13 November 2015

Published November 11, 2015 by rochellewisoff

It is common courtesy to give credit where credit is due. The next photo in this sea of memes is the PROMPT.

Let’s give it a go for another week. Click on the line above to learn how to participate. For those who would rather not receive constructive criticism there’s no obligation. It’s also good to remember that concrit is the suggestions of the giver. There’s no pressure to agree. Personally I received some good suggestions last week.

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Wednesday, November 11 is Veterans Day here in the States. Thank you, Jan, for your twenty-eight years in the United States Navy. And thank you to all the men and women who have served in the military.

Genre:Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

Since I’ve agreed with another fictioneer’s concrit and changed a line, it’s been requested that I post my original post so everyone can see what I changed. I think it’s a good idea so here it is. No need to read if you don’t want to. It’s basically the same story with some minor tweaking. 😉

Here’s the original version:

WHERE THE GRAPES OF WRATH ARE STORED

“Water…somebody…please.”

Clara knelt next to the Union soldier and held a cup to his lips. The stench of defecation and decaying flesh made her stomach roil. Her back and neck ached from three nights without sleep.

“Don’t you remember me, Miss Clara?”

In her mind’s eye she saw the bright child in her long ago Texas schoolroom.

“Of course I do,” she whispered. “Save your strength, David. We’ll talk later.”

In one heart-stopping moment something ripped through her right sleeve, the cup dropped and David fell back, quivering in the agonies of death.

Clara Barton never mended the bullet hole.

***

Here’s the update:

WHERE THE GRAPES OF WRATH ARE STORED

“Water…somebody…please.”

Clara knelt next to the Union soldier and held a cup to his lips. The stench of feces and decaying flesh made her stomach roil. Her back and neck ached from three nights without sleep.

“Don’t you remember me, Miss Clara?”

At once she recognized the bright child from her long ago Texas schoolroom.

“Of course I do,” she whispered. “Save your strength, David. We’ll talk later.”

In one heart-stopping moment something ripped through her right sleeve, the cup dropped and David fell back, quivering in the agonies of death.

Clara Barton never mended the bullet hole.

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Character Study – Lafayette A. Tillman

Published November 10, 2015 by rochellewisoff

Her neighbor and the policemen filed into the living room. She (Havah) shut the door behind them. The taller officer, an imposing presence with dark skin, fascinated her. Although she had read about them in Professor Dietrich’s books about Africa and American history, she had never met a Negro face to face.

At once, his kind expression and gentle manners allayed her deepest fears. He bowed at the waist. “Please excuse our rudeness, ma’am. I’m Officer Lafayette Tillman and this is my partner, Pat Mulligan.”

~~Taken from From Silt and Ashes by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Published by Argus Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

Original Artwork – © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

As From Silt and Ashes, the sequel to Please Say Kaddish for Me, opens, Havah and Arel Gitterman have been in Kansas City for only five months. Plagued with post-traumatic stress, Havah suffers vivid nightmares of Kishinev. In this first chapter, Havah dreams she is fighting off pogromists and, in the process, screams and breaks her front window. Their next door neighbor, who is certain that Arel is beating his wife, calls the police.

One of the officers who shows up at the door is Lafayette A. Tillman, who actually lived in Kansas City.

Born in Indiana in 1859, he studied music at Oberlin College in Ohio and attended Wayland Seminary in Washington D.C. He moved to Kansas City with his wife Amy in the 1880’s where he opened a barber shop and they raised three children, Lon, Portia and Junne.

During the Spanish-American War he joined the volunteer infantry where he was appointed the rank of first lieutenant in a black regiment. When he returned, some influential white citizens who appreciated his loyalty and patriotism secured him a position on the police force.

Havah finds an unexpected ally in Officer Tillman who can’t believe what she and Arel have suffered at the hands of so-called Christians. More than once he proves himself to be a true friend to the Gitterman family.

Check out my author page on the Loiacono Website. For all of the character studies thus far, click on the link Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Art and Blogs or my website RochelleWordArt.

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Available Internationally on Kindle and in Print

If you’ve read and enjoyed, please leave a review on one of these sites. It helps sell books. 😉

Shalom,

Rochelle

ANGUS & ROBERTSON AMAZON B&N BAM BOOKWORLD FISHPOND SHELFARI BOOK DEPOSITORY WATERSTONES GOODREADS IDREAMBOOKS

Character Study – Theodore Roosevelt

Published October 31, 2015 by rochellewisoff

“Kishinev?” His smile faded. “Then you are…Jewish?”

“What if I am? This is a free country.”

“It was a travesty—a dastardly travesty.” He shook his head.

His blue eyes, moist and caring behind his spectacles, put her (Havah) at ease. She showed him the scar on her hand. Trying to recount her history in her new language proved a challenge but he seemed to understand for his gaze never wavered except to wipe away a stray tear.

When she finished he pressed his handkerchief into her hand.

~~Taken from Please Say Kaddish for Me by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Published by Argus Publishing

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency

Original Artwork – © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Although pogroms against the Jews in Eastern Europe’s Pale of Settlement were nothing new, the one that took place in Kishinev April 19-20, 1903 was the first to receive international recognition. President Theodore Roosevelt called it a “dreadful outrage upon the Jews.”

Jews in the United States put together a massive petition protesting the slaughter. Jewish leaders convinced the President to present it to Czar Nicholas II.

In an attempt to pressure the Czar for reform the petition was sent to the American chargé in St. Petersburg. He refused to accept.

In Please Say Kaddish for Me and From Silt and Ashes Havah will experience the President’s compassion firsthand.

Check out my author page on the Loiacono Website. For all of the character studies thus far, click on the link Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Art and Blogs or my website RochelleWordArt.

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Available Internationally on Kindle and in Print

If you’ve read and enjoyed, please leave a review on one of these sites. It helps sell books. 😉

Shalom,

Rochelle

ANGUS & ROBERTSON AMAZON B&N BAM BOOKWORLD FISHPOND SHELFARI BOOK DEPOSITORY WATERSTONES GOODREADS IDREAMBOOKS

30 October 2015

Published October 28, 2015 by rochellewisoff

*A SPECIAL WORD OF APPRECIATION*

Thanks to all of your who responded to my message last week. Your words of affirmation renewed my Friday Fictioneers resolve for another year. It was also interesting to learn that others share my pet peeves and added a few of their own.

The most often mentioned pet peeve, aside from serials and multiple prompt stories, was that of certain blogs that make it difficult to leave a comment. I personally made the switch from Blogspot to WordPress three years ago and have no regrets.

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The next photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. There is only one prompt per week on which to base your story. However, it is perfectly all right to add other photos to go along with your story, just not to replace the prompt. Our rules are simple and few, this one is non-negotiable. Please remember to credit the photographer. It’s not just a nice thing to do it is PROPER ETIQUETTE!

PHOTO PROMPT – © Dale Rogerson

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Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

GODS AND BEASTS

April 20, 1931

Dearest Brother.

Thank you for the sugar and the ham. I wish you could be here to share my strudel as I am quite alone in the world.

Remember when you came to visit me in Vienna and we went shopping? It was as if a brother dropped from heaven. I still have the dear brooch you bought for me.

How unfair of the insurance company to terminate me because of you. One day these insignificant beings will realize their mistake when your name shines and blazes over Deutschland.

Happy birthday,

Your loving sister,

Paula (Hitler) Wolff

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For more click here.

9 October 2015

Published October 7, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. How does it make you feel? Can you make us feel it in a hundred words or less?

PHOTO PROMPT © Ted Strutz

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Genre: Hysterical Fiction

Word Count: 100

STOP THE MERRY-GO-ROUND

“It must be fun to work in a bakery,” said a little girl, her eyes wide with amazement as she watched Elise make an icing rose.

“It can be,” replied Elise.

Twenty-two years ago it had been fun but now Elise’s hands ached and the clacking of the industrial mixer combined with the dishwasher’s racket made her head throb.

The clock ticked away her final hour of employment and she imagined herself turning cartwheels through the front door until a man with an eight-toothed grin plopped a cake down on her table and asked, “Kin I get this wrote on?”

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(I confess. My middle name is Elise).

THE END OF AN ERA

BEHOLD THE ~~CAKE DECORATOR~~ AUTHOR-ILLUSTRATOR

COWABUNGA!!!

25 September 2015

Published September 23, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. Where does it take you? Tell us in one hundred words or less.

PHOTO PROMPT © The Reclining Gentleman

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Genre: Speculative Fiction

Word Count: 100

UNINVITED

‘Ezra the guardian,’ showed up at Jenna’s reception carrying his file, a tattered notebook full of yellowed newspaper clippings and dog-eared photos.

“What’s that screwball doing here?” I laughed at his sky-blue suitcoat and checkered trousers.

“Ask him to dance.” Jenna winked.

Ezra smiled at me and my scalp tingled.

“I’d sooner die.”

***

In my hasty getaway I collided with an oncoming semi. My windshield exploded, sharp pain shot through my chest and then all feeling ceased.

***

“Shall we dance?” whispers Ezra the guardian.

His smile brings me peace as we hover, hand in hand, over my mangled mortal coil.

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*Note: In Hebrew Ezra (עזרא) means ‘help’ and is similar to Azriel (עזריאל) which means ‘God’s help.’ Azriel the Archangel of Death. My story is in no way meant to promote a particular belief system, it’s merely the product of my imagination.

18 September 2015

Published September 16, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. Does it speak to you? What does it say? Tell me in a hundred words or less.

PHOTO PROMPT © David Stewart

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

PRICE OF A DREAM

At thirteen Myung Hee was three years older than the rest of my students. Despite my many scoldings, they laughed at her and called her babo.

One day I found her weeping in the schoolyard.

“What’s wrong, little one?”

“My baby brother and I escaped Kim Jong-il’s prison camp but two days later I buried him in the desert with only the stars to see. I thought South Korea would be the center of my dreams, but they lie with my brother in darkness.”

Myung Hee’s words resonated deep within me and, in that moment, the teacher became the student.

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11 September 2015

Published September 9, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The next photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. Where does it take you? Tell us a story in a hundred words or less.

Note: It’s friendly gesture, if not common courtesy, to acknowledge the photographer.

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Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

MY COUNTRY ‘TIS OF THY PEOPLE YOU’RE DYING

Eighty winters have passed on Colville Reservation since Chief Joseph told us stories of our people, but his face is ever before me.

“My heart is sick when I remember their good words and broken promises,” he said. “They confiscated our land and pursued us for three moons until we were only forty miles from Canada and freedom.”

My twelve-year-old heart thumped wildly. “Why did you surrender?”

“Our children were freezing and their mothers had no food.” Chief Joseph’s weary eyes became distant clouds without lightning or thunder, heavy with rain. “I will fight no more against the white man.”

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Chief Joseph and Family c. 1880

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Nez Perce Canoe

This is kind of long but worth the listen if you have the time.

That’s Life

Published September 4, 2015 by rochellewisoff

THAT’S LIFE

It isn’t often that my birthday falls on a Friday. In 1953, September 4^th also fell on Friday and I made my debut at 3:59 a.m. Perhaps that’s why I’m such an early riser.

I’ve been privileged to celebrate sixty-two birthdays, for the most part, in good health. When I was a child 62 meant Mah Jhong, rocking chairs and Geritol. But as I celebrate this, the beginning of my 63^rd year, it’s not old at all nor do I own a rocking chair. In fact 2015 has been, as Frank Sinatra sang, a very good year.

A ten-year journey has led up to this very good year, beginning with my first draft of PLEASE SAY KADDISH FOR ME and soon after that, its sequel, FROM SILT AND ASHES. Writing quickly became my passion.

Along the way, I’ve had the good fortune of having mentors who taken the time to help me hone my craft. In the midst of it, Louella Turner, the owner of High Hill Press invited me to write and publish a short story anthology. THIS, THAT AND SOMETIMES THE OTHER was released in November 2011 and features not only my short stories but my artwork as well.

Soon after that, I started a blog which, during its first year might have garnered ten views and three comments. One day as I surfed the net, I came across Madison Woods’ post with an open invitation to join a short story blog challenge called Friday Fictioneers.

How was I to know on April 12, 2012 that writing one hundred word flash fictions would become a magnificent addiction from which I do not care to recover? Nor did I know that within the inside of six months I would become the facilitator of Friday Fictioneers.

That same year, I signed a contract with my agent Jeanie Loiacono, president of Loiacono Literary Agency for my first novel.

Toward the end of January 2015, I received an email from her, saying she thought she was close to selling PSKFM and did I have FSAA ready to go? After three weeks of going over FROM SILT AND ASHES with fellow writer/editor/brutally honest friend, Douglas MacIlroy, I sent the manuscript to Jeanie.

https://ironwoodwind.wordpress.com/

March 13^th, Friday the thirteenth, if you will, I received an email from Jeanie that began, “I hope you’re sitting down…” William Connor of Argus Publishing wanted both novels!

PLEASE SAY KADDISH FOR ME, also whipped into shape with help from Doug, was released May 8, 2015. So far, I’m pleased with the responses to it.

As many know I’ve been counting the days to my retirement, slated for October 4 of this year. I’ve been looking forward to switching gears from job to career which seems to have come sooner than later after a fashion.

One morning in June I woke with a sore spot on my gum. Thinking I’d rubbed it raw with my new electric toothbrush I ignored it. After two weeks the sore had swollen and my tooth ached. I finally went to the dentist who treated it with medication which didn’t help. By the end of July I discovered a white spot which turned out to be bone poking through. The dentist referred me to an oral surgeon who told me it needed to be taken care of immediately.

The beginning of August I had the surgery which did bring considerable relief. Happily I went for my follow up appointment only to be told that I’d developed Osteomyelitis, a bone infection, in my jaw.

To quote John Lennon, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” I now find myself on six weeks short-term disability leave with a picc line in my arm and daily IV infusions of antibiotics.

It’s not nearly as horrible as it sounds and proves that blessings may come in strange disguises for I now have more time to spend with my husband Jan as well as time to pursue a dual career as author and illustrator.

In my mind I hear Old Blue Eyes singing and I smile and say, “Yes, Frank, that’s life.”

http://a-argusbooks.com/ http://www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/ http://www.highhillpress.com/

***

Check out my author page on the Loiacono Website. Also Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Art and Blogs.

Available Internationally on Kindle and in Print

If you’ve read and enjoyed, please leave a review on one of these sites. It helps sell books. 😉

Shalom,

Rochelle

ANGUS & ROBERTSON AMAZON B&N BAM BOOKWORLD FISHPOND SHELFARI BOOK DEPOSITORY WATERSTONES GOODREADS IDREAMBOOKS

4 September 2015

Published September 2, 2015 by rochellewisoff

The following photo is the PHOTO PROMPT. Tell me in a hundred words or less what story this tells you.

Note: There were quite a few who went over 100 words last week and felt that they couldn’t cut the excess without sacrificing their stories. I challenged one writer to cut 20 words and he rose to the occasion with skill. Trust me, it can be done.