Welcome to the seventh in the new series: 5pm Fiction.
Late April 2011 I discovered http://StoryADay.org and the project that is to write 31 stories in 31 days. Anyone who knows me or follows this blog, knows how passionate I am about short stories so my clichéd eyes lit up at this new marvel. And just a few days later there I was, breathing life into new characters. This went on to become (with some editing of course) my 31-story collection eBook Story A Day May 2011. I was nearing completion of the 2012 project when I decided that I didn’t want to stop at the end of May so 5PM Fiction was born.
I put a load of prompts on the 5PM Fiction page and today’s was to write a dialogue between two men talking about a new barmaid, so here is my 173-worder.
Like out of space or something
“Corr, who’s that?”
“Candy, Sindy, something like that.”
“Looks like a sweet doll to me.”
“You always were a joker, Frankie.”
“Where did she come from?”
“What do you mean? Like out of space or something.”
“No, Stan. You know, where’s she been before here?”
“I don’t know. Ask Eddie. Not from the village that’s for sure.”
“A newcomer, hey.”
“Oh, no.”
“What?”
“She’s married. See, a ring.”
“Oh yeah.”
“As if we had a chance anyway.”
“Half our age.”
“Quarter.”
“Speak for yourself.”
“OK, third then.”
“If she’s not from round here, where do you think?”
“I don’t know, Frankie. Foreign for sure.”
“Philippines?”
“Not quite.”
“Asian.”
“More so, yeah.”
“There’s Eddie.”
“He looks knackered.”
“Doesn’t he. Pub hours finally getting to him.”
“Just back from holiday isn’t he?”
“Thought I hadn’t seen him for a while.”
“Hey look.”
“What?”
“He’s wearing a ring too.”
“The sly old devil.”
“Eh?”
“He’s wearing a ring… she’s wearing a ring.”
“Lucky old git.”
“Mmm.”
“What?”
“Just thinking.”
“About?”
“Whether my passport’s up to date.”
You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me. I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.
Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them) 
on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.
williamdoonan
June 7, 2012 at 5:43 pm
This is adorable!
morgenbailey
June 7, 2012 at 5:50 pm
Books & Art - Spirit & Soul
June 7, 2012 at 6:16 pm
Time to breathe in fresh air. Hey ho !