Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.
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necklace, and set out for the day. It was still early, the morning sun
was up but there were still long shadows and dark corners. It was a
crisp fall morning and all he wanted was a cup of coffee and a bagel.
Cloverdale was still sleeping it seemed. Traffic was light as he weaved
across traffic on the network of trails and by-ways that criss-crossed
Cloverdale. Many times, it was faster to bike or rollerblade across town
than it was to drive. It would be another twenty minutes before he would
get to the Daily Drip. He pedaled a slow steady pace until he reached
the long bridge over the Clover River.
To Touch the Sky: #3.1 by M.A. Church
Simon checked his bobber. Nothing happening there. Kind of like my life. Annoyed, he jerked the line out of the water and packed his fishing gear. Usually he loved to be outdoors, especially if it involved fishing, but the peace he normally felt was missing.
Back at his apartment, he put away his gear, then dropped down on the couch. Immediately the mess surrounding him caught his eye. “Man, I need to clean this place up. It’s getting bad in here.”
He knew without a doubt Chip would agree, loudly. In private, he could admit he was a little sloppy.
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Buried Treasure Part 3: By Carol Pedroso
I made sure Craig had everything he needed within reach and thanked whoever was listening that he was now able to get around on his own with the chair. All the work at the gym was finally paying off.
I jumped on my motorcycle and roared towards the address I had been given.
When I arrived the building had been cleared to ensure I had no outside influences to distract me from finding the child. I found Cade to get an update.
“She went in here,” he told me, pointing to a spot
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More Than Music by Elyzabeth M. VaLey
Dylan let his head fall back against the couch. He sighed and closed his eyes. Home at last. He was relieved. He had been able to flee the crowd unscathed this time. Absently he ran his fingers through his hair. During his last show, one of the fans had managed to climb onstage. If she’d let it at that, fine, but she had tried to jump him and in the process had pulled his hair. He was so pissed he’d left. He couldn’t handle the crazy ones. He just couldn’t.
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Don’t Look Back #6 by Julie Lynn Hayes
“Feeling restless?”
Marshall never turned as Lee came up behind him. He gazed through the screen door, his focus on nothing in particular. A recent rain had dropped the temperature to more bearable levels, and the cooling breeze that blowing into the house was a welcome visitor. Thirsty birds dipped their beaks in the water-filled bowl of the concrete bird bath; turtles rimmed the edge with stony gaze and dragonflies circled the pedestal. A rabbit shot across the grass, his companion haring after him; both were quickly lost to view.
“Mmm, what makes you think so?”
Marshall felt Lee press against him, his hands flat against Marshall’s hips, his head resting on Marshall’s shoulder familiarly.
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Shane nodded. He tugged me backward, deeper into the derelict castle, whereas I pulled in the other direction, far away from the darkness. A roar filled the air and I clapped my hands over my ears, then everything around me moved at once.
Large stones clattered to the ground, missing me only by sheer luck. Smaller, sharp-edged stones hit me on my arms, neck, back, wherever. Coughing, I strained against Shane’s arm around my biceps. I needed to get out of here. We needed to get out of here.
The Lost Ones by Shelly Schulz.
“Last time I checked you don’t grab anything of mine.” I rolled my eyes at him, hugging my knees tighter to my body. “You’re more for the tall, stick slender, blondes with perfect skin.” I glared out into the darkness. “So yes, I’m prepared for a hand to berth from the ground and grab onto me.”
“Want me to grab something of yours?”
I felt him move and I wiggled out of his reach, landing my ass on the damp grass. “You’d wouldn’t have a hard time finding a handful–or three.”
“Don’t say that.” Derek pulled me back onto the blanket.
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Lost Inside: Chapter 31 by Cia Nordwell
Yuri ate, but his headache grew again. His brief burst of energy was gone, and all he wanted to do was sleep.
“You done?” Benny grabbed the box, still half-full with most of the burger and fries Yuri had wished for, before it could tip over and spill.
“Uh-huh.” Yuri yawned. His eyelids weighed a ton. “Sleepy again.”
Benny tucked the blankets up around Yuri’s chest. “You can shower and get dressed later. I bought you some sweats and a t-shirt.”
The bed dipped under his mate’s weight. Benny curled around him, and Yuri turned to his mate, nuzzling his
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Rattletrap #6 by Tali Spencer
Being weightless was not completely new. Jedd had grown up in space and like any child had engaged in games in units set up for such play. Later he had trained to perform more complex tasks in much more open environs. He moved as naturally in weightless conditions as any civilian space-dwelling human, though he always found it a bit disorienting. It helped to grasp the pole beside the workstation and use it to stabilize his mass.
At least he wasn’t slamming against the walls. If the ship were accelerating…
But it wasn’t. It was stretching, the floor, ceiling, and walls flowing away from him.
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The Hollow: Soul Seekers by JC Wallace
Levi spent the remainder of the day playing with his new phone, and receiving dozens of texts from Gia expressing unabashed jealousy over Levi’s new toy and making sure he kept up on the gossip, which Levi could have cared less about. When Gia’s last text mentioned Noah, Levi ignored her.
True to his word, Logan sent a text complete with a picture of him with his girlfriend, Melissa. Levi couldn’t glean where the photo had been taken, but Levi was certain it wasn’t anywhere Logan truly wanted to be.
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Aesthetics of Invention: Part 2 by Ravon Silvius
“Kenneth,” Thorn said, his face reddening. “I’m glad.” He took his hand away from Kenneth’s lips and threw his arm around the mage, pulling him closer. They kissed hungrily, Kenneth moaning as his magic flared. The sensation of Thorn’s lips, of being pulled close by Thorn’s strong arms, was overwhelming.
The bulbs that illuminated the workroom burst all at once, sending them both into darkness as glass hit the floor with an ear-piercing roar. Thorn jumped back with a gasp.
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Kenneth tamped down his control of his magic, watching as the swirls of aether stilled with his increased concentration. Damn.
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