“I didn’t do anything, officer.” “Maybe you should have, ma’am.” The officer stomped out to the porch to wait for the coroner, walking right past Rupert’s crumpled body on the rug. Contaminating the scene of the crime, I think they call it. But there was no crime. Rupert always said I was slow. I didn’t make dinner … Continue reading Rupert’s Snapping Turtle by Petrea Burchard
Horace Parker had known he would lose his mind one day, he just hadn’t thought he would lose it in the back yard. “I had it only a moment ago,” he thought. “It must have bounced.” Then he forgot what “it” was. He was on his knees, weeding among the tomatoes, when he felt it … Continue reading Horace Parker’s Mind by Petrea Burchard
Randolph has his pompous, executive job and his overweight, red-faced golf buddies and I have our big, old, Pasadena Craftsman house–or I would, if Randolph would let me do things my way. Except he can’t. Says we have to make “these decisions” together. Says I’m his “little kitten.” Says I’m his “flower.” So where is … Continue reading Rooms by Petrea Burchard
Damn hot flashes. Belinda Marvel rolled over onto the empty Cheetos bag, blowing orange dust in her face. Her pajama pants pinched at the waist. Her stomach growled. She allowed her sock feet to flop to the floor. The motion propelled her to sit up. On the silent TV screen a skinny girl sat crying … Continue reading Belinda’s Birthday by Petrea Burchard
The Rose City Sisters welcomes guest contributor John Sandel. He and Tara Samuel are the co-founders of the Script Kitchen, a small class devoted to helping writers develop stories. John wrote features for a living, starting in 1996, for clients like the producers of Revenge of the Nerds, Tom & Viv and Arlington Road. Since … Continue reading News flash: fiction is fiction by John Sandel
The Rose City Sisters 2009 “Story of the Year” is “Sweet Revenge” by Margaret Finnegan. Her story is a darkly comic cautionary tale about a man who eats the last piece of cake.More than two dozen contributors were eligible to vote for their favorite of the seven finalist stories. The votes were tallied on Monday, … Continue reading Congratulations Margaret Finnegan!
When I announced the competition in early December, Rose City Sisters contributors leaped into action and started sending readers to their their stories. Nearly 700 new visitors stopped by for a flash fiction fix in the last 30 days. Wow. Today I used Goggle Analytics to determine the most popular seven stories of 2009. In … Continue reading Announcing the 2009 Story of the Year finalists
