Friday Flash Fiction - week 43

Cheap Plonk

Cassandra knew immediately that something was wrong. When she slid the key into the brass lock, the front door swung open and banged into the hall radiator with a loud clunk. She always double-locked the heavy oak door, and double-checked it too. With her brass key still suspended in mid-air, she stood gazing at the mess in the hallway for five whole seconds before she let out an involuntary moan. 

‘Crap.’ She pulled her mobile phone out of her oversized handbag and with slightly trembling hands dialled her husband’s number. 
‘Peter?’ The familiar word caught in her throat. 
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘What is it? I’m pretty busy here.’ 
She bent down to pick up a plant pot. ‘We’ve been burgled.’ 
‘Oh God! Really?’
‘Yes, really. I’m standing here in an almighty tip.’ 
‘You’re sure they’re no longer there?’
She tiptoed further into the house. ‘Pretty sure.’ 
‘Maybe you shouldn’t go in on your own.’ 
‘Hello?’ Cassandra called out. ‘Anyone there?’ 
‘Cassie!’ Peter hissed. ‘Are you mad?’ 
‘It’s fine,’ she said. ‘There’s no-one here.’ 
‘What’s missing? TV? Stereo?’
‘Yes, yes,’ she sighed. ‘All that’s gone. Laptop too.’ She walked out of the lounge into the kitchen and burst out laughing.  
‘What? What is it?’
‘You know that wine Audrey bought me from France?’
‘That nasty stuff that cost us a fortune?’ 
‘Yes. Well, they opened a few of bottles, obviously planning to drink a bottle or two each.’ 
‘And?’
‘Well,’ she said between giggles, ‘that wine is so crap even the burglars didn’t want it!’ 

Laura Besley

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Flash Fiction diary

This story of burglary is sadly based on a true story. There obviously is a funny side to it and the woman did get all her things back in the end and the burglars went to prison too. 

Flash Fortnightly #11 is based on a true, yet tragic, story. Click here for My Wedding Day. 

Of Gods and Mobsters is the latest anthology from the Hong Kong Writers Circle, edited by SCC Overton. 
Classical gods and heroes. Men and women of myth, legend and folklore. Characters from the greatest 19th and 20th century novels. All of them relocated, reimagined and retold in this collection of short stories and poetry. 
I have a story in here and wrote a modern day version of Aladdin. 

imprint 12 (the annual anthology of Women in Publishing Society) was launched on Friday 15th March and as mentioned before, I was asked to read my piece of flash fiction, Fractious Heat. I was incredibly nervous, but as I had practised a few times with my lovely husband, I think it went well. I got a good reaction from the crowd, which was a real boost! 
As always, it's an absolute thrill to see my work in print. As well as the piece of flash fiction, I also submitted a piece of non-fiction, Aspects of Home.  





_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Flash Fiction is short enough to read whilst you're waiting for the kettle to boil. It's fairly quick to write too, but with it being so short, every word has to count. 

On 4th May 2012 I decided to embark on a project: to write a piece of Flash Fiction every day. I'm hoping this will keep the creative juices flowing and ultimately help me hone my craft. Every Friday I'll be posting 'the best of the week' onto my blog for you to read. If you have anything to say (good or 'constructive'!), I'm open to comments.  

Thanks, as always, for reading.