London torn. Night and day. Sinners and angels. Debut novel by Mark A. King, available now
Some of my short stories, as entered for competitions.
The Unreliable Narrator I’m what you might call an unreliable narrator. But you can trust me. I‘ve been summoned to tell tales of the theatre and this dashing gent, with his smouldering Oscar Wilde look about him, his unruly cravat, foppish hair and come-hither eyes. He is the greatest Shakespearian thespian that has ever lived. …
Continue reading "Flash! Friday: Vol 3 – 27 | Flash! Friday : The Unreliable Narrator"
Judging week on FF --- I hope nobody’s too terribly comfy out there in flash fiction world: we’re winding down the first half of Year Three and prepping for the very, very exciting second. We’ve already announced your new dragon captains, and we’re planning to celebrate their inauguration with a SHEBANG! Coming up in the next couple of weeks we’ve …
Continue reading "Flash! Friday Vol 3 – 26: WINNERS | Flash! Friday – Judging week"
The Hospital She comes with her distended belly and eyes of wonder. “I love you so much,” she says to the bloodied face of her new-born, as his screams of life fill the wards of hopes and dreams. His life yet to be lived, he stands at the plinth of liberty. | …
Continue reading "Flash! Friday: Vol 3 – 25 | Flash! Friday : The Hospital"
Tainted Love It is the most difficult decision God has asked of me. The vote looms large. The information tumbles; a waterfall from both sides, an overwhelming stream of powerful rhetoric and God is used like a plaything. Yet neither side knows what God truly believes, how can they? As with Niagara Falls, the …
Continue reading "Flash! Friday: Vol 3 – 24 | Flash! Friday : Tainted Love"
I'm just catching up on posting old flash fiction activity. This was a week where I judged on FF. Whew! Thanks to everyone who crashed this week’s Flash! Friday party (yuk yuk). There’s nothing like a little raging fire and death-dancing to wake the Muse, eh? Thank you for sharing your (apparently bottomless!) talent here with …
Continue reading "Flash! Friday Vol 3 – 22: WINNERS | Flash! Friday"
Subterranean | Suburbia 208 words He is a mole, an earthworm, a grubby traveller of dirt; his eyes so accustomed to darkness that they have blinded him to reality. She is a songbird that lives in the yellow warmth of sun and in the glow of company. She savours every breath. She finds …
Continue reading "Subterranean | Suburbia : Flash! Friday: Vol 3 – 20 | Flash! Friday"
The Superhero Alchemist She sits and waits. Her time is coming. In her kitchen, the kettle boils and her mind brews. Cupboards of unobtainable chocolate call to her, but she must resist, for there is a higher calling. She thinks about the superheroes of the world. The flowing capes, the shiny symbols, unearthly powers and …
Continue reading "The Superhero Alchemist : Flash! Friday: Vol 3 – 19 | Flash! Friday"
Heart of Glass A city is just a desert. Sand everywhere, transformed by furnace and chemicals into the spires of glass, transparent walls of opulence and gluttonous coffee-shop excess. I run through the dunes, a blurred shape against the glass malls and lights. The city also has an absence of intelligent life. The passer-by assuming …
Continue reading "Heart of Glass : Flash! Friday: Vol 3 – 17 | Flash! Friday"
Dice Man How do you fix a blunder of global proportions? Life was good. Fine wine and dry shelter. Camaraderie so great that we would happily die for each other. Now I sit and roll the dice in my palms pitted with callouses and scars – wounds inflicted by others, and shamefully, by myself. I …
Continue reading "Dice Man : Flash! Friday: Vol 3 – 17 | Flash! Friday"
Voices Our voices remained muffled until first gunfire. Our voices drowned now by the factory machines, by the rumble of ploughs, by the roughened edges of endless laundry. Our voices are in our heads; our opinions are soundless echoes of inequality and hardship whispered in the shadows of our mind. I see it in the …
Continue reading "Voices : Flash! Friday: Vol 3 – 16 | Flash! Friday"
Metropolitan Dreams 