Fire&Ice Sol 13/19: WINNERS

§ Rebekah says: Happy results day! Deb and I have been looking forward to this all Fire&Ice season: today we’re officially announcing open submissions for the final weeks of Flash! Future! So far we’ve featured global superstar writers like N.K. Jemisin, Ken Liu, Samit Basu, and (just yesterday!) Cherie Dimaline. Now it’s your turn!

See here for submission guidelines. The deadline’s November 20; in the guidelines you’ll find exactly what/where to submit. And then watch for your name in the last couple Flash! Future posts in December before Fire&Ice retires along with 2020. We can’t wait to introduce the community to you & your work!!!

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Quick note on judging: Six pairs of judges across multiple nationalities and genres are taking turns reading your submissions (meet the judges here). As soon as each contest round closes, your stories are first stripped of all personal info before being sent on for judging. This represents our effort to maximize every story’s chances, whether it’s the first or hundredth story you’ve written. ♥ 

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SOL 13’S JUDGES SAY:

Sinéad O’Hart: It’s an honour to have been on the judging panel for the world’s second most important decision this weekend, and I think both the Sol 13 team and the people of America both did a stellar job in choosing their winner. (Congratulations to President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris!)

Luckily for Craig and me, there’s a bit more wiggle-room around choosing winners for Flash! Friday than there is about choosing the next occupant of the White House. As a Sol 13 judge, I get a chance to do shout-outs to some personal favourites which didn’t, for one reason or another, quite make the cut. It makes the choosing process a lot more fun – and it’s a wonderful opportunity to show my respect to the talent of the authors I’m asked to judge. I loved the themes this week – whales are a personal favourite of mine – and it made me smile to see stories which echoed themes close to my heart (Carin Marais‘ “Among the Stars Once More,” and Rab‘s “Safe Harbours“) and the poignant real-life story of a whale who sings a song inaudible to any others of his kind (Pippa Phillips‘ “A Language of One“). There were many stories of Hope (both whale and concept, I suspect) coming alive once more, and they each made a little light pop on in my soul.

My first personal mention, however, has to be the very first story, Bill Engleson‘s “Whaling, Wailing, Over the Bounding Main,” for its mention of my home county of Wexford – I can tell you exactly where the hell it is, because I was born and raised there! I’m sorry for the fate of the fictional whale, but at least it chose the finest corner of Ireland to die in. I also feel I must salute Rebecca Kinnarney‘s, “The Stranger and the Fork,” and Catherine Connolly‘s, “A Simple Truth,” for their use of the Irish language – it was a treat to see my own mother tongue in this week’s entries. Mo cheol sibh! I also really enjoyed TK‘s “The Quest.” It was sweet, and a good, fresh idea, but mostly I loved its clever use of language. The skittering pace matches that of the mouse across the floor, and something about its rhythm reminded me of an epic Old English/Germanic poem, which I thought was so clever when paired with the subject matter of the story. Brett Milam‘s “Pink Dreams” was so arresting that I read it over and over; it stopped me in my tracks with its unique beauty. And for me, Susan Stevenson‘s “Travel Log” was memorable. I really appreciated the aching realisation, or perhaps quiet declaration, in its last line, along with its characterisation and dialogue.

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Craig Anderson: What an interesting weekend to be judging! While the world waited patiently for one announcement, Sinéad and I were busy devouring your delicious morsels of flash fiction to make the (most definitely just as) important decision as to who would be crowned flash champion.

The Natural History Museum was one of my favorite haunts back when I lived in London; I spent many a Saturday afternoon perusing the various exhibits. I remember how in awe I was the first time I saw the huge skeletons, they really have such an imposing presence. Hope was such a perfect theme, and I had a whale of a time reading all your takes on her antics.

My first shoutout has to go to Geoff LePard‘s “The Machine Starts.” I loved the vibe throughout this one, very Pratchett-esque, and the use of French phrases helped to mask the intent of the devious Pomeroy. Ooks all round! My second shoutout is quite the tonal shift from the first, the delightfully spooky “Bone Riders” by Phil Coltrane. I loved the atmosphere created in so few words, the clever use of Latin to sell the sheer age of the creatures and the occasional poetic flourish. Lines like ‘We do not bring death, we await it‘ do a wonderful job of creating empathy for these poor trapped souls.

I also thoroughly enjoyed Maggie Duncan‘s “Revenge of the Space Porpoises,” which was just the right amount of silly. This one reminded me of Douglas Adams (another one of my fav authors!) The interaction between Stine and Click-Click-Click-Screech was fun and playful, and the quick thinking at the end was hilarious.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

“A Grand Idea With a Pungent Lesson” by A.J. Walker

SO: Sidney from Accrington captured my heart, and Craig’s. Such a character, created in a tiny space, and with such skill! I loved his attempt to set up his own museum, and the fragrant lesson he learns (and the final line and image made me grin a wide grin. Go, Sidney!).

CA: Sidney! I could almost feel the childhood enthusiasm in this one. My kids share that same sense of wonder every time they bring me a new bug or stick they found in the garden. I loved how lighthearted this one was, and there were several laughs along the way. Poor roadkill!

“High Hopes“ by Helen Laycock

SO: In a week when many stories centred on the idea of the whale’s skeleton reanimating, this one stood out. Its powerful, beautiful, and controlled use of language, and its holographic twist, meant it was deserving of a special mention.

CA: This one did a great job of mixing the old with the new, the beautiful language (the ribs as silent harp strings, the door closing like a crashing wave) contrasts with the technology of the hologram and the great escape through the skylight. The last line is great too, revealing the cleverness of the title.

RUNNER UP

DRAGON NOTE: Due to a mixup, we happily have two runners up this week!

“Untitled”  by Michael Seese

SO: This one made me laugh out loud! I was completely gripped by its characterisation, dialogue, and setting – and very much appreciating the nod to Jonah, which this story (along with Matt Krizan‘s “Untitled“) made clever use of – when the author completely turned everything on its tail in one simple image in the final line. Absolutely masterful control, and excellent characterisation, meant this one had to have a podium place.

“Untitled” by Matt Krizan

CA: I love a story with a twist, but sticking the landing with so few words requires a real mastery. This story starts out so ominous, with a young boy terrified of the huge whale skeleton. The description of his fear is so good it is positively palpable, his heart racing, his hands sweating as the bones loom overhead. This pulled me in to the story and made me wonder just why this poor boy was so afraid. Then the final line twists the whole thing on its head, turning fear into laughter. That contrast makes it all the funnier, and made me want to read it all over again. Fantastic stuff! 

And now: it is our pleasure to present to you our

FIRE&ICE WINNER

NICOLA LIU!!!

for

“Untitled“

SO – This story made me stop, and blink, and re-read, and re-read once more. It was so well executed that it played like a short movie in my mind as I read; I could see the image of JieJie beneath the mouth of Hope, and I could see her grieving cousin looking at her photo from afar, and I could hear the characters’ voices in my head. Such an achievement, from a piece of flash fiction. This was my winner because not only is it an emotionally impactful story, it’s also a completely fresh concept, and its use of the prompts was unparalleled, particularly the language component. This story really made the language prompt a central prop to its action, characterisation, and conflict, and its use was so clever that it left me open-mouthed with admiration. A wonderful piece, and a more than worthy winner. 

CA — A great story should leave you wanting to know more, about the characters, the setting and the circumstances that led to the events depicted. This flash does all of that in spades. It demands multiple readings to fully appreciate the layers on display. With my first read I was as lost as the MC, pulled along by the story, but only faintly grasping what was happening. I was reliant on the MC for the translation of the Hanzi symbols, which left me as confused as our narrator, until the reveal of clever wordplay. We learn what has happened right at the same time, and are left with the same feeling of helplessness. I found myself thinking ‘I feel like I am missing something. If only I could understand these symbols…’ which then turned out to be the exact theme of the story. It is such an interesting inversion of the usual rule of ‘show don’t tell’, where the narrator tells us they are not as bright, or smart as their cousin, only to show us the consequences of this with the missed opportunity to save her. To do all of that in 159 words is pure 厨师吻.

Congratulations, NICOLA! Here’s your winning story:

UNTITLED

Two days ago, Jiejie’s last message: “大吃一鲸！” She’s under a suspended whale skeleton, mouth open, the perspective forced so she looks like she is, as she says, eating a whale.

She looks so happy.

Jiejie and I: cousins, opposites. She studied abroad; I stayed home. She was BSci, MSci, nearing PhD. I failed Gaokao. (Twice.) Our family called her 好孩子, a good kid; I was 还好, with a painful grin, if anyone dared ask.

But we were close.

Were.

Ma told me. “她跳楼.” — “She jumped out a window.”

I should grieve. Can’t. Too angry.

Why didn’t you talk to me, Jiejie? Weren’t we close? Why didn’t you say something?

Now I look again. “大吃一鲸！” A pun, the characters sounding like “I’ve had a shock”. She’s captioned the photo “自然” – Nature.

And I see.

It’s another pun. 孜然 – Call me.

I search for that dead whale. It’s called Hope.

Oh, Jiejie, Jiejie. You always thought far too much of me.

Fire&Ice Sol 9/19: WINNERS

§ Rebekah says: Welcome to an extremely soggy and puddle-splashed Results Day! -A couple years ago I moved out here to the (in)famously damp Pacific Coast of the US. When I woke to day after sunny day, people assured me it was just an odd year, that normally it rains so much, and I would see soon enough. But as my garden shriveled, my grandmother finally (mercifully!) explained the only place it’s actually rained as much as people say, is in their fond memories of a time that never was. 

She’s no doubt right, as she is about most things.

All the same, I’m quite grateful for this weekend’s deluge, which sent my azalea sprouting pink buds in every direction. It’s made for the perfect weekend to settle on the sofa with coffee and ginger cookies, my brand new kitten (!), yesterday’s fantastic feature on Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and your stories. Delicious, all of it, and now a part of my own fond memories of a time that absolutely, quite certainly, very much was. You demand proof? Why, just ask our judges. ♥

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Quick note on judging: Six pairs of judges across multiple nationalities and genres are taking turns reading your submissions (meet the judges here). As soon as each contest round closes, your stories are first stripped of all personal info before being sent on for judging. This represents our effort to maximize every story’s chances, whether it’s the first or hundredth story you’ve written. ♥ 

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SOL 9’S JUDGES SAY:

Mark King: A big thanks to Steph: I genuinely worried after reading the stories that we would not find much common ground, but it was all very easy (as it normally is). Continued gratitude to Ice and Fire dragons for our inclusion as judges and for the magnificent return of this kingdom of flash.

The thought of this week was pure genius. Not only did it open the possibilities, but it allowed you to explore new ideas and experiment with genres. Some of these will work for you, some won’t. We only grow through trying new things, and this gave everyone a wonderful and magical opportunity to do that – what a gift! But I have to say, I was very frustrated not knowing how far you stretched yourselves, so I’m more curious than ever to read the names attached to the stories. [Dragon note: We hosts fill in the winners’ names for our judges.] Some quick shout-outs from me: Voima Oy‘s “Lost in the Stars” (lovely format and it seemed much more than the word count – which all good flash fiction should strive to be). And Brett Milam‘s “And the Vultures Wept” (for attention-grabbing opening) and Michael Seese‘s “I Laid” (for beautiful creativity,  buckets of charm and playfulness). Well done to everyone. The gauntlet was thrown, and you more than rose to meet the challenge.

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Stephanie Ellis: Autumnal evenings of longer nights is the time of the storyteller and it was wonderful, as always, to read your tales. The image itself is magical and something I could simply gaze at forever. It’s one of those which speaks to the soul and there is a lot of soul this week. Knowing that you were having to write outside your comfort zone this week didn’t even register as I read the stories. Before we get to the placings, here are a few stories which didn’t quite make the podium but which caught my eye. Arvind Iyer‘s “The Initiation” is a nice step into surreal horror. The provision of lion costume and human flesh to help the watcher ‘become’ the killer the mysterious ‘they’ want her to be is a nice, stark touch. Nicola Liu‘s “Untitled” is something which is always needed. There is a world out there beyond the walls which house unacceptable and horrific violence. You just need reminding sometime and this in turn helps provide the courage to walk away. And last, but by no means least, I’d also like to give a shoutout to Karl Russell‘s “The Discovery.” I’m generally not a romance reader but this was nicely done and it gave LGBT the boost it needs at the Flash Friday table.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

Guitar Hero by S.T. Hills

MK: Timely and clever. A lovely tribute to EVH. Song titles weaved in (which is fine, as titles can’t be copyrighted). “A final solo, a last chord. In the sky the milky way sparkled with twinkling stars.” Great lines.

SE: Guitar Hero had to be included. A touching tribute to the late, great Eddie Van Halen who sadly passed away this week. Lovely to think of Eddie playing air guitar amongst the stars.

Forgotten by TadK/GamerWriter

MK: There is a great feeling of loss to this tiny story. A lifetime lost in a single moment. It almost reminded me of the ending of Blade Runner, with all those moments lost in the rain, but this was the noise of a flatline. Also, the author hooked me with sabertoothed tigers, which are a spectacular image, and that paragraph linked us back to the prompt.

SE: Forgotten is pure tragedy. Regardless of having had anything, for anyone to die ‘unknown’ is a horrible thought. Everybody is somebody, they were known once. How easy it is to forget.

RUNNER UP

If These Rocks Would Talk  by Phil Coltrane

MK: This is the story of “the greatest crime”. An almost forgotten crime buried by history, media, and politics. But I found this to be sensitive and thoughtful, for the author used the paintings to tell the story, to come alive, much like they would have done when they were new, when books and TV and games didn’t tell stories, but people and paintings did, in the light of the dawn, in the glow of firelight, under the shimmering stars. Only this time, the paintings could act as witness, to people that were not ready to listen.

“You’ll carve your Presidents into us?” is, for me, the hardest hitting and most thought-provoking line this week.

SE: If These Rocks Would Talk is a powerful reminder of all the loss suffered by Native Americans. Written in a modern thriller style, set up as a crime scene, it makes its point quietly – and therefore more effectively – without lecturing. ‘If you’ll talk, I’ll listen,’ are words that should have been said so long ago.

And now: it is our pleasure to present to you our

FIRE&ICE WINNER

TINMAN!!!

for

“Mac and Beth“

MK – OK, I’m totally geeking out. Brilliant choice of genre and even mixing of art forms. It is highly inventive. The personality of the characters shines through. The weaving in of Santa/Father Christmas was just brilliant. And if you look at the prompt picture, it does indeed, look like reindeers in motion, maybe even prancing through the sky. Highly creative, looking to the prompt for something similar but different, and an eye-catching way of delivering picture prompt and genre experimentation requirements.

SE — Mac and Beth is a brilliant Shakespearean pastiche. The humour shines out in this format with the Father Christmas themed soliloquy, to its inclusion of ‘ho ho ho’ to Beth being ‘alarumed’ is brilliant. Original, fun and oh, so clever. 

Congratulations, TINMAN! Here’s your winning story:

MAC AND BETH

Act 1 Scene 1

Tara. A field beside the hill.

Enter KING MACDARA [he draws upon the hill-face]. Enter BETH.

BETH: Father, what art thou at?

MACDARA: Art.

BETH: What art thine art?

MACDARA: Behold the fiery trail above.
This evening while I watched the sky
Between the stars a reindeer passed,
With snout of flame, that lit the way
For fellow deer behind his hind.
They pulled a sleigh of childhood gifts
Like dolls, and books, and shiny pence
And sweets the shape of walking-sticks.
The reindeer reins were reigned by one
With cloak of red and beard of snow –

BETH: Father, I fear that madness –

MACDARA: Now, dear, one does not interrupt the soliloquy.

BETH: Of course not. Forgive me.

MACDARA: – who waved and thrice did utter “ho”. [Dies].

BETH (alarumed): Dies? What do you mean, dies?

GHOST of MACDARA: Well, it’s not one of his comedies.

Fire&Ice Sol 5/19: WINNERS

§ Foy says: You inspire me. When you show up, push form, try an unpracticed genre, or honor a new culture or character in your flash, you encourage me to do the same. In an interview with Clarkesworld Magazine, the award-winning Nnedi Okorafor says this: “If it scares you to write it, then you should definitely write it.” If you know her work, or joined us yesterday for her Flash! Future feature, you know she embodies this motto. May we, too, write bravely!

§ Rebekah says: This weekend I rewatched the NK Jemisin talk on worldbuilding our ice dragon highlighted for us a few weeks ago. It’s not the idea, Jemisin said, but the execution of the idea that matters in art. That point is driven home for me weekly at Fire&Ice when each of you, bound by the same constraints, takes the same photo prompt and writes a unique story with it. You’re expressing your own voice, in your own style, marked by your own creative imaginings, which all join together to reflect your unique way of seeing the world. Each story has something to offer; but even more, each writer has something to offer. Thank you for being here. ♥

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Quick note on judging: Six pairs of judges across multiple nationalities and genres are taking turns reading your submissions (meet the judges here). As soon as each contest round closes, your stories are first stripped of all personal info before being sent on for judging. This represents our effort to maximize every story’s chances, whether it’s the first or hundredth story you’ve written. ♥ 

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SOL 5’S JUDGES SAY:

Tamara Shoemaker: What an excellent response to this Friday’s prompt! Y’all didn’t make it easy to decide among your stories and narrow them down. I realized as I was going through and putting aside stories that captured my interest… that I was simply making a second document replica of all the stories from the first document. So many pieces featured innovative takes or imagery that stunned or sharply tugged my heart-strings. I must give a few shout-outs to some brave Victims Knights who ventured into the Dragons’ Lair with these particular elements: 

SupposedStorySmith‘s Horizon Settles Down: For clever use of names to match character descriptions.

Karl A. Russell‘s Uninvited Guests: For a flashover to one of the most startling scenes I’ve ever read: The Red Wedding in The Game of Thrones. 

Becky Spence‘s Behind the Lens: For incredible use of imagery and description (“A doll that needs dusting.” I love it!). 

Brett Milam‘s Buttercream: For making me feel a strong affinity to a wedding cake topper, which is… certainly a unique experience for me. 

Thanks for participating in this week’s competition! Your stories made my job as judge both stimulating and difficult: the pinnacle of all worlds, because between those two adjectives lies the meeting place where the best art is created.

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Eric Martell: For the last four weeks, my anxiety has been building, seeing wonderful story after wonderful story and knowing that I was going to have to go from story appreciator to judge. I wasn’t going to be allowed to like all the stories anymore, I had to choose my favorite! Augh! And, of course, you did not disappoint. I went through the stories that you wrote for us and set aside all the ones I thought were worthy of consideration for prizes, and after being really strict, I got down to 21. What that means is that getting down to the final four took some doing. In addition to the stories you’ll read about below (and that Tamara mentioned above), there are a few I want to call out for special note: 

M.J. Bush‘s Forget Me Not: We don’t always fall in love when we want to, and sometimes it’s the wrong person at the wrong time. This story did a nice job of painting the pain. 

P.M. Coltrane‘s The Waters Flow: Who wouldn’t want to know that their marriage was going to work out when you’re standing there, pledging your life to someone you hope you know.

Michael Seese‘s Untitled: The last two lines really caught me, turning a chance meeting into a bit of horror. 

SpicyDicedWatermelon‘s Untitled: There was a lovely verisimilitude in this story that carried me along. (DQ’ed for time of entry, but still worthy of comment.)

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

Untitled by R.J. Kinnarney

TS: The fully-budded hothouse roses that often are the primary scent in a funeral parlor contrasted sharply with the simple blue cornflower, peeping from the buttonhole of Ted’s suit, and in that contrast is imbued a storm of feeling about the whole conflict on which the story is based: “Dad and Sal had won.”

EM: What a powerful opening line – it just captured me and wouldn’t let go. Such wonderful imagery doesn’t come along every day.

Wedding Day Blues by Marie McKay

TS: As a daughter who has stood in front of the mirror with my mother beside me as she tucks a curl beneath my veil, as a mother who hopes someday to do the same for my own daughters, as a woman who has lived in that powerful shared bond on the edge of that precipice of change: this story just about did me in, especially since I didn’t realize until the last sentence that the bride’s mother stood there in memory only: “And I know how the dead grieve.” WHERE ARE MY TISSUES?!

EM: There were a lot of wedding stories this week, but this was one of the most compelling. There was a tenseness, a tautness to this story that anyone familiar with their own wedding day will recognize.

RUNNER UP

Daughters of the Moon by Voima Oy

TS: This was a beautifully written piece (I could say peace; it seems appropriate for the imbued moonlight over the whole scene) full of history and lore, the ways and traditions of a people. That final introspective paragraph stuns me with its gorgeous descriptions of the give and take, the rise and fall, the rhythm of the dance between sun and moon. Ageless daughters, both young and old, the narrative reflects this feeling with its powerful and timeless imagery.

EM: A beautiful story, painting a picture of a society that feels as real as our own, and its own way, a world that calls to you. There is a peace (as Tamara points out) in this world, with people who made choices that make sense. That kind of internal logic is rare in a story, and I was thrilled to find it.

And now: it is our pleasure to present to you our

FIRE&ICE WINNER

Nancy Chenier!!!

for

“Reforged“

TS – Enter the Dragon! What an exciting and original take on this prompt; I love it! (Also, kudos to the author, who perhaps knows of my penchant for all things dragonly, and may or may not have read my “here’s-what-I’m-looking-for” tweet hours before the contest incipience.) The panoramic swing of the character arc in only 160 words is stunning; the narrator moves from naive acceptance of her fate to the strong rise of fire in her belly, and within the word limit, ends the story as the fiery bringer of justice and vengeance. And y’all, the bookends: Mother, who begins the future, Mother, who blesses the Dragon as she launches into that future. The title itself sweeps the whole piece into a dramatic “coming-of-age,” where the narrator is brought face to face with her past, and forced to forge a different future or be destroyed. She chooses to become the bringer of fire, which is, in my opinion, quite the wise choice in the grand scheme of things, and really, the only sensible choice to be made.

EM — Who doesn’t wish that the abused could rise up and transcend their world, become something that can’t be hurt by anyone as insignificant as their abuser? This story rose quickly to the top of my list, not because of the presence of the dragon in a story written for two dragon queens, but because of how it made me feel. I saw the pain of the mother, knowing she was sending her daughter off to a life all-too-familiar to her. I saw the pain of the woman at the heart of the story, starting small and building, as such things always do. And I felt her triumphant ascendance as her mother’s blessing came to fruition and she became her true self. That the closing line brings peace to her mother brings the story full-circle, a highlight of any flash fiction story.

Congratulations, Nancy! Here’s your winning story:

REFORGED

Mama’s smile has always been fraught: lips pushing up cheeks while remorse creases her eyes. She wears it before she sends me off with my new husband. She whispers some ancestral benediction, perhaps that a wife’s obedience be rewarded with kindness, but we both know how that worked out for her.

The first unkindness comes over too-lumpy akara beans. Then one for tracking gravel inside, another for lingering at the window overlong. I have practice swallowing outrage, but it feels different when it’s for myself. The heat hardens my belly. The bruises are different too: purling the skin, hot to the touch.

One night, I stray outside. His rough hands on my neck ignite a furnace. Fire erupts from my gut. Scales ripple out from my bruises. Welts on my shoulders burst into wings, launching me away from the pyre of my husband.

I soar over Mama’s house. She’s on the portico, face upturned. Moonlight falls on her serene smile.