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#BlogBattle Week56- Indiscriminate

#BlogBattle Week56- Indiscriminate

Published by John T M Herres on April 5, 2016

Time for another #BlogBattle   Indiscriminate is the word prompt for this, the first week of April, 2016. First order of business: Rules: 1000 words max fictional tale (or true if you really want) PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly! Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related Go for the entertainment value! State the Genre of your story at the top of your post. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post) Have fun!   So, I am really trying to get with it. I’m still so far off base, I am having trouble organizing all I need to do. Of course, now that warm weather is catching the tail of the rainy season, grass is growing at a near exponential rate… Not really, but it seems so at times. So I’m having to work mowing (which is horrible to my physical damages) into at least a day every week. Then at least a day for recovery. Serious. This week, I think I’m going another new direction. I shall, once again, ask you all to be the judges.…

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#BlogBattle Week 55- Leviathan

Published by John T M Herres on March 29, 2016

#BlogBattle Week 55 Howdy, all! ‘Tis time once again for a weekly writing prompt, hosted by Rachael Ritchey. It has been a while, not just since I participated, but since I’ve felt well enough (?) to write anything anywhere. I had been invited to join a blog hop with a Spring Time theme, but had to renege and withdraw from participating. Something is going on within me, and I know not what. Be that as it may: I’m here this week to offer another Thriller of a tale, but this one could be said to have a happy ending. You be the judge, and let me know in the comments, if you please. Evil In Technology By John T. M. Herres, (c) 2016   Evil. Most people think they know about Evil, but in reality, they only have a vague idea. They also think the Evil is elsewhere. It’s not. Case in point:   The day started as most every other day in recent memory. Joseph awoke alone, made a pot of coffee and sat at his computer to begin his daily routine. Quiet reigned, and he noticed even the outside noises were absent. While he waited for his favorite game site to load, he walked to the window and pulled aside the curtain to see what type of day he would face. Utter blackness met his gaze. The sun should be out by now, he thought, or at least a slate grey sky warning of impending rain. He squinted…

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#BlogBattle #53#BlogBattle #13

#BlogBattle #53

Published by John T M Herres on March 15, 2016

This week, Rachael Ritchey is celebrating a whole year running the #BlogBattle! Congrats, Rachael! For the challenge this week, she has issued the following: “To celebrate, This week we will not be writing a new story for the battle. For Week 53 here is what I want from anyone and everyone who has ever battled: Choose one of your #BlogBattle stories from the past year Edit it however you would like Reblog/repost it on Tuesday, March 15th. Make sure you specify the genre and the theme word We will do our voting from the compilation of awesome stories presented! First, the obligatory: Rules: 1000 words max fictional tale (or true if you really want) PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly! Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related Go for the entertainment value! State the Genre of your story at the top of your post. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post) Have fun! Read all the short stories and vote! Winners are announced the Monday following. So, I went through my few offerings, and found that I…

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#BlogBattle 47- Forest

Published by John T M Herres on February 2, 2016

Here we are, submitting another story for the #BlogBattle posts. Now, for another surprise, this is close enough to reality to call non-fiction, by the teachings I’ve had. I say, “…a surprise…” because I do non-fiction about as often as Romance, which I did on the last submission I made. Let us not dwell on reasons or excuses, I’ll just write what pops up. Like I can control my thoughts, right?   Be that as it may. On to brighter things: #BlogBattle Number 47 Rules: 1000 words max fictional tale (or true if you really want) PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly! Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related. Go for the entertainment value! State the Genre of your story at the top of your post. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post) Have fun!   My offering this week is a little, and by little, I mean a whopping 340 words, short about when Dad took us camping in our youth. Could be one of the reasons I like mid-70’s station wagons so…

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#BlogBattle 44- Worm

Published by John T M Herres on January 12, 2016

Once again, I try my hand at a #BlogBattle. I am trying to get a better handle on things related to my writing, and coming up with a story based on a prompt is supposed to be a good exercise. One I do not avail myself of too frequently. If anyone hasn’t seen, my end-of-year experience left much- way too much- to be desired, and it’s taking a bit of, not just time, but effort to better some things in my day to day operations so I won’t have to go through it again. So, I again post a brand new story for this week’s offering. #BlogBattle 44- The prompted word is “worm.” Rules: 1000 words max. Fictional tales (or true if you really want). PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly! Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related. Go for the entertainment value! State the Genre of your story at the top of your post. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST. Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post) Have fun! Each winner will receive an awesome #BlogBattle Winner Badge to…

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#BlogBattle Week 38 POST

#BlogBattle Week 38 POST

Published by John T M Herres on December 1, 2015

#BlogBattle time again! This is the Thirty-Eighth issue for Rachael Ritchey! Greetings, once again, one and all! Welcome to another episode of… yeah, forget that. But, I do offer another #BlogBattle entry. The rules, of course: (Which I may have forgotten a time or two.) Rules: 1000 words max fictional tale (or true if you really want) PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family friendly! Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related. Go for the entertainment value! State the Genre of your story at the top of your post. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post) Have fun! Okay. Now we have that out of the way, can you tell I might be a little excited here? Maybe. I had a thought. When “delving in my mental cavern” for a possible story, this hit me. As I wrote, I did notice it rhymed, but instead of making it a poem, it sounded pretty good coming out in story form. So, that is how I will tender it to you. I really hope y’all like this. At…

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News- #BlogBattle #11-Repost

Published by John T M Herres on November 8, 2015

Repost This is a repost from my vanished “Velah” blog. I still have no idea what happened to that blog, nor if it could have been recovered. I’m just cutting my losses and aiming to set up another one… eventually. For now, though, I am bringing this to one and all. I had written it for the #BlogBattle #11, and got some decent comments on it. Let’s hope I can get moving and pen some more tales for future #BlogBattles. So, without further ado, I bring you; Tonight in the News; By John T. M. Herres Good evening, everyone, I’m Jake Hennings, along with Allison Arbor, with tonight’s headlines. The Sakalel have invaded yet another city. Nahthens saw the giant, silver-skinned monsters yesterday as nearly one hundred warriors stormed the streets during a holiday parade. No word yet as to the number of fatalities, but the President is expected to declare a State of Emergency later this week. Reports have come in and been confirmed with footage from ATM and traffic cameras. We are unable to show any of the images, as they are too horrific. With enormous blades bared, they stormed the Plaza in the midst of the annual Chumbo Festival, cutting their way from there to the swamps. We have had some reports that local Law Enforcement Officers attempted to blockade them at the start of their campaign, but the bullets just glanced off these armored invaders. Wait a minute… This just in: The National Guard has recalled…

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#BlogBattle #34

Published by John T M Herres on November 3, 2015

#BlogBattle Week 34 Theme will be CAVE As usual, the standard rules apply: Rules: 1000 words max fictional tale (or true if you really want) PG (no more than PG-13) Content – let’s keep this family-friendly! Your story must contain the word(s) from the theme and/or be centered around the theme in a way that shows it is clearly related Go for the entertainment value! State the Genre of your story at the top of your post. Post your story on Tuesday, by 11:59 PM PST Use the hashtag #BlogBattle when tweeting your story, put a link back to your #BlogBattle Short Story in the comments section of this page, and/or include a link to this page in your own blog post (it creates a “ping-back” which will alert me and our friends to your #BlogBattle post) Have fun! So, after many weeks of not having anything to offer, I return to submit for your approval one of the two stories I have dealing with a “Cave.” I doubt if our esteemed Hostess will like either of these offerings, as they could both be considered “Horror.” Of course, as usual, I did not know that at the time of writing them, but when they were done, well…   So, I have posted Deadly Cavern independently, as it is closer to 3000 words. For my offering to the #BlogBattle, I have severely cut portions of a tale called Escape, mostly describing articles found in the cave. In fact, I have been able to cut almost…

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Deadly Cavern

Deadly Cavern

Published by John T M Herres on October 31, 2015

Deadly Cavern (c) 2012, by John T. M. Herres   “Are you sure this is it?” Jake squatted down and leaned his head into the opening. Barely three-and-a-half feet high and two feet wide, the jagged, oblong hole seemed to want to swallow anyone who dared to enter. Moving forward, he withdrew his green flip-top lighter, the tell-tale ‘click-zip’ of the lid and striker echoing into the darkness. The flame leapt up and began an erratic dance, flashing yellow and blue, leaning toward the black emptiness as if it were eager to lead the way further into the tunnel. “I got a breeze,” he said, the rock absorbing most of the timbre of his voice yet still bouncing it around a few times before fading entirely. “It has to go somewhere.” He backed out and stood, looking over to Harry for some kind of verification. “Well, we didn’t come all this way for nothing.” They secured their backpacks, switched on their flashlights, and ducked into the entrance. There were stories circulating the region that some others had tried exploring the cavern, never to be seen again. The boys shrugged off all warnings, dismissing them as “old wives’ tales”. “Stick close in case there are surprises,” Jake called from the lead. No matter how confident he acted, something in the back of his mind told him not to go in. “Not scared, are you?” Harry’s voice quavered slightly. Maybe he had the same misgivings, but Jake knew him well enough to…

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Traffic Stop

Published by John T M Herres on August 9, 2015

So, here we go again: #BlogBattle Number 22 I tried – I really did – to submit stories for a couple of the #BlogBattles in the past weeks, but none of them would close out; the endings just would not form, and they sat unfinished even after time had ended to post them. I may still try to finish them and “publish” them anyway.  Who knows? The prompt for this week is “Time,” and I have just the story for it. I wrote this for one of my lessons while taking a sort-of correspondence course from Long Ridge Writers Group. My instructor, Kris Franklin, told me the ending needed work. Go figure. Reading it in the original wording, I can see the end is unexciting, kind of a let-down, really. Hopefully, by the time the post must be submitted, I’ll have gotten some response to a cry for help I sent out. We shall see… UPDATE – I have gotten the feedback I requested, and Rachel Ritchey has given me the green light to enter it. She graciously agreed to have a look at it, and gave valuable insight. Thanks, Rachael!   Traffic Stop “I really don’t have time for this!” Joe gripped his steering wheel too tightly as the long line ahead of him moved forward another foot. He glanced again at his watch. Forty-five seconds since last time he looked, though he could have sworn five minutes had passed. Deep breath, let it out in a rush. “What…

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