Flash Fiction is not just Fiction Written in a Flash

...as I am discovering.

But what an exercise! Flash fiction truly forces the author to pick the meatiest words and the central punch in order to realize the entire story in the crunch of word counts. I worked on the flash fiction anthology, Morsels, and looking for alternative markets, stumbled across this gem of a contest:

Be Brilliant in 55 Words or Less

So, I entered. I won't post my story, "Mourning Chorus," here.  If you visit the site and read the story, let me know.

It's listed under the name Victoria Burke, not T. R. Neff. And it should be easily recognizable by the image of a "familiar mushroom cloud" (which is a cheesy graphic I did years ago when I was first learning Bryce. Nifty program, by the way, if you are into 3D graphics).
 

Update: As of 18 JUN 2013, the story still has not been published. The folks who vouched for the sites validity are now scrambling with "ahhhhs" and "uuummmmms."

Since the site seems unwilling to publish it, I will.


"Mourning Chorus"

Fallout rains from a sickly morning sky.  Sour winds carry howls of dying victims. I tuck us into a bathroom without windows.  Ignoring my own pain, I wrap my arms around my sons’ shoulders. To stay strong, I sing a hymn. Soon, my boys join in.  Four of us, as a chorus, thwart mortality, unafraid.

Edit: This entry was finally added, but too late to qualify for May's prompt. I still got some reactions, which are greatly appreciated and even more valuable than the cash at this point in my burgeoning career.

Also, my non-apoc story "Rictus" is published there as well. That graphic isn't mine, however. 

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Anyone who bothered to read this site before may notice the change of name.

That's right, it is now 'Neff.'  Or I should say it is once again 'Neff.'

Long story and it all ends the same, so I will spare the details. Needless to say, I now have much more time for my writing, and have delved into it oh-so-deeply. Nothing like a little conflict in your own life to spur on the creative, cathartic juices.

That said, I have a list of projects that I am working on, and am trying to get published by one of the "Big Houses" in order to earn myself a little street-credibility. That said, I am seeing there is a lot of merit in the self-publishing route, through digital channels. Not that silly vanity press bull, but actual sales via Kindle, Nook, iBook, etc. I am playing with the first option, and writing a few little stories to experiment with on Kindle. Yes, these are all in progress. I'm a naughty kid (If you believe in that sort of thing, I am also a Libra. Supposedly we are extremely good at concept, and equally atrocious at completion).

Novels:
Umbra (A Post-Apocalyptic Mystery)
Dross (Eschatology in a Fantasy Setting)
The Opal Necklace (Alternate History/Fantasy)

Short Stories:
The Adventures of Ennid the Havoc (Belly of the Beast, Time After Time, For The Love of a Pearl) (Adventure - of course - Fantasy)
The Falconer and the Wolf (Fantasy Romance)
Clones are People Two (Sci-fi)
The Othermen (Classical Sci-fi)
Into the Water Deep (Adventure Sci-fi)

The mini-project is an anthology of Flash Fiction, to which I will post a link when I have it published.

Oh, yes... I really, really, really want to do a fanfic story for EA's underrated "Undying" title. I even have a (droll) title for it: "Undying Legacy." I don't know how well that would go over with any publishers out there, seeing that I went "playing in someone else's world," but I had most of it written before I read somewhere that it's a no-no and I could be treading on some very special toes. The storyline, after all, was written (or at least made more coherent and relatable) by Clive Barker, of whom I have been a fan as long as I can recall. I would prefer not to insult him.