Another photo prompt from Keith Channing. Here is his explanation.
“Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; and either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithkreates@channing.fr before 6pm next Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here – pingbacks don’t work.
Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries, with links to your own blog or web site, next Monday.”
Today I am so happy to welcome Lisa Burton once again to Fiction Favorites. For those of you who have been roleplaying vampires too long and haven’t been out much, Lisa is the robot assistant of Author C.S Boyack. Don’t let the term robot throw you. Lisa is every bit as human as I, as I, as I am. She is a terrific spokesperson and is used to help Craig with his promotional programs. Also noteworthy is the fact that Lisa is much better looking than Craig, so you have to respect his intellect on the choice. Without further blather, I present Lisa Barton who is here to discuss C.S.Boyack’s latest book.
Thanks for having me over again. The last time I was here I think I was interviewing you. You might find it interesting that you played a role in some of the goings on at Entertaining Stories.
My job today is to promote Craig’s new book, so we ought to deal with that first. It’s called The Experimental Notebook of C. S. Boyack II. The book is Craig’s second collection of short stories and micro-fiction. The first one was pretty popular, so he decided to do it again.
Click Cover for Amazon
The covers have a theme going, and Craig could carry this on for quite a while. There is one alchemy wheel on the first book, two appear on this cover, and there will be three on the next one – if he produces it.
These are all speculative fiction and there is some paranormal, some science fiction, and one that barely passes for fantasy. There are also two in the collection that aren’t speculative at all. Because of them, this collection has more stories than the first one. Craig considers them as free add-ons. They deal with murder, though, so somebody ought to like that.
Craig likes to revisit at least one character from his novels in these collections. I was proud to get a short story in the first book, but this time, it fell to someone else. Pete Rogers is a gangly teenager in Craig’s novel Will O’ the Wisp. In this story he’s all grown up, has a wife and new baby, and is trying to make his way in the world. The story has also moved from the 1970s to the 1980s, but there are less cultural references in a short story. Pete winds up having quite a rough night on the same ground where everything went down in Will O’ the Wisp.
The story is called Night Bump Radio, and you, John helped out with some of the radio lingo in the story. Craig said to tell you; you’re an honorary Research Siren. (“I’m touched,” says John. “Thank you, Craig”)
About this time, you came up with the idea of having me interview you for a blog post. I’d never heard of anything like this, and neither had Craig. A fictional character interviewing a real author, pretty unique. Of course, we wanted to participate.
When Night Bump Radio was written, we discussed it as being one of the posters to promote this book. We acquired the poster, but I stole it. This was the birth of Lisa Burton Radio, the show where I interview the fictional characters, including Ned Tranes and John Cannon.
It wouldn’t be like me to show up at a promotional stop and not bring a gift. My posters reflect, but not 100%, one of the stories in the collection. This one is from a story called Career Move. People are more than welcome to snitch it and use it as a background image on a PC, iPad, phone, or whatever.
The Experimental Notebook of C. S. Boyack is only 99¢. For that price, I think it’s well worth the risk. Thanks for inviting me today, and Craig’s looking forward to hosting you on your own promotional tour.
Thanks, Lisa. I was honored to be one of Craig’s beta readers for both of the notebooks, and I can say they are both books everyone is going to want to own. At $0.99 (A third of a Starbucks coffee) these have to be one of the best literary buys around. I hope Craig will give me a shot at a beta read for number three.
The inspiration for this list came to me while watching a few shows where people compete for money, a hosting berth on a food show, to see if they would like to sell or list their house, or just want a new place to live. I did not know what to call these shows, so I labeled them competition shows. Anyway, I think you get the idea.
10 If you are watching a competition show and it involves food, do not think you need to match bite for bite. If you do, at best you’ll be too full to sleep. At worst, your doctor will conduct an intervention and perhaps admit you to a sanitarium to lose weight. (Man that first 100 pounds came quick didn’t it?)
9 If you are watching a competition show and it involves racing from one place to the next do not think you need to rush to the store after. If you do, at best the kindly officer will let you off with a warning after he hears your story. At worst, your insurance company will not reinstate your policy in spite of your promise to get rid of the racing gloves. (You would have been okay had you not slid sideways into the 7/11.)
8 If you are watching a competition show and the players are all on an island with no food, do not plan your vacation while watching. If you do, at best your room choices will seem luxurious when in fact they should be condemned. At worst, you’ll arrive at your destination and realize that primitive camp living might not have been the best option. (Especially since your family considers roughing it as no room service.)
7 If you are watching a competition show and the favorite day of the show is demolition day, do not tackle that small home improvement. If you do, at best you will spend three minutes on demolition and ten days on reconstruction. At worst, your demolition fever will go unchecked until you realize you have no more bedrooms. (That night sky is sure filled with stars isn’t it?)
6 If you are watching a competition show and the principles pay for rundown houses with cash, do not make an offer on a house. If you do, at best you will overlook some needed repairs. At worst, you will realize there is no one to help you with what has been described as a “tear down.” (It looked so easy on TV didn’t it Bunky?)
5 If you are watching a competition show and the homeowners are asked it, they love it or should they list it? Do not call an agent to list your house. If you do, at best you will have second thoughts about your beloved home. At worst, your house will sell in two days with the new owners wanting to move in a week and you have nowhere to go. (How come everything for sale is higher priced than what you got for your house? Huh?)
4 If you are watching a competition show and there are judges eliminating chefs, do not decide you can cook better than all of them. If you do, at best your offerings may not be enthusiastically received. At worst, you will have a food walk out at your house, and you’ll be the last chef standing. (Seems kind of lonely just you and that pot of stew.)
3 If you are watching a competition show and it involves food trucks, do not think that may be an easy way to make a buck. If you do, at best your first week will be a killer. At worst, after you spend all that money to buy the truck you realize you can’t sell the truck.(Kind of cramped to live in right?)
2 If you are watching a competition show that involves two guys giving the homeowner a complete makeover for $30,000, do not ask for bids on your remodel. If you do, at best you’ll never get a price low enough to proceed. At worst, you will find someone to do the job at your price and have to hire another contractor to redo the job at twice the price. (All looked good until the ceiling fell. Right?)
1 If you are watching a competition show that involves selecting a home from three choices of houses, do not think you will be that lucky. If you do, At best you will need to see more. At worst, you will look at three and pick one and discover a better house has com on the market and is cheaper. (So much for being in a rush huh, Rube?)
Dave Barclay at https://barclaydave.wordpress.com and John Howell at http://johnwhowell.com got to fooling around one day on a few comments back and forth. The subject turned from the serious to the ridiculous with a couple of iterations on the question, “What are the curses of mankind?” We had to admit that after we developed our curse statement we had a good laugh and thought you would like to join in on the fun.
Here are the curses we identified
“Work is the curse of the drinking class.”
“Sleep is the curse of the drinking class.”
So how about you? Think of a curse and put it in the reblog comment section and then reblog. It is that easy.
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