UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion

Here are the entries for the 30th Writing Contest :)

Poll will be here:

Please read, enjoy and vote when the poll's up :)

Poppermost

I’ve got the blues
for you…

It’s a deep dark earth upon which I sway in this deep dark night. I gaze at my static feet as the heat of your long gone touch reaches me brazen. I sway from the hips for it’s easier that way when you’re seventy-one years old.
I look up. The stars look down. I sparkle. The stars blink. And I sway on.

I’ve got the blues
for you…

During the day here on this ground that is ringed by birch and by oak, the children play and the men drink, the women walk their dogs and the lonely mingle with the dawn and the dusk. I am not lonely, for everybody I meet in my sway says good morning to me regardless of the time of day.

Dawn and dusk are all the same to me.

I’ve got the blues
for you…

I move my feet and sway, sway, sway like when I used to try and stand after a drink. I’m grinning now and staring only up, not at the stars of course but at the top of that tree you used to climb.

I love you mate.

I love you.

Oh yeah.

...in the rain

All singing, all dancing. It means full of life, full of energy, full of va-va-voom – right?

I wish you could feel how my feet feel. How my legs feel. After a show, any show actually, but particularly after a Saturday night when we've had a matinee performance as well.

Of course I started out with dreams. Don't we all? Such a long time ago now it seems, fresh faced, toned, eager and oh! the energy that the young have, so careless with it, spending it here and everywhere, late nights out, up until the small hours...

I sit at the mirror, slumped. All around me glitter and sparkles are divested, feathers removed. The hum of chatter is excited and happy as the chorus discuss where they're going to spend the rest of the evening. They're going to a club! To dance! I reach for the wipes and remove my stage makeup. Slowly I put on my mac, wrap the belt around tight and make my way out into the rainy city night. Singing and dancing ...

Dancing in the Parlour

Daisy led them down the lane, the big house dark in the dusk, blackout curtains stopping light leaking, the girls clicking noisily along the lane behind her, already hearing Glenn Miller in her head, Don’t sit under the apple tree…..no body else but me……Other girls already moving in time, left click, right right click…..nearly dark now.

In the parlour, lined up against the wall, they swayed and their feet moved in time and sang silently, moodily…… I’ve got a girl in Kalamazoo……Sam moved along the line, stopped in front of Daisy before stoking her shoulder and sang out loud and laughed, said “come on girl let’s do it”. He moved slowly to her side, swaying in rhythm and singing along, stroking her throat gently before reaching down then rubbing his hand gently over her before beginning to squeeze, softly at first then harder. Daisy was quiet, Tuxedo junction was playing, all she could do was stand and sway, he was holding her tight, left foot then right up then down, careful not to stand on Sam.

Right, “who next” Sam said, moving along the line, Susie swayed, looked up hopefully. Daisy looking at him under long lashes, lowed softly, mmmmooooo.

The Executioner's Song (and Dance)

En route from the cells, the hangman burst into song. His rendition was neither tuneful nor faithful to the original lyrics of the piece, yet I contrived a hesitant identification: a popular music-hall number entitled, I believe, ‘Abdul Abulbul Ameer’.

“If I may venture a criticism,” I interrupted, “such levity seems inappropriate to the occasion.”

“We are embarking upon one soul’s journey to a better place,” the hangman expostulated. “How can good cheer be inappropriate?”

The priest muttered sardonically, “For this particular soul, that better place is the destination of hope rather than expectation.”

We reached the scaffold and mounted the steps. Whilst our party arranged itself around the edges of the platform, avoiding the trapdoor in the centre, the hangman retrieved a bar of soap. With this he began vigorously lubricating the noose, an activity which spurred him once more into giving voice.

“He could imitate Irving, storm fort or redoubt, ‘neath the light of the cold northern star…”

“Since there is no dissuading you from gaiety,” I interrupted again, “perhaps you will favour us with a jolly jig also.”

“No need,” he replied. “You will presently entertain us with a dance of your own.”

He was not wrong.

Vote here!

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

have done

Voted.

So Jim and Dave entered...

Voted too :)

Patti (baconater) wrote: "So Jim and Dave entered..."

Nope, not me.

Not me either

I voted and didn't enter too. Hols. Time slips away!

Voted!

voted

voted!

Me too

And me. Not many entries, but we could scarcely have a wider diversity of approaches. Fascinating. Well done all who entered.

An outright winner there! Who was it?

A clear victory. It had my vote.

Good heavens, I was expecting a very close thing all round! But, er, yeah, that was me trying out a kind of hybrid Jane Austen/Jack Vance voice. Or something.

Many thanks for the vote of confidence.

Congrats, Richard!

Well done Richard, sorry, been a bit slow on the uptake this time!!

When you have a moment, will you please PM me a theme for the next one? If nobody minds, I would quite like to leave it until September to give everyone a break and see if we can drum up more entries?

✿Claire✿ wrote: "If nobody minds, I would quite like to leave it until September to give everyone a break and see if we can drum up more entries? ."

Quite agree. The contests need more entrants! And Mars needs women! Swanning off on your summer hols when you should be ensconced in your garret slaving over a hot laptop shows a certain want of moral fibre, if you ask me.

Which is probably why people generally don't ask me.

Richard wrote: "Good heavens, I was expecting a very close thing all round! But, er, yeah, that was me trying out a kind of hybrid Jane Austen/Jack Vance voice. Or something.

Many thanks for the vote of confidence."

Well it's an interesting hybrid and one worth experimenting with :-)

Good stuff Richard!

✿Claire✿ wrote: "Well done Richard, sorry, been a bit slow on the uptake this time!!

When you have a moment, will you please PM me a theme for the next one? If nobody minds, I would quite like to leave it unti..."

Yes, summer is always slow in the group. No idea why. You'd think the rain would keep people indoors...