For Blood and Fatherland

Chapter One In the early morning of her eighteenth birthday, Tatiana Romanov woke to someone in her room. She had been dreaming of dancing with Alexei – in the ballroom at first, then beside the lake, then deep in snowy woods. Alexei had spun her away and into the waiting arms of Grigori Rasputin. The […]

Favourite Scene: Frozen in Flame

Zolen, former Commander of the Autumn guild and current rage-filled beast, was surrounded by at least ten of his men—several of whom Eilus recognised from their journey. They were obviously there to enjoy the show. Zolen’s men had Bamin, Metra and Quil kneeling with their hands bound behind their backs. One had a heavy, lumpy […]

Chapter 1: Finders Keepers

The first to burst through the compartment doors was the smallest, angriest kid I’d even seen. His blonde hair was spiked in grime-covered points and he wore a crest of worn Myki travel cards that covered his chest and shoulders like scaly battle armour.

Choice (Dialogue only)

“Then why are you here?” “Why do you think I’m here? You’re my fiancé!” “Only because our parents agreed to it. There was nothing to do with us. No input, no feelings. Why would you insist on holding me to such an agreement? Why would you come here every day if not to stake your claim […]

A cat’s revenge

The cat was planning its revenge when it’s owner questioned its suspicious gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at the cat. “Do you have a problem?” “Meow.” “I see how it is. I haven’t got time for a fight. Go away please.” The cat didn’t move. She […]

The White Rabbit

This girl, this bloody girl. “Get out of my way! I have things to do!” I tapped my padded foot and spied an opening. I hopped forward but found myself inside her godforsaken pocket! And then she sat up, the little witch, no doubt to torment me as if I were her pet. “Why, Mr. […]

How does love manifest on the page?

With scalpel in hand, she cut deeply across her chest. It didn’t hurt. Nothing hurt now. She reached in a trembling hand and shoved it under her ribcage, then tore out her still-beating heart. Blood dripped onto the pages, sinking crimson deep into the paper. There was only one place left for her heart. Vision […]

One fat swallow

Disclaimer: this little snippet of a story is from a writing exercise in Fiction called ‘Storyspine’. It began with a small sparrow whose siblings pushed it out of the nest, then it got fat eating all the worms before anyone else. **** In hindsight, it was my own hubris that caused my death. I revelled […]

Terry (Edited)

Terry was a typical Aussie bloke. Woke up early, spent a long, hot day in the sun laying bitumen, and then kicked back with his mates and a carton of beer. He was always good for a yarn, my man Terry. Get a few beers in him and he’d be on about some time his […]

Lipstick and Coffee (Part 1)

She always left lipstick on her mug. Not a deep, scandalous red, but a warm maroon. It seemed to say that she wanted to be sexy, but not slutty; wholesome but not dull. I stared at that pink smudge for a moment before washing the cup, looking over my shoulder to see her exiting the […]