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#TwistedTaleTuesday, behind the scenes of writing, flash fiction, horror, Microcosms Fiction, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Stephen King, writing, writing competitions
Today – 24 February – in 2006 saw the death of US actor, Dennis Weaver. He had a long and varied career, and was best known for his portrayal of Chester in the long-running TV series ‘Gunsmoke’. Other TV shows and movies in which he appeared include:
‘Touch of Evil’ (1958)
‘Kentucky Jones’ (1964-1965)
‘McCloud’ (1970-1977)
‘Duel’ (1971)
‘The Ordeal of Doctor Mudd’ (1980)
Our contest this week begins with THREE things: character, setting and genre.
We spun, and our three elements are – character: Veterinarian, setting: Washington D.C., and genre: Comedy.
The comedy thing didn’t really work for me this time, so I clicked the spin button and got:
Veterinarian/ Big City/ Horror
Here’s my response to the prompt.
Cat Lady
By Ronel Janse van Vuuren
It’s been years since Mary had moved to the big city to look after strays, making sure they got the medical attention they deserved. She’d given up a lot, though getting the hell away from her cheating husband had been worth it.
The soft mewling of kittens drew her to the kitchen.
To read this story and others like it, get Twisted Tales now. https://www.books2read.com/u/m2v961

Twenty-four flash fiction tales filled with folklore and mythology, creeping in on the edges of nightmares, and twisting around the various sub-genres of fantasy.
Yeah, I know. The judge’s favourite line (with explanation): “Mary grinned.”
Perhaps out of context a rather odd line to pick, but with all that had gone before, that grin was a harbinger of all ills and a testament of madness. I saw that grin unfold with all the portent of Hell opening.
So how did I do it? I listened to The Cure’s Disintegration album. And I took Stephen King’s advice:
So what do you think? I don’t usually write horror, though I think this worked out well.
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Nice twist and well done. I like it.
Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit
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Thanks, Juneta. I’m glad you liked it 🙂
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I’ve just got a cat, I’m a little scared to go home now!
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LOL. I’m glad you enjoyed the story.
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I can’t wait to read this story to my son, the cat lover. Your first two sentences were superb.
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Thanks, Erika 🙂 I hope he likes it.
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Gruesome. Let’s hope they don’t mistake Mary for lunch.
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I’m glad I got the horror element right 🙂
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