Monday 7 November 2016

Novel ( 100 Words Flash )



Image result for ghost eyes








There's somebody writing the story of your life right now.



It's a thick book and it's getting thicker every second and every minute. He never stops. Even when you're sleeping he's measuring every inch of drool, every thought and every rapid eye movement as it happens. Each sigh, each gasp, as you stumble, pigeon toed and wade knee deep through the subterranean world of your dreams.




Close your eyes and you may hear him. 


Exert yourself. Spin around, somersault, throw out a well timed kick and you may successfully catch him in the balls. Because he's naked.
They all are.




     
                                                


                                           (C) Ally Atherton   2016







100 words written for this week's 100 word challenge, hosted by Tara over at Thin Spiral Notebook

Sunday 5 June 2016

Weather ( 100 Word Fiction )













This morning I turned the rain on.




Nothing major. A small gentle drizzle. It's a great way to wake up.


Mrs Palmer turns the snow on every morning. I think she's turning into an Eskimo. One day I'll wake up to find an igloo has replaced her two up two down house and her cat has turned into a reindeer.



We have too many choices. Sometimes I can't get anything done because I'm too busy deciding to have a sunny day or a rainy day and sometimes you can't beat a thunder storm to start the day with a bang.





           

                                                                     



                                                                                      (C) Ally Atherton 2016







100 words.




Written for the 100 word challenge hosted by Tara over at Thin Spiral Notebook.




Please check out this week's other entries and why not give it a go yourself?

Thursday 31 March 2016

Yellow ( Flash Fiction )







                            Image by Oscar Delmar










In the summertime I used to hold buttercups to my skin to see if I liked butter.






Now they've locked me in the yellow room for using the forbidden letter.


I'm yellow from top to bottom. The oxygen I need is thick, yellow and chokes me. Even my sleep is yellow. You might not think it sounds like the worst punishment but yellow is the colour of hell. It slowly slips into your mind, your body when you're not looking.



You become yellow. It becomes you.

Never use to the forbidden letter. Don't even whisper it. They'll know. You'll die.












                                                                         (C) Ally Atherton 2016












100 Words written for the 100 Word Challenge hosted by Tara Roberts over at



Thin Spiral Notebook.





Take a peek and maybe join in. It's fun. And it's a great way of connecting with other writers.
This week you have to write 100 words without using the letter A.

Saturday 26 March 2016

Jack ( Flash Fiction )














I once had a bear called Jack.




When I first got him he whispered in my ear that his main purpose in life was to be the keeper of all my secrets. I was dubious at first so I wrote a list so that we both knew where we stood.




1   I shall whisper my secret once and once only. No repeats.


2  You shall never reveal any of my secrets to a third party as long as we both shall live.


3  You are my bear and nobody else's. You are the keeper of my secrets only.





He kept his word but as I got older he grew fatter with all my secrets until one day his stomach came open and my secrets fell out. I did the best I could but it was too late. My secrets were all over the neighbourhood. They developed a life of their own and I couldn't stop them.
                       Jack didn't die but I think he saw a little glimpse of Heaven. He was devastated and has never spoken to me since. Even though I sewed his stomach back together again he is no longer capable of holding my secrets. I whisper them into his ear and they come back out again. I now have nobody to keep my secrets. I have to keep them myself but I am putting on weight and no matter how much I try I can't lose it.



It's the secrets. They are building up inside and are preparing for the big day when my stomach will burst open like Jack's. I'm waiting for it to happen. Jack is too but is too scared to say anything. Maybe I will also catch a little glimpse of Heaven.






                                                                              



                                                         (C) Ally Atherton 2016













289 words written for the Light And Shade Challenge. Check it out and maybe join in the fun.

Saturday 19 March 2016

Unbearable ( Flash Fiction )












                                 A red ticket is all you need for an erotic dream.







I made it to the front of the queue.




'Erotic dream?'


'Yup.'


'Add a blue ticket and you can have double the pleasure.'




I handed over my blue ticket.



I couldn't wait to get home and for the day to draw to an end. The anticipation was unbearable. And then I saw her in the queue.



My wife. Head down clutching her red ticket.


What a bitch. Was I not good enough for her anymore?


And was that a green ticket I spotted in her left hand?






Triple pleasure.








             


                                                                          (C) Ally Atherton 2016











Written for the 100 word challenge over at Thin Spiral Notebook, hosted by Tara Roberts.



Take a look and join in. It's fun. This weeks word is 'Dream.'

Tuesday 15 March 2016

Change ( 100 word fiction)














When I had my mid-life crisis I decided to make a stand against the monstrosity that is time itself.


I threw away all my clocks and endeavored to live my life
according
to the rise and fall of the planets.
My life changed in many amazing ways until the day I got fired from my job, burned the pot roast
and forgot all about the little orphan that I had hidden in the attic.


I will never forget the look on his tiny face or the pain
in my crotch
when he kicked me where the sun doesn't always shine.







                                                                           (C) Ally Atherton 2016











Written for the 100 Word Challenge hosted by Tara Roberts over at Thin Spiral Notebook.

Take a look and join in. It's fun.















Writers' Soapbox. A Facebook group for all writers to support and help each other.

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Duty. (100 Word Fiction)















Many years ago when working as an undertaker I would nail bodies to the inside of their coffins as a precaution in the unlikely event of a zombie apocalypse. It was my duty as a member of the human race. 


But never underestimate the strength of an angry zombie. The banging could be heard for miles and I was the one they came for. You see they were too late. There weren't many of us left. Only me and a few others hiding in our basements. And I am the reason they are hungry. 



I should have used more nails.









                                                                           (C) Ally Atherton 2016











100 Words written for the 100 word challenge over at Thin Spiral Notebook

Hosted by Tara Roberts, this week the prompt is 'Duty'. Pop along, give it a go. It's also a great way to meet other writers.















Writers' Soapbox. A community of writers over at Facebook. Feel free to join.

Tuesday 1 March 2016

The Day I Discovered A Time Machine















it was a challenge



and

my first act was to change the settings

so

I couldn't find out too much

If I land in a world where I'm six foot under

I'd rather

not know about it



Then I had to do something

about

the habit I developed

of

betting on every horse race I could

find



I want to do something special

and the desire

to get rich beyond my wildest dreams

shouldn't

be what it's all about.

There's

so much I could be doing. So many places





So many people I could be bringing back from the dead.








                                                 



                                                                           (C) Ally Atherton 2016











100 words written for this week's 100 word challenge hosted by


Tara Roberts over at Thin Spiral Notebook




Try it, it's fun and not as easy as it looks. It's also a great way to meet new writer friends.











Also feel free to join Writers' Soapbox. A community for writers on Facebook.

Wednesday 24 February 2016

White Heat - Back In Time Movie Review













A cop goes undercover to bring down the mob.






Starring James Cagney and Virginia Mayo.



Written by Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts and suggested by a story by Virginia Kellogg.




Directed by Raoul Walsh.








This is the third mob movie I've watched in a row and probably my least favourite.




I know it's supposed to be a classic but I don't get it. If I'd have watched it when it first came out I may have appreciated a bit more but for me it was just an okay, fun romp of a movie.

It's got practically the same plot as Donnie Brasco but of course came out many years earlier. I'd go as far as to say it's like Donnie Brasco with action scenes added. The action scenes are pretty good and the film kept my interest all the way even though it's quite a long one. But it is very dated and doesn't really stand the test of time that well. Not for me anyway. The acting is dated and so is the whole production.



I wasn't too impressed with James Cagney's performance. I found him quite wooden and hammy. The scene where he loses it in the prison dining hall just made me giggle it was so bad. I'm sure I'm on my own here because reading some of the reviews on IMDB it's heralded as the the finest mob movie ever made. But that's just the way I feel. It was an okay movie but nothing special. I'd be interested in watching some of Cagney's over stuff though.





And why was it called White Heat? Can anybody tell me?






7/10

Tuesday 23 February 2016

Donnie Brasco (1997) - Back In Time Movie Review













            An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob.









Starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino.


Written by Joseph D Pistone (Book), Richard Woodley (Book) and Paul Attanasio (Screenplay).




Directed by Mike Newell.








This is the second mob movie I've seen in a row and it's basically Goodfellas with a plot.




It perhaps lacks the overall polish and cinematography of Goodfellas but it makes up for it by having more plot and emotion. I didn't get to know each of the characters as much but that's probably because this is a shorter movie and based more on the relationship between the two leads as opposed to the the mob in general.

Al Pacino and Johnny Depp give good lead performances and their dynamic works well. It's my third Al Pacino film and probably my favourite. Likewise I've seen a few Johnny Depp films and this is the best performance I've seen. It's another side to him and it proves what a versatile actor he is as well as having the looks. And that's something you don't always see.





I still don't think Mob movies are really my thing but I'm enjoying catching a few and I have another one lined up. If anything I've learned a few things I didn't know before if the mob ever comes up in a pub quiz!




Just like Goodfellas this gets an 8 out of 10 but for different reasons. On a side note I was surprised to see who the director of this was considering the previous things he has directed. That's a weird one but he has done a good job.