10 March 2023

Published March 8, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Jennifer Pendergast

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Genre: Hysterical Fiction
Word Count: 100

DOMESTIC GODDESS

After reading the book Fascinating Womanhood, Shelley prepared a special candlelight dinner.

In anticipation of a romantic evening, Shelley fixed her hair and put on her sexiest dress to greet her husband when he came home.

At 5:30 she heard him pull into the garage. Heart thumping, she opened the door for him.

Walking past her, Greg surveyed the dining room. “Did we have a power outage?” He flipped on the overhead light. Then he flopped on the couch and turned on the television.

After hitting him over the head with it, Shelley decided Fascinating Womanhood made a dandy doorstop.

You may or may not remember this book. Maybe it worked for some. 😉

Launderette Trauma

Published March 1, 2023 by rochellewisoff

TAKE A SPIN AND CLICK

I double dipped this week. The sight of the laundromat triggers a not so pleasant memory for me. I’m sure I’ll be able to let it go one of these days.

Genre: Memoir
Word Count: 100

LAUNDERETTE TRAUMA

As we crammed our bedspread into an industrial-size dryer, my iPhone pinged with an email from my agent. “Last Dance with Annie” was in the subject line.

“Good news?” asked my husband.

I bit back tears. “Maybe I’m not meant to be an author.”

The well-known publisher who’d expressed an interest in my novel based on personal experience turned it down flat. My agent released me from my contract.

“Failure,” intoned my inner voice.

A year later, at a writers’ conference, struggling with doubt, I pitched LDWA to a new publisher. Within twenty-four hours my book had found a home.

If I’d had a few more words (blasted word limit! 😉 ) I’d go on to share how my manuscript was turned down a few more times before my agent released me from the contract. I ignored the manuscript for more than a year I think. At the Ozarks Writers conference in October I met Lia Wu who owns Ozark Hollow Press. She was interested in my story of a middle aged woman’s battle with anorexia (A fictionalized version of my own struggle). I sent her the manuscript Sunday morning and she offered me a contract Sunday night. Hopefully Last Dance with Annie (title negotiable) will be out this year.

3 March 2023

Published March 1, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Miles Rost

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March is upon us, but I couldn’t resist adding one more neglected African American. She made laundry a little easier for the average housewife back in the 1800’s.

Genre: Washable Ficton
Word Count: 100

OVERHEARD AT THE LAUNDROMAT

Dale reached into the washing machine. “Laundry is such a pain in the tush.” She tossed wads of damp clothes into the dryer. “I suppose it’s better than scrubbing them on a washboard.”

Rochelle folded a T-shirt. “Well, ya know—now that you mention it.”

“Uh-oh. She’s bringing on the history lesson.”

“We can thank Ellin Eglin who invented the wringer in 1888. She sold the plans for it for $18.00. When asked why, she said, ‘You know I am black and if it was known that a negro woman patented the invention, white ladies would not buy the wringer.’”

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24 February 2023

Published February 22, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

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Genre: Historical Friction
Word Count: 100

BRIGHT LIGHT

“Besides being the leader in rushing and scoring, he was my friend.” A former football player for Drake University recalls. “There was nobody like him. Next to impossible to bring down.”

Another player remembers October 20, 1951, “We’d heard Oklahoma’s head coach quoted as saying, “We have to get his black ass out of here.

“Ha! Even after Wilbanks Smith busted his jaw, John threw a 61-yard touchdown pass.”

Johnny Bright later forged a brilliant career in Canada as both athlete and educator.

It wasn’t until over twenty years after his death Oklahoma State University issued an apology to him.

As a Kansas City area resident (and native) you might guess I was glued to the TV Sunday Night, February 12 for the Super Bowl. How ’bout those Chieeeeeeeefs! With most of our best players, including MVP Patrick Mahomes, being black, what Mr. Bright went through is unfathomable.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AN AMAZING HUMAN BEING

If you have six more minutes, this video says what my 100 words could not.

17 February 2023

Published February 15, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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CALLING MY CAMERA HAPPY FICTIONEERS!!!

PROMPT PHOTOS NEEDED! SOMETHING INTERESTING! SOMETHING INTRIGUING! MY ONLY REQUEST IS THAT YOU DON’T SEND PICTURES OF ANIMALS OR STATUES. ONTO THE PHOTO BELOW. THANK YOU, LISA!

Send photos to runtshell@gmail.com

PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox

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I enjoy February for all the forgotten remarkable people who come to light each year.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100

DOCTRESS OF MEDICINE

Rebecca sniffed the tea her aunt had brewed and grimaced. “What is it?”

“Willow bark to bring down Miss Addie’s fever.”

Miss Addie recovered and lived a long and healthy life thanks to Auntie’s wisdom and skill.

Rebecca paid close attention to her aunt’s remedies and the kindness with which she administered them.

Determined to follow in her footsteps, Rebecca became a nurse to ease human suffering. However, it wasn’t enough for the tenacious young woman.

In 1864, the only black face in sea of white, Rebecca Lee Crumpler M.D. received her diploma from the New England Female Medical College.

Chances are this is not a photo of Dr. Crumpler as my resources say there’s no known photograph of her. To learn a little more about the first Female African American physician CLICK HERE.

10 February 2023

Published February 8, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

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This week I did something I rarely do. Due to the concern many readers had for poor jilted James, I decided to share his side of the story. 😉 If you haven’t read my story from last week or just want a refresher: CLICK HERE.

Genre: Hysterical Fiction
Word Count: 100

HAPPILY EVER AFTER PART II

James gazed at Hattie’s note. His fiancé was on her honeymoon with David?

Perhaps he should’ve seen it coming. Hattie and his best man had been good friends since childhood.

Now what?

The caterers had been paid. Flowers and streamers festooned the reception hall where an elegant three-tiered cake awaited the happy bride and groom.

Twirling Hattie’s engagement ring around his left pinkie finger, he typed in a number on his phone with his right index finger.

“James!” said a woman’s voice. “I didn’t expect to hear from you.”

“Hi Kate. As it turns out I’m free tonight after all.”

3 February 2023

Published February 1, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Alicia Jamtaas

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Genre: Romantic Fiction
Word Count: 100

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Twirling in front of the mirror, Hattie admired her reflection. Her wedding dress, complete with a satin train, made her feel like a fairytale princess. The heart-shaped diamond on her left hand sparkled. The day James presented it to her everyone in the restaurant applauded. How could she refuse?

Reluctantly, Hattie slipped off the gown. Had she made the right decision? Marriage was a huge commitment.

She took off the ring and laid it beside a handwritten note that read,

“Dear James,

“By the time you read this, David and I will be on our honeymoon.

“Love and apologies,

Hattie”

28 January 2023

Published January 25, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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As my life has taken some spins and dives of late, my muse didn’t seem to want to come up with anything new. This week, January 27, 2023, marks the 78th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. I feel it’s more important than ever to post a reminder with antisemitism and racist hatred on the rise. How can intelligent people become animals and beasts? The following is a snippet of an interview I had the honor of doing with survivor Sonia Warshawski, fondly known as “Big Sonia” seven years ago.

Genre: Interview
Word Count:100

THE INTERVIEW

“For I’m gon’ tell you,” says Sonia, a colorful and imposing presence at 4 feet 8 inches tall. “It happened so slowly. Not all at once.

“The soldiers line up rabbis in the street and made us watch them rip out their beards by the roots. Then they shot them.

“I’ll never forget. In front of me they slaughter babies. I’ll never forgive.

“Silence kills.” Her intense brown eyes dig trenches in my heart. “I tell you what is not in history books. As long as God gives me power, I will speak for them.”

This interviewer will never forget.

20 January 2023

Published January 18, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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Genre: Fiction/Novel Excerpt
Word Count: 100

I’m not sure you can call this a whole story, rather it is a snippet from my upcoming novel LAST DANCE WITH ANNIE. I’ve been so busy with edits that I just didn’t have the headspace for something new. Maybe next week.

SPIN CYCLE

After her parents died, within three years of each other, victims of their own bad habits—smoking and overeating—Elise ramped up her exercise routines. She took pride in achieving sixteen percent body fat.

Tony, obsessed with his personal workout program, never seemed to notice his wife had a problem. In fact, he praised her new slender form and stamina.

Elise’s flashbacks of childhood abuse surfaced in her mid-thirties. Each memory took her appetite, exacerbating her hatred for her body. When she sought help from a professional, Tony fumed and said she had no right to air their dirty laundry.

13 January 2023

Published January 11, 2023 by rochellewisoff

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Genre: Narrative
Word Count: 100

TURN THE PAGE

Another trip around the sun is complete. I’ve welcomed the new year. Resolutions? No. Like Christmas toys they’re, more-often-than-not, abandoned by February first. Goals? Yes. For one, I’m shooting for two-hundred swim miles by December.

Other goals include releasing a new novel.

Scrolling through a lengthy list of my publisher’s suggested edits, I fight the urge to turn off the computer and hide under my bed with the dust bunnies.

Steady girl. You’ve got this. There are paintings to be painted and an important story to tell.

A milestone birthday and new chapter of life loom large on my horizon.