#ThursThreads - Tying Tales Together - THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Welcome back to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked. Today is a very special Thursday so get your flash ready to celebrate THREE YEARS flashing! Can you believe it's been going strong for three whole years? This is Week 156 of #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together.

This week we have a very special event. There are prizes to be won for both the participants and the readers. After the winner and the honorable mentions choose their prizes, the remainder of the goodies will be given to randomly selected folks who Tweet the hashtag #ThursThreads during our event today. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook.

Need the rules? Read on.

Here's how it works:

• The prompt is a line from the previous week's winning tale.
• The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count.

Rules to the Game:

• This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250.
• Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count).
• Post your story in the comments section of this post
• Include your word count (or be excluded from judging)
• Include your Twitter handle or email (so we know how to find you)
• The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time
• The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up.

How it benefits you:

• You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we're all about promotion - you know you are!)
• You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog!
• Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus

Prize List for #ThursThreads #Year3

• eARC of The Ivory Road: A Walk in the Sand by Siobhan Muir.
• Digital or paper copy of one of Silver James' backlist.
• Digital copy of one of Cara Michaels' backlist.
• Tree of Life made from wrapped wires and minerals from George Varhalmi.
• Free beta read or 15K content edit from First Page Last Page.
• The Dark Bokor and Philip's Watcher by Dianne Hartsock.
• "Words Lost in Time 4" image printed on 11x14 metallic paper by Clary Carey.
• Custom written story of 1000 words or less on any theme by Eric Martell.

Our Judge for Week 156:

  The woman who started it all, Typo Sniper, cover designer, and science fiction author, Cara Michaels.

Cara on Facebook

Cara on Twitter

Cara on Goodreads

Cara on Google Plus 

And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together.

The Prompt:

"If they stay, I stay.”

All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads. Good luck!

#ThursThreads - 2nd Anniversary Week 104 - Winners

Week 104 TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY of #ThursThreads had some terrific tales and a great turnout. 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 to great years of flash. It was also wonderful to have some new folks stop by. Welcome! Great thanks to Cara Michaels for judging this week. :)

Entries:

• Eric Martell | @drmagoo
• Rafe Brox | @etcet
• Mark Ethridge | @LurchMunster
• Rebecca Brennan | @bexbrennan
• Jeff Hollar | @Klingorengi
• Anna Lund | @AnnaLund2011
• Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil
• Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir 
• Wendy Strain | @WendyStrain
• Silver James | @SilverJames_
• Lizzie Koch | @Lizzie_Koch
• Ruth Long | @Bullishink
• Kelly Heinen | @Aightball
• Nara Malone | @nara_malone
• SJ Maylee | @SJMaylee
• Nellie Batz | @solimond
• Jessica P West | @West1Jess
• Cate Derham | @Cate_Derham

Cara says: Great batch of stories this week, ranging from historical intrigue to loads of magic to a futuristic robots and space flight. Thank you all for writing!

Winners Announcement:

Honorable Mentions

Mark Ethridge | @LurchMunster

Cara says: Poor Beamer and those pesky calculations. I love the concept of this story and the interactions between Beamer and Bobby.

Silver James | @SilverJames_

Cara says: Crisp and well written as always. You establish emotional depth very quickly and those final sentences are heartbreaking.

Ruth Long | @Bullishink

Cara says: LOL! Tender bits, jiggly bits, this conversation cracked me up. Weasel is a great character and this moment really zings.

Week 104 Winner

Jeff Hollar | @Klingorengi

Cara says: When the shit hits the fan, lol. What an opener. Your integration of the prompt into the story is my favorite. It’s smooth and fits perfectly in the moment. Love the snarky tone to this entire piece. Is it an inner monologue? Some sergeant’s idea of a pep talk? I could see it go either way in a bigger story, and it’s great.

Apocalypse Options

When the feces make contact with the rotating oscillator and you’re up to your armpits in undead annoyances, your options are somewhat…limited. You can’t run away screaming like a little girl. Well, okay, you can but that’s not gonna work. Sure, the bastards are pretty damned slow; that’s not the issue. The problem comes in where do you run to and what do you do when you get there? If you head back to the base camp and the best story you got is everybody got killed and you didn’t have any choice…that may just work.

More likely than not, though, just about the time you get a cold shower and some colder food inside you, things will get real interesting. One of the guys you threw to the metaphorical wolves will come stumbling back in, covered in gore and screaming out what a punk you were to abandon them. If that’s how things go down, trust me, you’d have been better off to have just stayed out there, plopped down with an apple in your mouth, and let the walkers serve you up as a tasty entrée. That’s not a real appealing option either, by the way.

No, what happens is you knuckle down and fight like a sumbitch. You need to focus on making every shot count and making sure you always keep one in reserve in case…aww, let’s face it, for when things get terminal. Life…it’s a game nobody wins anyway, so good luck with that, eh?

Congratulations Three Time Winner Jeff, Mark, Silver, and Ruth! Don't forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! Jeff, PM me your email address for your gift card. 

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! :)

#ThursThreads - The Challenge That Ties Tales Together - 2nd Anniversary Week 104

Welcome back to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked. Holy cow, this challenge has been going on for TWO WHOLE YEARS this week! Whoa.

Let's just take a moment to comprehend that... Okay, that's good. :D It's Thursday today, so what should you be doing? Writing #FlashFiction, that's what! Welcome to Week 104 of #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Need the rules? Read on!

Here's how it works:

• The prompt is a line from the previous week's winning tale.
• The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count.

Rules to the Game:

• This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250.
• Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count).
• Post your story in the comments section of this post
• Include your word count (or be excluded from judging)
• Include your Twitter handle or email (so we know how to find you)
• The challenge is open 7 AM to 7 PM Pacific Time
• The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up.

How it benefits you:

• You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we're all about promotion - you know you are!)
• You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog!
• Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus

Our Judge for Week 104:

Sci-fi adventurist, Typo Sniper, and the woman who started it all, Cara Michaels.

Cara on Facebook

Cara on Twitter

Cara on Goodreads

Cara Google Plus

In celebration of our 2nd Anniversary of this challenge, I'm giving away a $5.00 gift card to the winner. And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together.

The Prompt:

“You need to focus.”

All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads. Good luck!