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Colleen Shine Phillips with Me, Mom, and Matlock is the winner of my first ever Flash Fiction Contest and a $20 gift card from Amazon.com.

            Thanks to all who participated. I may do another one in November or December—just in time for Christmas so check back to see the details. And in keeping with the season it might have a Christmas theme.

            Ane here’s the winner.

Me, Mom, and Matlock by Colleen Shine Phillips.

            Nestled in her nubby tweed recliner, my mother poked at a pill organizer.
            “Uh, need some help, Mom?”
            “I can still hold my own, Shannon.”
            “What’re you doing?”
            Her face told me everything, but I couldn’t push her. She might be eighty-five, but that Irish fire was far from going out. Already wrinkled, her forehead creased into deep crevices. “Do you have to know everything?”
            Those razor-sharp words cut through me. Took me back to when I was a kid. I reached toward the organizer. “Tell me what—”
            She pushed my hand away. “I’m old, not useless.”
            Irritation prickled my spine. “Nobody said that.”
            “You didn’t have to.”
            My gaze swept the room, taking in the walls I’d painted a dull off-white to please her, the maple side tables that screamed post-World War II, the shabby couch she didn’t want to let go of—all to make her to feel more at home.
            Swallowing my frustration, I gulped deep breaths, a habit acquired since Mom had moved in with me after Dad’s death. “I just—”
            “I know. You always just.”
            My lips pressed into a straight line.
            Then she bowed her head, and tears trickled over her leathery hands.
            “Mom?”
            “I’m sorry.”
            “About what?”
            “My wretched attitude. You’re so kind, and I . . . I hate getting old!” Her watery blue eyes searched mine. “Why is everything a task? When will my energy return?”
            Her questions broke my heart. Envisioning her nodding off during Diagnosis Murder and the pain that often assaults her frail body, my anger waned.
            “Some things are tough for me, too, and I’m only sixty. Like dill-pickle-jar lids. My fingertips slip like chunks of plastic.”
            “And how about those pesky child-proofed medicine bottles? Impossible.” She wiped at her tears. “But, it’s not going to get better, is it?”
            “Depending on your perspective. Some things won’t. But . . . hey, we live in Las Vegas, the buffet center of the world, so how about those Senior discounts? They rock!”
            Clapping weathered hands, she giggled. “South Point’s my favorite. You’re right.”
            The two words I’d longed to hear my whole adult life. Ironic. Because now it didn’t matter to me.
            I nodded toward the pill organizer. “So . . .?”
            She wiggled a gnarled finger. “Couldn’t snag my heart tablet. How about your plastic-tipped one?”
            It took two tries, but I succeeded.
            Struggle forgotten, Mom grabbed the remote control. “Think Matlock’s on?”
            A dozen important things vied for my attention. I plopped onto the couch and leaned back. “Well, let’s find out.”

Time for something fun this week. And winning a $20 gift card from Amazon sounds like fun to me. So, here’s the contest. Submit your own sample of flash fiction and you might win.

Don’t know what flash fiction is? No problem, I’m here to help.

Flash fiction is like a short story—only miniaturized. According to Wikipedia, word count is not set in stone, but most flash fiction ranges somewhere between 300-1000 words.  Even though flash fiction is short, it still contains all the elements of a story-plot; protagonist; conflict; and resolution.

Here’s the way the contest will work.

1. Submit your flash fiction as a comment. Be sure to include the title, author and if you have a website you may include it.
2. Stories must be 500 words or less.
3. Ask others to vote for your story through Twitter or Facebook or whatever social media you use.
4. Voting will be simple. If you want to vote for a submission, simply name the title in a comment.
5. Story with the most votes wins a $20 gift card from Amazon.
6. If no submitted story gets any votes or there’s a tie, I’ll make the final decision.
7. If there are no story submissions, I’ll buy myself a $20 gift card!
8. No bad language, explicit sex scenes, or offensive stories will be accepted. Again, my blog-my decision.
9. Contest will end at midnight on August 21.

 Just to get the fun going, here’s my attempt at flash fiction. But no voting for it!

 FREEDOM by Lillian Duncan

           He stood strong, tall, and proud, his sun-browned muscles at attention while he shot arrows at his captors with his eyes. The wind whipped through his long black hair, revealing a majestic profile.

            The shackles on his feet prevented escape.

            The angry mob surrounded him. One man screamed, “Kill the savage.” The others took up the chant.

            Their gazes met. His, dark, angry, and proud. Hers, soft and blue, held a promise. Acknowledging him with a nod, she picked up the ruffled hem of her dress and stepped forward.

            The angry chant dwindled to silence.

            “Brothers, sisters. This is not right, not the Christian way.” Her voice as hard and strong as the mountains rising behind her.

            “But, he’s a savage.”

            She held up a hand to silence. “The judge will decide that. A fair trial. It’s the American way.”

            “We knowed he done it.” A voice snarled from the back. “Kill the savage.”

            The chanting commenced.

            Wind blew through her blonde tresses. Storm clouds darkened overhead.   “We moved here because we were tired of being prosecuted for being different. I will not be a party to such…” Her eyes flashed a challenge. “To such savagery.” She bent down and picked up a rock. “Will you be the one to throw the first stone?”

            Women gathered their children, nudged their husbands, and crept toward home. Husbands soon followed. Evening chores awaited.

            Her father stepped from the crowd, anger in his eyes. He scowled at her. The star on his chest glimmered in the last rays of the afternoon sun. “Go home.”

            She held her head up high as she turned and walked away.

            In the quiet darkness, she moved with the stealth of a lioness. The soft sounds of sleep greeted her as she glided past the sleeping sheriff.

            Holding up a finger to her mouth, she silenced the prisoner. His dark brown eyes revealed surprise as she slid the key in. Freedom so close now. The cell door squeaked open.

            Her father shifted and mumbled in his sleep. Each second seemed a lifetime until his gentle breathing resumed. When the time was right, she stretched out her arm. An invitation, the prisoner gladly accepted as he grasped her soft feminine hand.

            They crept through the darkened prison and out into fresh night air. The brightness of the moon above them. She pointed to the horse, his means of escape to freedom.

             He didn’t move.

            Their eyes met. She stepped away and motioned for him to go. Still he waited. Taking a deep breath, the keys jingled as she laid them on the ground. And then turned back with a smile where he waited.

            Her blonde tresses glistened in the moonlight.

            His own muscled brown arms offered an invitation to freedom and a promise of love. With both arms, she accepted. With surprising strength and gentleness, he lifted her to him.

            He spurred the horse on to freedom—their freedom.

To learn more about Lillian and her writing visit: www.lillianduncan.net  Don’t forget about her new book, PURSUED (www.whiterosepublishing.com) Guaranteed to keep you up past your bedtime!

Reggie Meyers has spent her life pursing the American Dream, but now she’s the one being pursued— by an unknown killer. Putting her trust in Dylan Monroe, a man she barely knows, will either be the best decision she ever made or the last.

Lots of people ask me how I come up with the crazy ideas I do for my suspense stories. After all, I’ve never been chased down streets, kidnapped, held for ransom, shot at, or any of the other things that happen to my characters.

I usually smile, shrug my shoulders, and say I have no idea. But today, I’m going to share my secret. My secret is….I have a co-writer. You won’t see his name on the cover of my books, but I do give Him credit and all the glory.

GOD is my co-writer.

He’s my source for creativity. When my story comes to a screeching halt, I turn to my co-writer for inspiration and help. Here’s a recent example:  My editor returned a manuscript I’d submitted for consideration with a polite no thank you along with several reasons.

Exasperation. Disappointment. Frustration. And whatever other negative emotions you can think of oozed through my veins. I love this story (of course, I love all my stories) and want others to have the chance to read it.

Deep down, I knew she was right. There were two main issues with the story. The way I’ve written it, it reads half like women’s fiction and the other half suspense. But suspense needs to be all suspense—not half.

Easy fix.

All I have to do is start deleting all those wonderful words I’d written. Easy fix but difficult to actually do. After all, I wrote those wonderful words. Difficult not impossible.

The other issue—too many coincidences to bring all the characters together. A coincidence to bring the main character to the two police officers. A coincidence for the killer to learn the identity of the witness.

Not so easy to fix. Coincidences may be awesome in life, but a big no-no when it comes to writing.

But what’s a writer to do? I love the story and don’t want to see it go to that big story junkyard littered with so many writers’ broken hopes and dreams.

I sat down and tried to change things, but it wasn’t happening. The coincidences remained and the story stayed stuck. So…I turned to my co-writer. And as usual, He had the answers!

Change the location where the body’s found came the answer. Mmm. I thought about it. If the body was found in the alley and not on the highway, then it would take care of how the main character meets up with the detectives…and it would take care of how the bad guy finds the main character-the only witness to the murder.

I just love my co-writer.

God Bless and Good Reading. LIL

WARNING:  This post is more about questions than answers. So be prepared to be confused or if you’re not confused, then be prepared to leave comments so I can become unconfused!

To borrow the format of an old old song, how many words must a writer write before he/she becomes a writer? That is the question of the day.

I recently had my fourth book released PURSUED, and only now can I look people in the eye and say, “I’m a writer.” This is my first book published by a “traditional” publishing company. I self-published my first book, then had two published by a POD publisher. For me, I didn’t feel like I was a writer until I’d been validated by a traditional publisher, but that’s just me.

I know there are plenty of writers out there who haven’t even completed a book but they have no problem telling others they are a writer. And far be it from me to disagree with them.

Does a person become a writer as soon as they decide to become a writer? After they’ve written the first word, first paragraph, or finished their first book? Maybe, they don’t become a “real writer” until they’ve published a book?

Mmm. That could be a good definition. A person becomes a writer after they’ve published a book. Really? But published how? With new technology and ebooks, the lines of being published have quickly become blurred.

And what about all the newspaper and magazine writers not to mention all the bloggers. Aren’t they writers? There must literally be millions of people out there blogging and many of them spend a great deal of time and effort getting it right. (Someone probably knows the number but I don’t.)

Speaking of blogs, why don’t you take a minute to hop over to the sidebar and subscribe to this blog. I promise you won’t be inundated with posts in your mailbox. I plan to blog no more than once per week, and much more likely 2 or 3 times per month—if that. 

So, back from the commercial and back to the question at hand.

First, I think it’s fair to say there is a difference between being a writer and an author. A writer might write books, articles, blogs….but an author writes books.

Yikes!! Don’t yell at me! Let’s see what the dictionary says. Dictionary.com says an author is a person who writes a novel, a poem, or other written work.  Another definition is the maker of anything, the creator of anything.  Mmm. That would include blogs and magazine and newspaper articles.

I don’t see anything in the definition that you are only an author if your writing makes money, or if your book becomes a bestseller, or if everyone knows your name, or even if a publisher decides you are a writer.

Gosh, maybe I was a writer all along and just didn’t know it. To learn more about Lillian and her writing visit: www.lillianduncan.net

Don’t forget about my new book, PURSUED (www.whiterosepublishing.com) Guaranteed to keep you up past your bedtime!

Reggie Meyers has spent her life pursing the American Dream, but now she’s the one being pursued— by an unknown killer. Putting her trust in Dylan Monroe, a man she barely knows, will either be the best decision she ever made or the last.

What’s your opinion? When does a person become a writer?

God Bless and Good Reading! Lil

Would Jesus blog?

Do you hear it?

All that screaming, sobbing, and yelling? Not to mention kicking and throwing things? That’s me—being dragged into the twenty-first century and… into the world of blogging and social networking.

It’s not that I’m opposed to technology. I love my electronic gadgets as much as the next woman—OK, maybe a little more, if truth be told. And I’m all about the truth except when I’m making up stories.

Since my first release in almost five years (PURSUED) was just published I’ve learned the value of a blog. So many sweet and kind bloggers have had me as their guest, and it’s been a good thing.

But still…I resisted having my own blog.

I have a website (www.lillianduncan.net) and even have “friends” but blogging?? It’s not for me. After all what would I say? Why would anyone want to hear what I have to say? Wouldn’t it take away too much time from my writing?

But then I read a book, How I Sold 1 Million EBooks In 5 Months. John Locke assured me I must have a blog along with a website, friends, and tweets. And he gave me permission to only blog when I really have something to say—not every day or even every week!

But…but…but…I don’t want to. There’s not enough time in the day as it is.But I do want to sell a million copies of PURSUED. (www.whiterosepublishing.com )

Why do I want to sell a million copies? The answer might seem obvious.  It’s all about the money, right? Wrong.

Sure, I won’t complain about some extra cash in my pocketbook, but for me writing has never been about the financial rewards. If that were true, I would have been better off getting a part-time job at a fast food restaurant for the past sixteen years-it would have paid better!

Writing is about entertaining others while sharing the truths I’ve learned through a lifetime of experiences-good and bad. Writing is about sharing the impact God has had on my life in the form of stories.

Jesus taught many profound principles using stories better known as parables. He knew how to entertain and teach at the same time. He knew his audience and how to hook them. He had a message and he wanted as many people to hear that message as possible.

In Bible times that meant standing on a hill and talking to the crowds, going into the synagogues with his stories, and sending his “friends” out to spread his message.

Mmm…sounds like Jesus would have embraced blogging, tweeting, friending, linking, and whatever else comes along in order to get his message out. Maybe, I should do the same.

Aaaahhhh. Ok, one last scream…and here I am…in the twenty-first century.

Now, about my new book! Here’s what one reader had to say about PURSUED. Jamie A writes on Amazon.com:  I loved this book. I did not want to put it down and hated to see it end. It was like reading a Dean Koontz novel only with an inspirational twist.

Wow! What a nice thing to say. Thanks, Jamie A.

Here’s the blurb on the back cover:

Reggie Meyers has spent her life pursing the American Dream, but now she’s the one being pursued— by an unknown killer. Putting her trust in Dylan Monroe, a man she barely knows, will either be the best decision she ever made or the last.

Reggie’s a big city lawyer and Dylan’s a country farmer. In the normal course of events, their lives would never intersect but some accidents just aren’t meant to be avoided. When Reggie crashes into Dylan, it makes a bad day even worse or so she thinks. Dylan, on the other hand, is intrigued by the feisty lady lawyer and wrangles a way to spend a bit more time with her by offering to drive her home after the accident. And so the journey that will change both their lives begins…

If you like reading suspense, I think you’ll enjoy the book.

God Bless and Good Reading!