Mama cat cradled her kittens, suckling softly on her underbelly. Somewhere there was a gunshot. Somewhere, somebody died. The ones that can’t reach the nipple mew and cry. There are tire screeches around the corner of the alley and the sound of car doors opening, feet pounding on the cement, a chorus of men shouting. Mama cat peaks out her head from the side of the moldy cardboard box to look. Men are running towards her and her kittens, red and blue flashes against the brick buildings. Mama cat tenses up, moving slightly, kittens fall off her swollen nipples. Loud shots echo through the air. A man falls, his body smacks the pavement. Blood in his eyes, he sees a dilapidated cardboard box next to a dumpster, tiny eyes glowing in the darkness stare at him as he loses consciousness.
It has been a few weeks since I announced I would be compiling a Summer Fiction List of all the books that I plan to read this summer. I have had difficulty in coming up with this list and I believe it is because I get overwhelmed when I plan out what I’m going to read.
So I have decided I will post little lists incrementally throughout the summer, biting off pieces that I can chew so I don’t choke.
One Select Novel by Neil Gaiman, (I’m thinking American Gods)
One or More Harry Potter books written by J.K. Rowling
First one on the list is NOT an easy read. I tried starting Infinite Jest last winter with my boyfriend but we didn’t get very far. It is a modest 981 pages but I want to try again.
I love Philip K. Dick but have not read much of his work, I want to do this this summer.
Since it is a new King novel, I am curious, so I plan on reading Gwendy’s Button Box.
I have attempted reading American Gods a couple times but life always distracts me from finishing. I want to finish American gods this summer.
I have been on a Harry Potter binge for the last eight months. I’ve read every single one since then and am currently on Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
I am looking forward to getting some reading done this summer. I want to broaden my horizons and read more than just stacks of Poetry since that is what I always end up doing (this is not a bad thing but I need to explore other areas more frequently).
If anyone has any suggestions for fiction, please leave title and author info in a comment below and let me know why you would recommend it.
Lastly, I want to say Thank You to all my followers and daily readers that have continued to read my writing and frequent announcement posts.
Here’s the first of many weekly Flash Fiction pieces I will be posting. All pieces will have less than 150 words.
The Cup
The dog barks at the sound of the mail man shuffling onto the porch. Marie walks into the kitchen, the coffee maker almost done gurgles the last bits of hot water and spits out the hot black nectar. She pours herself a cup and listens to the dog walking through the house. There is something a little hard, a little chewy in her mouth. She sighs, frustrated, getting rinds in her coffee again? Marie dumps out the rest of her cup into the sink, her stomach turns. The dead washed up body of a giant spider lays lifeless in a pool of coffee slowly dripping down the drain, a leg missing.
I will be posting ‘Flash Fiction’ pieces (100 words or less) starting next week. This is my way of practicing while also showing my creative process!
There will be one or two posts a week of my flash fiction next to my regular ‘Free Hand’ poetry posts.
Also, I am still working on building my Summer 2017 Fiction Book List, as well as a list of all the ‘How-to-‘ books on Poetry and Flash Fiction that I have read.
I want to thank all the people that have decided to follow me (106). I was amazed when I finally had a hundred people following my blog (sometime last week) and wanted to say thank you!
I look forward to this summer and cannot wait to correspond with others on wordpress about poetry and flash fiction (when the time comes)!
I’ve been reading about Writers Resist. An organization to defend democracy and rights in America in which writers get together and use their talents to resist corruption. I’m interested by this since for the past five months I’ve been struggling along with everyone else at the state of our Nation and the politics that are now becoming a very large obsession in everyone’s day to day lives. The feeling of tension and uncertainty is almost palpable sometimes. It’s hard to adjust to this extremely hyperactive obsessive society and I feel like at this moment the fight for human rights is as important as ever.
I am trying to familiarize myself with the Writers Resist and was wondering if anyone had more information on this.
I am going to keep researching this movement and would love to take part. But I would like to know the differences between the two sites and if these differences relate to a solid organization versus an informal gathering and events. I will post my findings soon. Please leave any info or reflections on Writers Resist in comments below.