10 gift card from Amazon
My entry: Captain Wrath Goes Camping
Lightning
flashed. Captain Wrath, aka Douglas Cranton, cursed loudly to satisfy his
paying passengers, and then stumped over to his tent. Galaxy Cruise Lines had
decided in their universal wisdom to add an overnight excursion to the Western Edge
tours. In addition to the garish costume, foul makeup and other discomforts
lavished on Douglas by his employers, the whole Smuggler’s Cove Excursion on
the newly synthed Looter’s Island had nearly forced Doug to break his employee
contract.
Thankfully,
Doug had wrangled a few perks out of management, like his Captain’s tent placed
on the best campsite under a large canopy tree. In rotten weather like this, he
could slip into the large tent and hope that the company didn’t spring any surprise
excursion adventures upon him.
A
shrill scream interrupted his momentary hope.
Doug drew his
pistol-blasters and threw open the tent flap. The lanterns in the camp were all
out, and only the wind driven rain greeted him. With the moon hidden
behind the thick clouds, he couldn’t see anything.
Doug
stepped away from his tent, not wanting the light to make him a target. In the shadows
of the canopy tree, he listened carefully for sounds of his crew. A silky murmur
emanated from the tree behind him, and slender hands ran down his back.
“What
the devil!” Doug shouted, jumping away from the hands.
A
beautiful Dryadarian barely covered in brown bark smiled seductively at him. “Don’t
you want to have a little fun, Captain Wrath? Your passengers are all taken
care of . . .
With a
flick of his thumb, Doug changed the cartridge in his pistol, and shot her with
universal sleeping gas.
She
crumpled to the ground, and he stepped into the dense foliage.
Time to rescue his passengers
again.
author note: I had so much fun with Captain Wrath for a previous blog challenge, that I decided to use him again. If you want to read my original Captain Wrath story, go here: The Identity Crisis of Captain Wrath
100 Days of Revision, Day 21
Had a bit of slow down this weekend - my Sundays have been incredibly fun and busy lately, but I'm back into it today. This process isn't quite what I had planned for it to be; I'm spending a few hours at it on some days, and short bits of time on it on other days, but I'm trying to keep this in the forefront of my writing time.
again?! love it! souns like the first page of a new novel! amazing!
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I started reading I couldn't help squeeing like a glee-filled jelly roll. Captain Wrath was back!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love this piece. So much fun :-)
Captain Doug returns! Awesome.
ReplyDeleteTara - Wow! Thanks! (blushing) I had no intention of writing about Captain Wrath more than once, but the guy just keeps popping up and making me laugh now and then. I think (maybe) when I get my current WIP whipped into shape, I might give him his own book.
ReplyDeleteAngela - Thanks bunches for your enthusiasm for Captain Wrath!
Alex - Thanks!!!
LOL! I enjoyed this! I don't blame the Captain. You really can't mess with those Dryadarians -- their bite is much worse than their bark...
ReplyDeleteNice work, Tyrean!
Chris - "their bite is much worse than their bark" :D Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat job, I liked the ending-
ReplyDeleteSummer - Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHa! Love it. I think I need one of those pistols.
ReplyDeleteL.G. - Thanks! Yes, the pistols with rotating cartridges are kind of nice . . . so Captain Doug can use the ammo needed for the situation.
ReplyDeleteThank you for entering my 2nd Annual Flash Fiction Blogfest! The six finalists will be announced on Friday, May 25th. I will further comment on your entry on Thursday.
ReplyDeleteThat was such fun. You created some great atmosphere in such a limited amount of words.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great start to a bigger project!
ReplyDeleteThis one was a lot of fun to read! The kind of story I want more of!
ReplyDelete~MPL, PepperWords
A story that meets the standards in a wildly imaginative.
ReplyDelete"cursed loudly to satisfy his paying passengers"
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but this phrase jumped off the page for me. It's only 7 words, yet it seems to have a deeper, hidden meaning behind it...the marks of a good writer. :)
Good luck with the revisions and glad to hear you're also having fun. Gotta have that balance in this life!
ReplyDeleteI think I like Captain Wrath - reminds me a little of Mal from Firefly :)
ReplyDeleteCherie - Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteLaura - Thank you. It's hard to fit a story in less than 300 words.
Susan - unintentionally yes!
M Pepper - Thanks! I plan to spend a little more time with Captain Wrath/Doug in the near future.
Linda - glad you liked it. For me the deeper meaning is that although Doug may play the part of "Captain Wrath" for his job, he's really the "good" guy with extremely high standards.
Stephen - Thanks! I agree. Balance between fun and work is necessary.
mshatch - Interesting. I hadn't put that together, but yeah . . he's a little like Mal . . .and Han Solo, and all the scoundrels with hearts of gold out there.
Oh I loved that! So much delightful personality in that short piece.
ReplyDeleteLol, that's awesome. Loved your flash fiction and Captain Wrath.
ReplyDeleteFUN and exciting! I think I need to go back to read your other material about the Captain :)
ReplyDeleteI loved captain wrath.. hes a great character. This was a lot of fun to read :)
ReplyDeleteAndrea
Hee hee. Again. The plucky hero sets out to save the world. =) Fun stuff.
ReplyDeleteHe reminds me Han Solo. :)
ReplyDeleteL. Diane - Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLynda - Thanks!!!
Heather - Thank you.
Andrea - Thank you.
Crystal - Thanks!!! He's sort of a reluctantly plucky hero.
Nicole - Good :-) . . .as long as he's still his own character too.
I like Captain Wrath!
ReplyDeleteYou sure pack a lot of characterization into a short passage. I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteWow! This is a compelling world. What a great idea! Cruise trips with a huge difference. You're onto something there - keep it!
ReplyDeleteStunning writing! Felt like I was there the whole time.
ReplyDeleteGo Doug! What a hero! Your descriptions are so vivid :) I'm loving all of the entries I've read so far for this blogfest!
ReplyDeleteI love his response to the bark-clad woman. Ha ha ha! Very nice story. Captain Wrath's personality really comes through. :)
ReplyDeleteWouldn't mind being a paying customer on that excursion.
ReplyDeleteThis was so funny. I loved the last lines. I agree that it sounds like the first page of a novel and it's one I'd like to read
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderfully written and original. Not what I expected to happen at all. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteSeems like Captain Wrath has some admirers... Fun story and great ending!
ReplyDeleteha! Fun story. Captain Wrath sounds like an interesting character.
ReplyDeleteAllison (Geek Banter)
I love Captain Wrath! You should really write a book of his adventures. We need some fun loving adventures.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Nicole,he does sound a lot like Han Solo. fun post. Great job.
ReplyDeleteBrinda - Thanks! I appreciate your specific comment - characterization is something I "worry" about when writing.
ReplyDeleteSusan - Thanks!!! I started with the idea of a disgruntled Space Navy Captain who'd been kicked out and had to find work . . .where? A cruise line.
Danielle - Thank you!
Julie - Thank you for the specific feedback!!!
Amy - Thanks!!! I was afraid the whole "shooting her with sleeping gas" thing might be a problem.
Mary - I know what you mean . . .except this particular cruise company likes to surprise it's passengers.
Nephylim - Thanks! I hadn't planned on it being an opener, but it just ended up that way.
Christine - Thanks!!!
Julie - Thank you! He's a character that just recently popped into my imagination, and I'm finding him a bit distracting.
I love the slowdown in the days of rest.
ReplyDeletecool flash fic! love the word Dryadarian:)
ReplyDeleteNutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Leovi - me too.
ReplyDeletenutschell - Thanks! It's my odd mix of fantasy and scifi . . . in my last "WRath" story there were some mischief making leprechanarians.
That was a very fun flash!
ReplyDeleteI surfed by your blog yesterday, and got so excited about the blogfest that I rushed off to sign up and start writing before reading and commenting. So now I'm back. :)
I loved the cynical internal monolog that contrasts with the persona the captain has to keep up for 'customers', and the reference to a Dryadarian.
Hahaha Captain Wrath sounds awesome. :-D
ReplyDeleteCaptain Wrath sounds like a fun and cool character. It's awesome you've used him before and hopefully he'll make his way to the page again. Very nice!
ReplyDeletekelworthfiles - wow! thanks!!! and thanks for the specific feedback on the story!
ReplyDeleteMisha - Thank you!
Michael - Thank you! I've had a lot of fun with him as a character, so I don't think I can give him up.
I heart that he shouted, "What the devil!" Fun piece! :-)
ReplyDeleteSome Dark Romantic
This is my first encounter with Captain Wrath, but he's an awesome character :)
ReplyDeleteMina - Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteJamie - Thank you! He's been fun to write.
Oh that was awesome. I hope you are going to expand on that, because it deserves a novel :)
ReplyDeleteI love how this went from seemingly ordinary to the extraordinary. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI'll announce the finalists tomorrow.
Sylvia - Thanks! I plan to . . .but for now Captain Wrath is just getting short spurts of "borrowed" time while I work on a revision of my WIP
ReplyDeleteCherie - Thanks!!! I'll check in tomorrow.
Well done! Captain Wrath seems like a fun character to write.
ReplyDeleteJenn - Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad he resisted temptation. Great writing and characterization.
ReplyDelete