4 October 2024

Published October 2, 2024 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

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Genre: Science Fiction
Word Count: 100

GORT! KLAATU BARADA NIKTO!

My brother has always had a vivid imagination and a penchant for fabricating tall tales. This time I thought he’d gone too far.

“Too many sci-fi comics, kiddo,” I said. “If extraterrestrials had arrived on this planet, it would be all over the news.”

“I saw their spaceship land. They’ve set up weapons of mass destruction.”

At his insistence, we hiked to the site where I expected to have the last laugh. But now both of my hearts stand still as I watch the two-legged creatures in shiny suits lumber about their craft.

“Perhaps they come in peace,” I whisper.

And just for fun:

27 September 2024

Published September 25, 2024 by rochellewisoff

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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

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Genre: Histrionic Fiction
Word Coutnt: 100

TWIXT WOOD AND LAUGHTER

Mae West said I was all wood and a yard long. Don’t remember her? Use your little fingers and do a Google search. That is, if you’re smart enough to use a computer.

(And they call me the dummy).

I don’t say much these days. I just watch the passersby at the Smithsonian Institution. I miss my buddy, Edgar who passed away in 1978. He treated me like a son. Some say he treated me better than his own daughter. To be fair, he only included one of us in his will. I’d be upset, too, if I were her.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Edgar Bergen

20 September2024

Published September 18, 2024 by rochellewisoff

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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox

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The following is a repeat and if you remember it, bless you. It means you’ve been on board the FF bus for seven full years! 😀

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

RADIUM DIAL

“Jinny was barely growed. 1914-1934” Her lower lip quivered as she traced the dates on the headstone with a frail finger. “She earned $17.50 a week painting them glow-in-the-dark clock numbers.”

Wind gusting across St. Columbus Cemetery chilled me. “Let’s get you home, Mrs. Abbot.”

“Not yet. I want you to see.” She seethed and brandished a Geiger counter probe over her sister’s grave. “Jinny took sick. Strange. Her jaws done crumbled. Died like the other girls at her factory. The doctors made lame excuses. Damned liars is what they was.” The machine sputtered. “That sound like Diphtheria to you?”

To know more…lots more CLICK HERE.

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13 September 2024

Published September 11, 2024 by rochellewisoff

Please, please, sign your comments! Most of your names are coming through but there were at least five last week that were marked “Anonymous.” I really like to know to whom I’m replying. 😀 Thank you for your participation and reciprocation. Shalom, Rochelle

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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © David Stewart

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THE BOX HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD

Dale folded a blanket and laid it in a box of linens. “I hate moving.”

Rochelle taped the top of another box and labeled it Bedroom with a marker. “Ever wonder who invented them?”

“Invented what?”

“Cardboard boxes.”

“No.”

“Robert Gair, who came to the United States in 1853 from Scotland on a ship by himself. He was only fourteen at the time. Can you imagine what that must’ve been like? Later he fought in the Civil War and after that, he worked in a paper factory.”

“So how did he invent the box?”

“Sorry, I’m fresh out of words.”

CLICK for a lot more about Robert Gair

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It’s still summer! 😉

6 September 2024

Published September 4, 2024 by rochellewisoff

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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

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Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

AND THEN ALONG COMES MARY*

“Papa, where’s Baby Abigail?” asked four-year old George.

Despite his success in business, Colonel Zadock Pratt had little success in marriage.

After a few months, his first love, Beda had succombed to consumption. He’d then found solace in the arms of her sister Esther, only to lose her two years later.

Zadock sat his son and two-year-old daughter Julia on his lap.

Seven years with their mother (Abigail Sr.) had not been long enough. She had passed away three months before, ten days after giving birth.

Heaving a tearful sigh, Zadock whispered, “Baby Abigail’s gone to heaven to be with your Mama.”

*Note: A year later he married Abigail’s sister Mary. 😉

There’s so much out there about Zadock Pratt’s life that boiling any part of it down to only one hundred words was quite the challenge. CLICK HERE for more.

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30 August 2024

Published August 28, 2024 by rochellewisoff

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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox

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Genre: Anecdote
Word Count: 100

GLASSMITH

Charles was a glassblower at the amusement park called Worlds of Fun where I spent a summer as a caricature artist. I loved to watch him create his glass menagerie.

Years later I visited his shop in a local mall.

“Such beautiful work,” I said. “You’ve only gotten better.”

“Are you still drawing?” he asked.

“Of course.” Then, I saw a figure on a shelf—a dancer. “I’ve sketched her many times! I must have her.”

Instead of selling me that one, he crafted another on the spot—just for me.

Her fluid choreography will forever grace my whatnot shelf.

23 August 2024

Published August 21, 2024 by rochellewisoff

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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Ted Strutz

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Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

THE GOOD LIFE

Kneading the dough of his latest creation, Cato gazed at Salonia. No longer a slave, but his young wife, great with his child. She had been his solace after the death of Licinia. It was hard for him to believe he would soon be a new father at the seasoned age of eighty.

“What are you making, husband?” she asked.

“I call it Placenta.” *

She took a deep breath through her nose. “An aroma fit for the gods. You are a marvelous cook, Cato. What’s in it?”

“Cheese, ground spelt, wheat, and plenty of honey. As sweet as my bride.”

*Pronounced pla-CHEN-ta and has nothing to do with afterbirth. 😉

Here’s a link to the RECIPE et al

To know more about the man CLICK

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A REVIEW TO RELISH

A Review to Savor

Published August 19, 2024 by rochellewisoff

I met Kathleen M. Rodgers at an Ozarks Writers League conference in November of 2015. (Wow, that was a fast nine years!) She was the speaker that weekend. We both felt the instant connection, not only in writing, but in the fact that both of us have survived ED, ie, eating disorder. And both of us are military wives. Her husband was a US Air Force Pilot and mine served twenty-eight years in the US Navy.

CLICK to read her Amazon Author Bio

and HERE to check out her writing. You won’t be disappointed. 😉

At the time Kathleen and I met, LAST DANCE WITH ANNIE was a short story in my anthology THIS, THAT AND, SOMETIMES, THE OTHER.

I knew at some point I needed to expand that short story into something longer, like a novel. I started and stopped more than once. Revisiting the past can be painful. One agent who represented LDWA for a season said she could sell it if it were a memoir. This just wasn’t an option for me.

Meanwhile, Kathleen has been in my court, cheering me on. The agent released me from my contract after a year. I set the manuscript aside for a yet another year, still feeling that this story had a purpose. Then two years ago, Lia Wu, owner of Ozark Hollow Press offered me a contract. The timing was right.

Happily, with help from OHP’s brilliant editing team, LAST DANCE WITH ANNIE was released and launched in June.

Kathleen called the morning of the launch to wish me well and let me know how proud she is of me. 😀

Yesterday, she posted reviews in all those familiar places: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and GoodReads. And the place that makes me smile the most

KATHLEEN’S BLOG

9 August 2024

Published August 7, 2024 by rochellewisoff

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Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

THE GOLDEN GOOSE

Clarabella climbed onto Alfred’s lap. “Tell me about Jacob, Grandad.”

“I was a lad in 1842, not quite nineteen, serving with the Coldstream Guard in the Canadian colonies. One of me mates had rescued a goose from a fox whilst on sentry duty. After that, the bird made himself quite at home, so we named him Jacob.”

Clarabella clapped her hands. “One night, Jacob spied some French rebels sneaking through the snow to attack. He squawked and flew at them. Your regiment showed their gratitude by making hiim an officer.”

“I’ve told you this story before, haven’t I?”

“O-Yes, Grandad.”

Some things you just can’t make up. CLICK HERE to meet the real Jacob

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2 August 2024

Published July 31, 2024 by rochellewisoff

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COME ON IN, THE WATER’S FINE

So begins my annual Sibling Revelry vacation . 😉 You can click on the link to see what it’s like. The pictures I take this year will be pretty much the same as last year, beach, sister-in-law, brother and fur babies.

With the Summer Olympics in the forefront, I went with a story about an Olympian I’d never heard for before. A swimmer, of course.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

“Lay down. You are sick,” said Dad.

“But I’m not—”

“Do as I say!”

When they came for her, Dad told the Pro-Nazi Arrow Crossman, “She is the swimming champion of Hungary, and one day you will be happy you saved her life.”

“She’s a Jew.” The officer’s eyes flashed—one brown, one gray. Yet, he let her live.

In 1950 Eva Szekely won a gold medal for the 100m freestyle on Margaret Island in Budapest. A special prize was presented by the major of the communist political police. He smiled at her, eyes shining—one brown, one gray.

To learn more CLICK HERE