Friday, July 11, 2014

#ThursThreads - Week 127 - Winners


Week 127 of #ThursThreads had some terrific tales. Happy Independence Day to all my American writers! I'm honored to see all of the returning writers and read your stories. Thank you for coming back again and again to write and for helping me celebrate these years of flash. Great thanks to AJ Nuest for judging this week. Be sure to check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on FB to keep up with news, etc.

Entries:
  • Doris O'Connor | @mamaD8
  • Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil 
  • Cate Derham | @Cate_Derham
  • Teresa Cypher | @Teresa_Cypher
  • Veronica Jorden | @RevolutionaryVJ
  • Anna Lund | @AnnaLund2011
  • Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir
  • Kaylee Hamelink
  • Sandi Layne | @sandyquill
  • Kelly Heinen | @Aightball
  • Louisa Bacio | @LouisaBacio
AJ says: I want to say that I had a REALLY hard time deciding, especially for the overall winner. There were some really great entries here and one of the honorable mentions was tied for first until I walked around a thought about it for a long time.

Winners Announcement:

Honorable Mentions
 
Doris O'Connor | @mamaD8
AJ says: Doris O'Connor did a great job with scene setting and showing the young man sitting at the table. I also really liked the internal dialogue from the POV character. We got to watch the scene unfold from her POV and it was done very well. I felt like I was watching the guy right along with her.

Sandi Layne | @sandyquill
AJ says: Sandi Layne did a fantastic job with putting me inside her character. I was riding that bike right along with him. I could feel the wind and speed. Awesome. Also, I loved, loved, loved the way she changed the prompt to mean something different, using it as code for "license and registration" was a stroke of brilliance. Great job.

Kelly Heinen | @Aightball
AJ says: Kel Heinan got a mention for that fantastic twist at the end. I was totally going in one direction when the brakes on slammed on and I was tossed into another reality. That takes major talent and was done really well because the first part of the story was set up so well. Nicely done!

Week 127 Winner


AJ says: Veronica won for two reasons. Her powerful first sentence immediately put me IN the story. I could smell the cigarette smoke and was wearing the bomber jacket, could see the milling crowd, right along with her POV character. Excellent writing with no filters. Perfect. Second reason is because the ending was hilarious. Here we have this tense situation, dire circumstances, and I just had to laugh at the soldier's erroneous assumption. Great job with that.

My father’s old bomber jacket reeked of stale cigarette smoke. But with uniforms in short supply, I was thankful for the warmth the soft leather provided against the late autumn chill and zipped it up to my neck as I made my way to the end of the flight line.

As I wove through the crowd, I didn’t recognize a single face. Some were decked out in full combat uniforms; others looked like me, just regular folks in jeans and jackets like we were out for a morning stroll. The invasion had driven hundreds, if not thousands of refugees into Jessup County. Most were God-loving, law-abiding citizens, but experience had taught me that even good men will buck the law when supplies run short.

A young lieutenant stood behind a shabby desk inside an old service shed that served as the militia reporting station. His name tape read ‘Stevens.' He looked the part of a seasoned soldier, from his buzz cut down to his polished boots.

“I heard you were looking for pilots.” I said, pointing to the flyer pinned to the wall.

He smirked and gave me the once over. “And just what do you fly, darling? There aren’t any pretty, pink Barbie planes in those hangars.”

The soldier to his left looked up and I watched the recognition wash over his face. He jumped to his feet and called the small room to attention.

“Perhaps we should start again, soldier.” I said. “Colonel Elizabeth Flaherty reporting for duty.”

Congratulations Three Time Winner Veronica, Doris, Sandi, and Kelly! Don't forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it!

Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the stories here. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! :)

1 comment:

Comments are on moderation, so they'll become visible once I've read them. Words, words, words. I love them. Have you a few to lend?

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