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.
Newberg: A Small Town Anthology – Prologue by J Ray Lamb
I decided to chronicle the story of the people who lived in Newberg: the public lives lived and the private lies hidden. Newberg is just like every other amalgamation of people. It has gossip, scandal, and intrigue. I was a resident of Newberg for twenty years – a native son born to outsiders. I would grow up, have my morals shaped and broken, and learn valuable lessons of the duplicity of human existence. When I left, I swore I would never return. Never is a powerful word that often doesn’t mean what it says on the tin. Now, some five decades…
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Bad Karma and the Family Plan #79 (16.3)
“What were you mad about?” Ethan asked cautiously. I didn’t look up, afraid to be seen as staring at Ethan’s brother. I wasn’t even sure he’d want to answer the question. But his comment seemed like a cry for help almost. I don’t think I’d ever seen Joey so…what was the right word? Vulnerable. Human, even.
“A lot of things.” Joey sighed. I noticed he never stopped stroking Benny. Not that our pup was likely to complain. He seemed pretty comfortable right where he was. “You. Sarah. Mom. Dad. Heather.” He paused for a moment, and no one broke the silence. “Maybe me most of all, I dunno.”
Wow, that was candor I never expected
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“What about this?” Beckett unstrapped his watch. “Do you think I could trade this?” His jeans had been a hit. For all the word human had been said to him with disdain, the gnome had looked pretty greedy when he’d asked for Beckett’s jeans in trade. It wasn’t even like he could trade them to just anyone either. How many creatures could actually wear them?
“A human toy? It doesn’t work here, but the bits and pieces are valuable. You could get a lot for that. Barter for azure crescents, over there.”
“It’s not a toy. It tells time. Like
