Monthly Archives: August 2011
The Campaign for Real Fear – Penultimate Four
The four stories discussed below appeared in Black Static #18 as part of the Campaign for Real Fear initiative. Under the Microscope by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt This story reminded me of the scene in Erin Brockovich where the corporate lawyers are told … Continue reading
The Campaign for Real Fear – Middle Four
I’m back to reading and writing about stories that have appeared in Black Static, and we’ll pick up where we left off, with stories published as part of the Campaign for Real Fear initiative. The first two stories discussed here … Continue reading
Thoughts for the Weekend #12
ITEM: Last weekend, for the first time in years, I had a prolonged bout of hiccoughs. I tried all the usual ‘remedies’ – holding my breath, drinking out of the wrong side of the cup, breathing into a paper bag, … Continue reading
K is for KILLER INSTINCT
I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of the juju doll, a process of sympathetic magic where pain inflicted on a representation of a person is also felt by that individual. This story is an attempt to puzzle out how … Continue reading
J is for JIGSAW
I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I have absolutely no recollection of where the idea for this flash fiction came from, other than at one point in my life I was rather into jigsaws - there was something quite satisfying about … Continue reading
I is for INVISIBLE WORLD
This flash fiction was inspired by some comments made by a writer denying the existence of the supernatural etc. I pretty much agree with that position, though such things are indispensible for most of my stories, but he was being … Continue reading
H is for HOLOCAUST THEORY
This next flash fiction is what I think of as a story ‘by inference’, where the narrative isn’t in the text itself but in the implications of the text. It was inspired by the idea that great events, even those of … Continue reading
Thoughts for the Weekend #11
ITEM: I was on a bus on Wednesday, and sitting just in front of me was a young lady with a substantial amount of cleavage frothing over the front of her summer top. When she got off two other young … Continue reading
G is for GLASS OF NIGHT
Today I fully intended to get back to blogging properly instead of fobbing people off with mediocre fiction, but this morning a man turned up at my neighbour’s with a ladder and a power tool, and I had to go … Continue reading
F is for FORTUNE TELLER
It doesn’t take much to figure out the inspiration for this one. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of people who can tell the future and the implications of that, though nowadays I’d be satisified with assurances that there’s … Continue reading
