G is for Go

For this year’s A to Z, I will be doing a collection of flash fiction featuring Steven, the MC from Blackbird, from right before he came to Newstead through his first year there.  

G is for Go

You don’t want to go in there.

I stop with my hand frozen on the handle. That’s when I hear voices coming from the other side of the door; my coach’s, and someone else’s. It’s a woman.

I can just make out what they’re saying.

“And you just found this out?” the woman asked. I can see her in my mind. She’s tall, in a dark suit, sitting in front of my coach’s desk.

My coach’s booming voice answers her. “Jason, one of my players, came to me today. I guess he’s been staying with him.”

“And his parents?”

“Jason said they took off.”

The woman nods and sifts through stack of papers in her briefcase. “And where is Steven now?”

“In class,” Coach answers distractedly. “Miss Chambers, I know Steven, he would want to stay here, in this district. What are the chances of that happening?”

Miss Chambers straightens up, sensing his deeper agenda.

I back away from the door.

He’s never going to let you go.

I nod. I know he isn’t.

I am giving out review copies of Blackbird through Story Cartel, in exchange for Amazon Reviews (And blog reviews would be great, too) before it’s official release date on May 1^st.  You can get your copy here  Also, Story Cartel is doing a big giveaway of its own this month, so signing up for a review of any book featured there puts your name in that pot.

Don't forget to sign up for my A to Z Rafflecopter :

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F is for Figuring out a thing or two

For this year’s A to Z, I will be doing a collection of flash fiction featuring Steven, the MC from Blackbird, from right before he came to Newstead through his first year there.  

F is for Figuring out a thing or two

The next morning I cut behind the house by the school. The light that’s normally left on for me isn’t; it’s as dark as all the rest.

Must just be blown, I think as I make my way toward it.

Actually, I can see just fine in the dark. I’ll have to tell Coach that from now on he doesn’t have to bother with the light.

I reach for the handle.

It doesn’t turn in my hand. I take a step back and take another look at the light. The filament seems just fine.

I nod to myself as I back away, seeing things clearly.  

I am giving out review copies of Blackbird through Story Cartel, in exchange for Amazon Reviews (And blog reviews would be great, too) before it’s official release date on May 1^st.  You can get your copy here  Also, Story Cartel is doing a big giveaway of its own this month, so signing up for a review of any book featured there puts your name in that pot.

Don't forget to sign up for my A to Z Rafflecopter :

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E is for Everything

For this year’s A to Z, I will be doing a collection of flash fiction featuring Steven, the MC from Blackbird, from right before he came to Newstead through his first year there.

E is for Everything

It was all on a single sheet, barely more than two paragraphs, but it was enough. It was everything.

I could feel Coach’s expectant eyes on my face as I read it again. Finally, when I didn’t say anything, he did, “Letters like that are fairly common. Usually you just ignore the first few while you wait for the best offer.”

“The best offer? What more could they give me? What more could anyone give me?”

Coach’s face went scarlet. He didn’t have an answer to that, at least not one I wouldn’t call him on. I took his silence as affirmation, but that wasn’t it at all.  

Coach was coming up with a new plan.

I am giving out review copies of Blackbird through Story Cartel, in exchange for Amazon Reviews (And blog reviews would be great, too) before it’s official release date on May 1^st.  You can get your copy here  Also, Story Cartel is doing a big giveaway of its own this month, so signing up for a review of any book featured there puts your name in that pot.

Don't forget to sign up for my A to Z Rafflecopter :

a Rafflecopter giveaway

D is for Decieved

For this year’s A to Z, I will be doing a collection of flash fiction featuring Steven, the MC from Blackbird, from right before he came to Newstead through his first year there.

D is for Deceived

Coach’s hand rests lightly on my shoulder as I stand in formation.

I stiffen. Seeing his face doesn’t help any.

“Come to my office after you’re done changing,” he says before continuing on his way.

I nod. I knew this day was coming. Hello foster care here I come.  

Coach is sitting behind his desk when I walk in.  

“Sit,” he says, and I sit down on the seat in front of his desk.

“The principle got a letter today,” he begins, “From a school in Vermont that’s interested in you.”

“In me?” That wasn’t what I was expecting at all.

He nods, watching me.

“Well that’s great. This solves everything.”  

Coach’s eyes narrow. “Does it?”

“Of course it does, now I’ll have a place to live and CPS won’t ever need to know I’ve been living on my own for….”

I stop when I see his face. He doesn’t look happy with anything; not with the news, or my reaction. “You don’t want me to go, do you?”

Coach keeps his eyes fixed on mine.  

That’s when it hits me, that maybe I’m not the only one he’s been taking care of. Like that time he told me not to tell people my mom took off, or when he set it up so I could stay at Jason’s while his mom was working nights and with Ron when she wasn’t. He told me how much the foster system sucked, how they’d take me away. But was that a lie, too? Another way to keep me around so I’d keep playing for him?

 I stand up. “I think I’d like to see that letter for myself.”

I am giving out review copies of Blackbird through Story Cartel, in exchange for Amazon Reviews (And blog reviews would be great, too) before it’s official release date on May 1^st. Just a note—this story is very dark, so read with caution.  You can get your copy here  Also, Story Cartel is doing a big giveaway of its own this month, so signing up for a review of any book featured there puts your name in that pot.

Don't forget to sign up for my A to Z Rafflecopter :)

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C is for Clean

For this year’s A to Z, I will be doing a collection of flash fiction featuring Steven, the MC from Blackbird, from right before he came to Newstead through his first year there.  

Clean

Most of the houses I pass are still dark; still too early for most of them to be up for the day. I cut behind the house whose backyard butts up to the school. The school is completely dark, except for the lone light that’s been left on for me. I make my way toward it.

The doorknob that should’ve been locked twists easily in my hand. “Thanks Coach,” I mumble under my breath as I make my way to the locker room, where I know I’ll find everything I need.

There’s a bar of soap lying on top of a folded towel, same as there was yesterday, and the day before that. I grab them both and head toward the shower.

I am giving out review copies of Blackbird through Story Cartel, in exchange for Amazon Reviews (And blog reviews would be great, too) before it’s official release date on May 1^st. Just a note—this story is very dark, so read with caution.  You can get your copy here  Also, Story Cartel is doing a big giveaway of its own this month, so signing up for a review of any book featured there puts your name in that pot.

Don't forget to sign up for my A to Z Rafflecopter :)

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IWSG, B is for Basement

As the first Wednesday of the month, this is Insecure Writer’s Support Group day as well as April’s A to Z. In respect of your time, I promise I’ll keep it brief. Right now I’m really not feeling insecure about anything. Not that I’m suddenly an Amazon bestseller, I’m not. It’s more that I’ve decided I love the books I write. I love the story, love the characters, and sometimes that’s enough.

For this year’s A to Z, I will be doing a collection of flash fiction featuring Steven, the MC from Blackbird, from right before he came to Newstead through his first year there.  

B is for Basement

I’ve always been real good at waking up to the slightest sound, which has gotten me out of my fair share of scrapes over the years. This morning is no different.

My eyes open just as Jason’s getting ready to come down, so by the time he opens the basement door, I’m already dressed with my backpack slung over my shoulder.

He flinches slightly, seeing me at the foot of the stairs. For some reason seeing me there always surprises him. “Steven--good--you’re up. It’s time.”

I nod. Time. Time for me to get the hell out of his house before his mom gets home.

“See you in school,” I call on my way out.

I am giving out review copies of Blackbird through Story Cartel, in exchange for Amazon Reviews (And blog reviews would be great, too) before it’s official release date on May 1^st. Just a note—this story is very dark, so read with caution.  You can get your copy here  Also, Story Cartel is doing a big giveaway of its own this month, so signing up for a review of any book featured there puts your name in that pot.

Don't forget to sign up for my A to Z Rafflecopter :)

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A is for All-Star

For this year’s A to Z, I will be doing a collection of flash fiction featuring Steven, the MC from Blackbird, from right before he came to Newstead, through his first year there.

A is for All-Star

The ball cracked against the bat as it made contact. I love that sound; the sound of a sure homerun.

“Go, go, go,” my coach yells, like he didn’t recognize the pitch, like he still expects me to do a mad dash to get as many bases as I can.

I glance back at my team. They’re just as clueless, and just as frenzied.

So I run.

My foot hits home just as the ball crashes through my coach’s windshield.

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