lomax61

Thanks @travlbug. This one started with the opening line and grew from there. And I also wondered how many of us could have done with a PROM cab in our lives, to put right one mistake. I know I could have, even though some I managed to put right over a period of time. And yes, that last scene with Stan seeing both versions of his future was my own spin and (as an older person, my personal choice of happiness over stylishness). But I do wonder how many younger, social media conscious readers, might still pick stylish Rupert.

Thank you, @spyke. The story is more in keeping with my style, and much easier to write. I’ll have a think about creating a series of shorts, but thank you for your lovely comments.

Stanley Cheung woke with somebody else's hangover. How could it be his? The last time he'd drunk alcohol was almost two months ago at the Lunar New Year celebration. There was no way he had consumed anything last night on a Thursday work night. Was there? Everyone knew he only drank on rare occasions and then sparingly. At parties, he could nurse a single glass of red wine all evening. Hangovers had always been somebody else's problem. Maybe he’d had an allergic reaction to something, but t

Anthology Pot Luck Theme: Turn Back Time British born Chinese gay man Stanley Cheung wakes with somebody else's hangover. Not only that, but he is laid out on someone’s couch in a grungy student digs where a strange woman is telling him he smells like a brewery. The thing is Stanley rarely drinks. When the woman finally leaves, he finds out that not only has he woken as six-foot-three, ripped, blond-haired, straight Caucasian Don Bradley, but today is not Friday. It’s Thursday. Again. He is reliving the same day but this time as somebody else.

Thank you for posting a link to my old story, @Renee Stevens Looking forward to reading the next round of stories.

Great post. I value the feedback I receive from readers on GA. Quite often the freely given comments (@Myrplease don’t force comments) and guesses from readers at how the plot will develop, helps me to keep a story fresh. Honestly, without feedback, and especially without comments however short and succinct, I would stop posting stories here. What other benefit is there for a writer? But giving feedback effectively is an art. As an writer, I am putting my heart on the line every time I post or publish a story. If I am being given feedback on GA, particularly constructive feedback, it should be considered and sensitively delivered with the aim of helping an author to improve the story. It should not be an opportunity for a reader to climb on their soapbox, to vent to other readers about their personal beliefs or opinions. When published, we have to suffer enough fools commenting on our stories, but at least they have paid. As writers we can also help ourselves by soliciting feedback. I always leave a footnote on my stories with something like “Thank you for reading. What do you think will happen next? Please let me know what you thought of this chapter by leaving a comment, or at the very least, a reaction, and any suggestions you may have for improvement.” A fellow member also suggested leaving a message about PM-ing (private messaging) the author if they find any glaring mistakes or silly typos, to save us embarrassment. I do agree with @Zuri comments about the thumbs up symbol but I dislike even more the introduction of the tick/check symbol. Why was that introduced? Are we giving readers who don’t want to leave reactions or comments a marker so they know which chapters of our work they have read? I would rather have the angry symbol each time than the tick/check.

Just finished mine. Needs redrafting in places, approved by my editor, then I'll submit.

Wow, thank you, Renee. I am honoured. This short story had been sitting around for years, so I was grateful to have the reason to dust it off, and delighted that it sat in a group of such excellent stories by GA authors. The anthology feature is a great way for writers to put up their stories. If you have something you want to showcase, then this is the perfect platform.

Hi @Valkyrie - thank you for reading and reviewing. I feel honoured. I really enjoyed your offering for the anthology, too.

Hi @Timothy M. - What I love is that you're coming to your own conclusions here. You're absolutely right, the lesbian school principal and the wrongly accused father didn't deserve what happened to them. But the way I see this, they were simply collateral damage as a result of everything else that happened. But then, can I ask you, was Alice's disappearance and Colin's collision actually revenge by the magpies? Where is that written? Or are you simply coming to your own conclusions? And the 'two dark-winged shapes' that collide and send Billy's mother down the steps might be magpies, or crows, or blackbirds, or drones - and could what happened simply be a coincidence.😇😎🦅

Hi @Wesley8890 - I know, I know. And I promise I'm stepping back from the dark side right now to continue working on Famous Last which is 7 chapters away from completion. But thanks for reading.

Hi @drsawzall - thanks for reading and the kind review.

Hi @Leo C - thank you so much for that wonderful review. To be honest, I find this style very hard to write because it goes against my natural inclination, but it's good to challenge ourselves every now and then. My friend told me that this reads like an introduction to a full-length story - kind of like the beginning of the movie UP - but in this case explaining how the protagonist stepped onto the path to evil before going on to tell a horror story. Don't worry, I told her I don't have the emotional stamina to create a full length horror story.

😆 No cliffhangers, indeed! But truly, thanks for reading, @Danilo Syrtis. You're absolutely right that this is not my usual style, and it would be monumentally unfair to put a cliff-hanger into a short story, so I've kind of left the ending for the reader to decide. Now I've got this old story dusted off and into the sunlight, I need to get back to my usual career of professional cliffhanger and happily ever after creator!! 🤣

Hey @travlbug - thanks for reading and reviewing. Lol, you've said it all in your review. The fact that so much is left unsaid. Don't know about you, but I'm the kind of reader who likes to be able to come to my own conclusions sometimes, as long as I am reading the clues right, rather than having everything spoon-fed to me.

Hi @Headstall - thank you so much. I was a little wary about the content, even if it's not explicit, but took advice from the team here. I wondered if someone might mention the passenger in the truck, or indeed, whatever happened to Alice. And yes, the friendship at the end could be seen as the start of something evil. I'll leave the reader to decide.

Hi @spyke - thank you so much for that wonderful review. Just like having chapter headings guiding the writing process for novels, I found the lines of the rhyme worked wonders for constructing this short story. Although there is an ending of sorts, I left the reader to decide how the magpies would feature in his life going forward.

Thanks @northie - I'm not known for realism, so that's some great feedback. Don't know about you, but the popular nursery rhyme always enters my head whenever we're driving and we see a magpie. Some things stay with you throughout life.

Thanks for reading, @chris191070 - I'm glad you enjoyed this. I tried to keep the writing as simple as possible, which I always finds heightens the sense of horror. Now I've got that out of my system, I can go back to writing happy, loving, fun stories...

Thanks for reading, @84Mags - I've had this in my slush pile of short stories for ages. As I said, it's not my usual style (no HEAs here) and, as @travlbug wrote, it's a little Twilight Zone-ish, but the discovery of the old verse gave me the idea which grew into this story.

Whether a person believes in the concept of reincarnation or not, this is nevertheless a beautiful tale filled with love and karma and closure. Lovely job. Thank you for posting.

One for sorrow. Billy Cooper had a secret never to be told. Parents and teachers banned their children from using the well-worn trail across Berkley Common, ever since Alice Goldsmith disappeared on her way home from school one glorious Monday afternoon in September. Billy met Alice only once, during the lunch break on his first day at the new school, the same day she disappeared. He had hidden himself away at the far end of the playground under cover of a small copse of saplings, h

One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a boy. Five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told. I am sure many of you, like me, learned this children's nursery rhyme about magpies. According to an old superstition, the number of magpies seen predicts whether you will have good or bad luck. Something I came across subsequently, was the existence of many variations on this rhyme, some more sinister than the children’s version. One of those is incorporated into this short story about boyhood abuse.

So much to love here, packed full of ideas in such a short story. And a different interpretation of the anthology title. Aliens among us (yes, your hat-tip to the X Files) some bad, some good, and some simply here to study us; political posturing back on earth with Vice President Dibben and his son; hippy Zebron, one of the new evolution of humankind (surely the world is more than ready for the next evolution? Or has it already begun?) caught wilfully mind-scanning the wrong person and basically signing his own death warrant; an apolitical corporation, no less, monitoring everything back on earth from the dark side of the moon. I’m left with a heap of questions, which is how it should be. And I agree with everyone, that I hope you explore these ideas further.

A beautiful story of two damaged souls given a second chance. I need to get back to reading more of your stories. Loved the slow pace mainly told through dialogue, the gradual eroding of Armie’s suspicions, the fear of him trusting someone again. I also loved Trent’s heartfelt, but sometimes clumsy persistence. A very human story. Thanks Gary.