Words for Wednesday & IWSG ~ Bill & Sue and the Seventh Son 8

In May, David M Gascoigne will supply us with prompts, but they'll still appear at  Elephant's Child.

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Beating
Evidence
Remaining
Temperature
Stench
    and/or
Excessive
Oppressive
Exposure 
Dryland
Cover

Fred looked like a man who had taken a beating. "They are after me again!" he whispered, his pale shin and hunched body evidence of the stress he felt. Sue  shifted the dogs around, Erynn to her right hand and one of the pups to her left. Bill took the leash of the remaining pup, and together they waited.
The temperature dropped another few degrees as the ghosts gathered round.
Fred feel to his knees and whimpered, the dogs reacted to the stench of his fear and keened.

Fred started to moan as the ghosts gathered from the wreck. "No!" he said distinctly. "No! I did not do it, it was not me ... I know it looked like it. But it was NOT ME!"
He buried his face in his hands, then looked straight at the ghosts: "It was my smallest brother who did it. Also a Fred, I did not know he was my brother. He did it. He killed the hellish captain, not me. I liked him so much: I thought he was a distant cousin. He was my brother ... now he's dead. I never told on him. But now he's dead. I can tell. He killed the captain ... you!" Fred pointed at one of the ghosts. "You are the monster. You took excessive pleasure in punishing us, your crew. Your oppressive way of handling anything from bitter coffee to mutiny. The first mate ... you killed him ... he died from exposure in the drylands. and Fred - my brother - you made him cover up for you. It broke him. Then he stole my gun ... I know, I should not have had that gun ... he stole it. He killed you with my gun. I never squealed ... you have been haunting me ever since. I never broke ... it would have killed his mother if Fred had been hanged, or put in jail ... he was the apple of that old lady's eye, Her youngest son. Take me now. I'm tired of running!"
Fred stooped, let his arms hang loose touching the sand and bowed his head.

Sue let Erynn and Hue off their leashes, and Bill did the same with Rynn. The ghost dogs sniffed Fred, and licked his hands. Then they tore into the pack of ghosts. Ectoplasm and sand flew, baying and keening mingled with Fred's sobbing and the waves' crashing against the shore.

Finally the moon shone upon a silent shore. The ghosts were no more, and the shipwreck was now truly a wreck, about to be washed away by the waves.

"There's only one question we need the answer to now," Bill said softly. "How did the ship end up here as a wreck, and how did all the people aboard die, only not you?"
"Only not me and my brother Fred," Fred said. "It is quickly done. As I told you in the beginning, a storm came up only hours later. The captain was an old bastard, but he was a seaman to the bones and marrow. With him dead, there was not a thing we could do to save The Merry Mermaid from the storm. I made Fred, my brother, take the smallest lifeboat and get off. Some of he others fell over me for doing this, and while we fought, the ship was hit by the storm. It took a giant wave the wrong way, lost the rudder and some of the sails. From then we just hang on for dear life. As to why I survived, and nobody else, I have no idea. I had not been long on that boat. Me and Fred, it was our first trip. All the others were old hands. Maybe the older ghosts from the ship helped me. I have always seen ghosts."

"The dogs felt your innocence - in this matter," Sue said. "Now you're free to leave, the ghosts are annihilated and won't haunt you ever again. What you do with your life from now on is your own responsibility."

Fred rose from the sand. "I thank you." He sat down on a driftwood log. "I do not know what to do, where to go. But I'll manage." He rose and walked towards the road, his steps becoming more and more confident, as he sensed that he was well and truly free of the curse.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

And today's Wordle (1.418) 6/6 - Phew! I think they have become harder here in May.
🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟨🟩🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

- - A - - B - - C - - 

  The monthly question from the Insecure Writers' Support Group is due today, April 2nd.
  I'd like to thank the crew for their never ceasing inspiration and quirky questions.

May 7 question - Some common fears writers share are rejection, failure, success, and lack of talent or ability. What are your greatest fears as a writer? How do you manage them?

My answer - Funnily I do not fear rejection or failure, but success - I can relate to this, because if I should become an accomplished author, there's so much that's expected of you. Book signings, promotion tours, meet the readers ... all this.
   So far this has not been an issue as I've only published a non-fiction book and a lot of smaller articles - nobody knows who I am.
   I think that if I ever get to publish my books I'm going to use a pen name, so that nobody will know I'm the author.

One other thing I fear almost even more is mistakes, errors, bloopers, inconsistencies. Also spelling mistakes and grammatical errors - more so as I'm not a native speaker. 
   I've seen and agonized so much over this in other books: Why has he always been an accomplished sailor in book three, when he was almost a hydrophobic in book one? Why is her pet suddenly called by another name? How did that tunic change colour from blue to green? How could the sun rise behind them when they were travelling eastwards?
   My answer to this are threefold: lists, facts-checking (bordering on the obsessional), and re-reading.

Words for Wednesday ~ April 30 ~ Bill & Sue and the Seventh Son 8

In April,  Elephant's Child is supplying the prompts for Words for Wednesday.

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Extra
Wisdom
Memories
Corner
Imposing
    and/or
Dark
Shoulder
Femininity
Strength
Manners

As is my wont, I used all of the words in the order they were  given. Unfortunately I ran out of words before I ran out of story. I'll have to repeat myself from last Wednesday: I can now see the ending of this strange tale of Bill, Sue, Fred Thompson, the unwitting seventh son of a seventh son, and hope to end it next Wednesday.

And a question - I'd like to give you a choice. I have two endings in my head, one where Fred Thompson is the culprit, and one where it is a case of mistaken identity. It's up yo you which one I'll continue to write next Wednesday.


Bill drew an extra deep breath. His long life ghost hunting had given him insight in many things. It was akin to wisdom. He asked Fred to search his memories of his sailing days. Had he ever cut any corners, cheated on someone or imposed his will on others?
"Of course I have," Fred said. "Do I look like a saint maybe? Everybody does this. I've done my share of petty crimes, I've told some atrocious tales, some grey or even black lies. But then, who hasn't? I think none of what I done is bad enough for being haunted like I am."
Sue shook her dark hair out, it fell over her shoulders, showing off her femininity, but there was strength and resilience in her manners as she rose. "Come with us, down to the shipwreck, we found. We have a suspicion, let's see."
Bill handed Fred some of his own waterproof clothing and Sue leashed the dogs. Eryn sniffed Fred's hands, and Hue and Rynn both growled softly. They were ready.
Outside the weather was cold, stormy and dark. The moon was full, but the jagged clouds hurrying across the skies did not let it shine through very often. Sue and Bill walked sure-footedly along the beach, Sue holding the dogs and Bill ready to lend Fred a hand. This became necessary more than once, the beach was strewn with driftwood, and the shifting moonlight made it hard to see what was real and what was shadows.
Suddenly Eryn sat down on her haunches, stuck her muzzle towards the moon and howled like a wolf.
Rynn and Hue stopped and froze, lifting one paw, like hunting dogs smelling their prey. Sue stopped too, gripping the leashes even tighter, while Bill led Fred on towards the wreck.
"Do you know anything of this wreck?" Bill asked Fred.
The dogs' eerie keening and the drifting shadows made the wreck look almost alive. And soon darker shadows coalesced around it. The ghosts had arrived.

... to be continued ... but how?

Words for Wednesday on a Friday ... Bill & Sue Bill & Sue and the Seventh Son 7

In April,  Elephant's Child is supplying the prompts for Words for Wednesday.

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Brand
Veered
Afternoon
Impromptu
Holiday
     And/or
Unaware
Companion
History
Paintings
Solace

I did not use all of the words, as I ran out of steam, I now can see the ending of this strange tale of Bill, Sue, Fred Thompson, the unwitting seventh son of a seventh son, and hope to end it next Wednesday.

"I'll take two of the whelps along as well," Sue said to the dog handler. "Please hand me the spotted one, and the potato coloured one."
"Those are the best of the litter," the dog handler readily agreed. "Good hunting."

"I found it!" Bill proclaimed, as Sue entered the room with Eryn and her whelps, Hue and Rynn, in tow.

"Fred Thompson's late father was a Mormon of the old brand," Bill explained, seeing Sue's vacant expression. "He had more wives. But it seems that because it was already illegal by then, the wives lived separately, and the children were left unaware of the other families."
"How on earth did he pull that one off?" Sue exclaimed.
"It might have helped that the wives knew and approved of the other wives' existence. There were three in all. And they lived in a place where three borders met, living close to one another, yet each family in another state." Bill continued. "Fred's mother was the last of the marriages, he has exactly six elder brothers, they are all still alive and at least fourteen sisters, some of those have since died. It seems all the elder ones were girls, it is like that in some families, but I'm rambling." He veered away from the subject and suggested that they took the dogs out on a search.
"Fine with me," Sue said. "Fred should be out for the rest of the afternoon."

Sue, Bill and the three ghost dogs returned home late in the afternoon to find a groggy, scared Fred sitting at the couch. "Why did you leave me all alone?" Fred asked, in a shaky voice. "I did not dare go outside, I felt, more than saw the ghosts."
"You did right," Sue said. "I'll let Bill fill you in while I make a pot of tea, then I take over with Bill making us a round of sandwiches."
"Our impromptu search led us to an old shipwreck down the coast from here." Bill began, then shook his head. "I have to start somewhere else. Your father was a very peculiar man. He was indeed the seventh son of old Fred Thompson, but from his fourth marriage. Your grandfather was a Mormon of the old school and had four wives. More of the sons were called Frederic, among those your father, who - even if polygamy is not legal any more - had three wives. You are his seventh son, not your mother's. At least two of your half brothers are also called Frederic. And from this stems your trouble  ... Ahh, here's Sue with the tea. I'll see to the sandwiches."
Fred looked at Sue with confusion obvious in his face. "My father had more wives? How was he not found out?" He shook his head. And that's why he left us so often. He was a travelling salesman, often away during the holidays ... he shared his time between his families?"
 "Luckily the Mormon archives are the very best," Sue said. "And Bill is fabulous at digging out the facts. Yes he had three families, in three different states, that's probably why he was never found out. All your half-brothers are still alive, unlike all your half-sisters. But what happened at his burial?" Sue asked. "Did the other wives show up, and your half-siblings too?"
Fred looked a Sue, shook his head and took a large gulp of his tea. "Actually yes, they did," he said slowly. "Of course I did not then know who they were, and they were just presented as "family". Of course that's exactly what they were."
Bill came in, carrying a loaded tray of sandwiches. They took a break while appetites were sated and thirst stilled. Then Fred asked: "But the ghosts, what about the ghosts?"
 

... to be continued and, I hope finished soon.

Words for Wednesday ~ April 16 ~ Bill & Sue and the Seventh Son 6

In April,  Elephant's Child is supplying the prompts for Words for Wednesday.

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Organic
Standards
Odour
Moisture
     And/or
20 years
Noses
Pregnant
Gloves
High

 I succeeded in adding yet another chapter to Sue and Bill's strange adventure. Mostly stalling, but a bit of progress is happening. As usual I use the words in the order they were given. 

Bill's gentle hands danced over the keyboard, he and his computer were almost like an organic unit to Sue. Maybe their methods were not always up to the moral standards set my their superior, but they kept themselves in good odour by bringing results -- every time.
Sue felt moisture collecting in her eyes. She loved that scoundrel, even after 20 years. They had solved many improbable and strange riddles together, mostly by following their noes - - or those of the ghost dogs.
Sue left Bill to his typing, and wandered to the car. The car was a new model, electric, and practically noiseless. In a very short time she parked outside the dog handler's house.
Sue rang the bell, and waited. It was the dog handler's wife who answered the bell. Sue asked if they could have Eryn, their old dog, back. The training of her pups had been fun, but it was only a parenthetic affair in their work. When Eryn, had become pregnant this was where it had gone to have her pups. Now the pups had been trained, Eryn was back to normal, fit for fight and eager to pull on her working gloves once more. Sue had high hopes of solving the riddle of Fred Thompson, the unknowing seventh son, plagued by ghosts.

Words for Wednesday ~ Updated & IWSG ~Bill & Sue and the Seventh Son 5

In April,  Elephant's Child is supplying the prompts for Words for Wednesday.

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Bookseller
Solve
Shore
Lied
Buy
     And/or
Folly
Tales
Love
Curious
Practical

I will update when if I get to tell a tale using those words. And I succeeded in adding yet another chapter to Sue and Bill's strange adventure.

"Now I have some questions for you," Bill said. "And again honesty is your sole salvation."
The stranger nodded.
"What was your former occupation before you took to sailing?" Bill asked.
"Bookseller," the stranger answered.
"And why did you ned to solve riddles to get to the shore of that island?"
"I don't know," he said. "I think my father maybe lied to me. He made me buy that bookstore. It was possibly a folly, as I always wanted to become a sailor. I loved the tales of high adventure, piracy, treasures ... everything. I filled up my bookstore with such books, earning more than one curious glance from potential customers."

"Not very practical. I agree," Bill said. "Why would your father be so intent of keeping you off the sea?"
"He once told me a high tale of me being the seventh son of a seventh son, and thus able to see what others cannot. But I have only four elder brothers, and a sister ... that's not making me a seventh son."
"But you do see ghosts?" Bill asked. The man nodded, and Bill said: "Please write anything you know of you and your parents, marriage dates, children, where they lived and so on. It's time for some sleuthing."

He rose and turned on the computer, while Sue served yet another beer for everybody.
The man, Fred Thompson, according to what he wrote, handed Bill a paper filled with names, dates,  and places, then he laid back down on the couch near the fire and fell asleep.

"That sleeping draught sure came in handy," Sue said. "Now we have some time, undisturbed, to do the sleuthing. I'll get the dogs."

... to be continued, word allowing.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

  The monthly question from the Insecure Writers' Support Group is due today, April 2nd.
  I'd like to thank the crew for their never ceasing inspiration and quirky questions.

April 2 question - What fantasy character would you like to fight, go on a quest with, or have a beer/glass of wine with?

My answer - I have to answer this in a trifold manner:

  I'd like a swordfight with either Farfdh or The Grey Mouser from Fritz Leiber's stories.
  And let's save this for last, as I would probably not survive.

  I'd like to go on a Quest with Paksenarrion of The Deed of Paksenarrion written by Elizabeth Moon. She is one for experiencing the unexpected and surviving against all odds.

As for having a glass of wine with - and I suppose also swapping some tales with -  I'd like to seek out Radagast from The Lord of the Rings. I am very curious to hear more about the Istari and their mysterious past.
  I am not sure I would be able to withstand the temptation to write down his tales and publish those under some Hobbit-themed pen-name later on. For instance I could be Floriluna Sackgirdle. How do you like this for a Hobbit name? It comes from an idea by Hamlette at The Edge of the Precipe for one of her wonderful Tolkien/Hobbit blog Parties.

Words for Wednesday March 26 :: Bill & Sue and the Seventh Son 4

In March, River is supplying the prompts for Words for Wednesday.

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
'T'was a hot midsummer's eve and a storm was brewing on the horizon

and this pic, from lee

     Continuing the story of Bill, Sue and the man with the chocolate spanner.
     It took me forever writing this bit of the story, and when I had done so, I read Lee's chapter one - where the photo came from, and debated with myself, if I should post it or not. Would she think I stole or copied the plot from her? Newry Island is in the name of the photo, and I simply looked it up before writing.
     Now I post. I did not copy or steal from anywhere. I lived in Elsinore - city of Castle Kronborg (Hamlet) and by the sea - as a child, and we lived, breathed, and ate stories of sailing, flying Dutchmen, Klabautermen, and disasters at sea.

"The truth ..." the man said, still clutching his chocolate spanner in one hand and a mug of Bill's best beer in the other.
"Out with it!" Bill said, surprisingly harsh.
"Oh, OK ... 'T'was a hot midsummer's eve and a storm was brewing on the horizon, I and the rest of the crew from The Merry Mermaid stood on deck and looked out over the sea strewn with islands, somewhere north of Mackay.  The storm, as I said, was on the horizon, and we decided to hurry to Makay. Only the storm decided to hurry in that  direction too." He looked into the fire, shaking.
"It hit us just as the harbour was in sight. I never saw, heard, felt or whatever, anything like it. Water everywhere, below us waves, above us rain, and sometimes we were tossed that much around, that the sea was above and the clouds below. I clutched the mast, together with two or three others, one man stood at the tiller and tried to steer the Merry Mermaid so that the waves did not break over us. He succeeded for a surprisingly long time. He grew tired, I could see him yelling for replacement. I had only very little idea of how to steer a ship, but I tried getting to him - and I would have done so, if not one of the other crewmembers suddenly went mad. He came at me with a tool, much like a big spike. "You bloody landlubber!" he cried at me, "ever since you came aboard we've had nothing but accidents. You're not going to take the tiller. Not if it's the last thing I do!"
"His words became a prophesy fulfilled, for that very minute, the man at the tiller gave up, was washed overboard, and the next wave washed us all off of the boat.
"I was hit over the heat by something large and comparatively soft. Not hard, but hard enough that I was under water  for a while. When I surfaced, I saw only white, breaking waves all around. And a fender from the boat, probably what hit me in the first place. The rope attached to it trailed just within grasp. I threw myself at it, grasped, clung and tied it to my wrist.
He held out his left wrist, where a white scar went all around.
"It saved my life, but almost cost me my hand. I was thrown up at a beach somewhere - it looked like paradise, and when I came to again, I thought I had died - at least until I felt the pain in my wrist,, and my legs, and almost everywhere. It seems I was dragged through a beach beset with shattered remains of a small coral reef and onto that paradisiac beach. I was in hospital, feverish, incoherent for a long time. Only later I learned that I was the only survivor."

"You were lucky," Bill said. His voice still cool and cutting. "Is this your whole story? And why do you need help?"

"The whole story, unless you want all what happened until that day. And I need your help because of the ghosts." the man shuddered and took a big bite out of the chocolate spanner. "Every time I'm near salt water, or just water that in any way has a connection to the sea, they come for me. Out of the water, the whole crew. They are transparent. They walk through me. They make me cold and wet. I can't stand it any longer."

Hoping to continue in a more timely manner

Words for Wednesday ~ March 19 ~ Bill & Sue and the Seventh Son 3

In March, River is supplying the prompts for Words for Wednesday.

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Herring
Detectives
Beer
Mask
Peaches

I will be continuing my surrealistic story of Sue and Bill As I wrote last Wednesday I still need to get back to normal after these last stressing months. I am slowly starting to knit, sow, weed and so on, but the slightest adversity saps any and all strength. Still, luckily Spring is on its way and I'm SO  thankful that the light is returning!

They stripped the man of his wet gear and carried him to the couch near the blazing fireplace. He moaned and came around. "The spanner," he croaked. "Give me the spanner!"
Sue picked up the rusty spanner from the floor, hefting it and noticing how light it was. The man grasped the spanner with both hands and bit into it. Sue looked at her hands, they were covered in what she thought was rust, but on a closer inspection it turned out to be cocoa powder. It was made from chocolate.
"I still need your help," the man said. "The ghosts are out there tonight. They came after me from the old ship and walked right through me several times all the way here."
"Bugger," Bill said loudly. "We handed back the ghost-hounds only a week ago. We'll need them."

They listened to the man's explanation.
"It's all red herrings," Bill said,
"Are we detectives, or are we not," Sue replied.
"I need a beer," the man said, "Chocolate is fine, and warms your soul, but beer is better."
Bill went into the kitchen while Sue kept the man company, or kept an eye on him, or both. She saw him ogling the Inuit mask on the wall and later look sharply at the small netsuke in the book case, these were strangely made, and resembled tupilak to the unwary.
Bill returned from the kitchen, carrying a deep tray with three glasses of draught beer, some sandwiches, and a tasty dessert made from dried peaches and whipped cream.
They all ate, and then Bill looked sternly at the man: "Now you tell us the truth!"

Hopefully more words to come, thanks River.

Words for Wednesday March 4th ~Bill & Sue and the Seventh Son 2

In March, River is supplying the prompts for Words for Wednesday.

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Striking
Deliver
Insulting
Coffee
Spanner

I will be continuing my surrealistic story of Sue and Bill ... at least until I am somewhat recuperated from these last stressing months. I feel like writing, knitting, drawing, sowing, digging, weeding, baking, creating something ... anything at all, but my energy levels are at zero. I hope the returning daylight also is going to help. Sunset tonight is as late as 17:48, and sunshine is in the cards for the coming week. Yay, I'm thankful that the light is returning!

Bills premonition was striking, but it did deliver. At a quarter to eight a knock was heard, and after a pause, that would have been insulting in a lesser being, Bill called: "Enter!" in the exact tone of a man who was just about to drink his coffee and felt irritated at the disturbance. A man in raincoat and yellow sou'wester, wet through and carrying a humongous spanner in his hand, entered and said: "Bill, Sue. I need your help!" before fainting on the dark linoleum flooring.
"You are as good as your word!" Sue said as she rose and went over to their guest. "I wonder how he go so wet? ... Salt water!" she exclaimed. 

- - A - - B - - C - - 

And I felt like making WordLit again. It is neither the best, not the smartest of them, but today's solution - one of the words I often use for starters, but of course not today - fit in somehow. As this is the actual solution for today - March 4th - don't scroll down unless you have already solved today's Wordle, or do not intend to.

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Words for Wednesday ~ 26 February ~ Bill & Sue and the Seventh Son

The Word for Wednesday challenge started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

The prompts for February are provided by Lissa and can be found at her blog.

This week's prompts are:
1 - premonition
2 - onion
3 - temperature
4 - seventh
5 - weirdo

As these words do not quite fit Susan's universe, and I'm not in the mood for longer tales, I'm once again calling in Bill and Sue, my crazy, ghost busting couple for the job. If they can't do it, noone can.

"I have a premonition," Bill said as he was peeling onions for dinner. "Once the temperature has fallen, the seventh son of a seventh son will come and visit us and send us off on some new, weirdo adventures."

"I'll be looking forward to that," Sue said, "life has been too boring ever since we delivered the well trained puppies back."

Words for Wednesday & IWSG February 7

This challenge started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable feast with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

--  --

The prompts for every Wednesday in February are provided by Lissa, and made public at her blog.

For today we had these words:

1. soul
2. brilliant
3. breakfast
4. winter
5. moon

I just made a shortie featuring Sue and Bill, my default couple.

After some soul searching Sue had a brilliant idea. After breakfast she would suggest a winter holiday, where she and Bill went night skiing under the full moon.
 

- - - - -

February 7 question: What turns you off when visiting an author's website/blog? Lack of information? A drone of negativity? Little mention of author's books? Constant mention of books?

My answer:
First the website/blog itself. Pictures or effects that move, sparkle, oscillate or in other ways do not keep still.
Black or dark background with white/light coloured letters. I cannot read because it looks like this after a few lines.

If you do any of this, you will not have me as a reader, sorry.

Contents: If the website/blog is nothing but a showcase for the author's own works, not telling of his/her toils, troubles, joys and everyday life. Or if said tellings are only a thin cover over self promotion.
Blatant feminism, speciesism, in short any  -isms will also quickly turn me off.
Also if the theme of the blog is only books, I will read but seldom.

I love blogs with stories, be it fictional or not. with life lived, with joys and sorrows.

Words for Wednesday, November 29

This challenge started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable feast with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

-- 🧛 --

The prompts for today as for every Wednesday in November are provided by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and made public at EC's blog.

We had these words for the 29nd of November:

Cobwebs
Tiger
Japan
Black
Cobblestones
Hurt
      And/or
 Atlantis
Pyromania
Guacamole
Energetic
Slither
Slice

Again today Alex J. Cavanaugh's Words could maybe have fit a part of Susan's tale, but I choose to round off the story of Bill and Sue and their ghost training of the puppies. I'm as always using the words in the order they were given. 

When surveying the puppies hunting for gemstones in the leaf filled yard and surroundings, we brushed against the rickety walls of an old gardening shed, and Bill almost had a heart attack when one of the cobwebby windows fell out,  revealing a tiger ready to pounce. As his heart rate slowed and reason returned, he realised that a real tiger would have had the dogs raise havoc all night. On closer inspection, it was a statue, made in Japan from some black stone.
One of the dogs slipped on the cobblestones and fell whimpering to the ground. Bill looked it over for hurts, and found a small piece of stone wedged in its paw.

This put a stopper to gemstone hunting for this session. Over the lunch we discussed the lost Atlantis and its possible connection to pyromania, and found none. Suddenly Sue jumped up and flung the bowl of guacamole at the window with an energetic move.  
Bill leapt to the window and saw the puppies happily chasing off the vampire.
"It was the most garlicky thing around," Sue said calmly.

"Some day I'll either get used to this ghost hunting, or die trying," Bill said with a huge sigh.
We then calmly watched the piece of ectoplasm slither along the windowsill, and Sue scooped it up with a wooden slice and put it back into the box.

"I think those puppies are promising," Bill said. "They have shown good progress, almost ignoring the stones that did not 'smell' of ghosts."

"They should be with their pedigree," Sue answered, "but yes. I think we can call it a day. We have averted all attacks, and the puppies found all the ghost-infested gemstones ..."

"And a few of the non-infested ones," Bill said. "I might have left some traces on those."

"If you pick up the rest of the gem-stones," Sue said, "and then send off the report for today, I'll feed the puppies and make them pile into the car. If we're off in less than an hour, we'll make it home before nightfall."

Words for Wednesday on a Friday

This challenge started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable feast with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

-- 🦴 --

The prompts for today as for every Wednesday in November are provided by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and made public at EC's blog.

We had these words for the 22nd of November:
Sword
Hogwash
Cactus
Ghost
Silver
Rivers
     And/or
 Spirits
Potato
Nincompoop
Indigo
Gemstones
Learning

Alex J. Cavanaugh's Words could maybe have fit a part of Susan's tale today, but I choose to go with my default couple, Bill and Sue and their ghost training of the puppies. It's a loose continuation of last Wednesday's post. And still I'm using the words in the order they were given. 

"A sword," Bill said, "Why is there a sword inside this old hat?"
"Hogwash," Sue said, "you're still dreaming. It's a cactus."
"I wonder if the ghosts put it there to deter the puppies," Bill wondered. "Are ghosts susceptible to silver bullets?"
"Come and have some coffee," Sue chided. "Your brains are addled and not quite awake yet."

After the coffee Bill went out and fed the puppies. They rushed out of the dog pen and peed yellow rivers in the morning frost.
"Now," Bill said, "my brains are once more in working conditions thanks to your coffee, let's see if we can teach those puppies some spirits-sniffing. I'll take the brown and the potato-coloured one, leaving you with the nincompoop in the indigo collar."

The decoy gemstones were put under some of the fallen leaves by Bill, using long tongs so as not to give off any smell. Afterwards he walked criss-cross over all of the area, into the house, back again, into the dog pen, and around several times. Meanwhile Sue put doggy treats into containers. She had the full attention of the puppies while doing so. Learning would happen.

Words for Wednesday November 15

This challenge started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable feast with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

-- 🪐 --

The prompts for today as for every Wednesday in November are provided by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and made public at EC's blog.

We had these words for today:
Specter
Mountains
Puppies
Nature
Cockamamie
Burnt
     And/or
Carving
Zombie
Dongle
Foliage
Candlelight
Crapulence

Alex J. Cavanaugh's Words, do not fit Susan's universe. So this time too I revert to my habit from when first I participated in Words for Wednesday and made them all into a small, strange tale; still using the words in the order they were given, and proving once again that I'm better at beginnings than at endings. 

They told us the spectre was to be found in the mountains, so that's where we went with the new puppies in need of ghost buster training. The sunny nature of the puppies and the wonderful morning made for a  nice trip. Bill came up with the cockamamie idea of sleeping in the old, burnt down house.

There were carvings inside the house, some looking like ghosts, some like old crones, and even one remotely like a zombie. After dinner Bill fit the dongle to his laptop to send off his daily report, while I cleared the dense foliage from the back door in case we needed a fast getaway.

We ate by candlelight, the puppies and human all eating way too much because of the lights and the anticipation. The resulting crapulence made for several trips to the outhouse for the humans, and for short walks in the woods for the canine members of the team.

Maybe the tale will continue next Wednesday. Maybe Bill and Sue -- my default couple -- will just be off for new adventures.