Friday, May 9, 2014

2014 Ultra Flash Fiction Contest Winner



Pittsboro  Writers' Morning Out fifth annual ultra flash fiction contest.   

The 2014 winner is Glenn Cassidy

One Breath at a Time 

Craig Smith could speak but one breath at a time; a word of two or more breaths and his mouth failed him.  When asked where he went to school, he’d learned to say “George Wash Carve” like some kind of hip slang, like you’d feel dumb to let on the style was new to you.
Of course, the next words from his mouth would show his ruse.  He could not say the name of his street, his state, or his town.  Could not say his age.
As Craig searched for a seat at the mall food court one day, tray in hand, none seemed free at first.  Then his eyes found the girl in blue in the back, fine as could be.  Her eyes met his, then fled, as tense and full of fear as Craig’s own.  He took a deep breath, walked up to her, and braved the flaw in his speech.
“Is this seat free?”
“Yes,” said the girl.
As they ate, sans words, both smiled.  Could she feel the same spark he did?
“I’m Craig Smith.”  He feared she’d have a name too long, a name he’d trip on each time he tried to say it.  “What’s your name?”
“Kate Cole.”
Craig’s mouth turned up at the ends.
“What school do you go to?” he asked.
Kate’s eyes sagged like the weight of a ton of tears. “Mart Luth King Jun.”
Craig felt for her, for her speech flaw, shared the shame he knew stabbed at her heart.  Yet a glow warmed in Craig’s chest, a light lit in his eyes, and he smiled.
“Mine’s George Wash Carve,” Craig beamed.
Kate’s eyes at last rose from the floor and dared to face his.  And she beamed back.
Craig was in love.









Friday, May 2, 2014

New novel by Ruth Moose





Doing It at the Dixie Dew
a mystery novel by Ruth Moose
Book Debut and Signing


Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 11 a.m.
McIntyre's Fine Books
Fearrington Village, Pittsboro, NC



Beth McKenzie's wealthy first guest at her Bed and Breakfast arrives in a pricey sports car and
leaves in a hearse.

Beth has to find the real killer when the clueless two-man police force in her small Southern town names her prime suspect in the murder.

2013 Malice Domestic Best
First Traditional Mystery Novel



        Fearrington Village resident Ruth Moose is known for her many poetry and short story publications and her years teaching Creative Writing at UNC-Chapel Hill. Doing It at the Dixie Dew is her first novel. The $10,000 Malice Domestic prize included hardcopy and electronic publication of her manuscript.
        Moose chose McIntyre's (her favorite independent bookstore) to launch her novel, released May 7, 2014 by St. Martin's Press, a division of MacMillan Publishers.
        She invites you to join her in celebrating Dixie Dew's first appearance in bookstores. She plans to read from the novel, answer questions, and sign books at the event.