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Here it is folks: It’s A Kind Of Magic: A Flash Fiction Anthology.
Coming September 2023, featuring quick bites of magical delight from:
Barbara Smith
Louise Lannink
Adelae Guevara
S.M. Kemmett
Elisha K Habermann
Matthew R. Davis
William Robertson
Melanie Ifield
Mendel Mire
Kevin Anderson
Karen Bayly
Anthony Ferguson
Issy Jinarmo
Leanbh Pearson
Leonie Rogers
TC Phillips
To whom it may concern
Will you listen without inflicting torment?
Will you understand the suffering that comes from within?
Will you take note of the self-torture inflicted?
I have sacrificed by putting others first
I have felt chaotic emotions take hold
I have believed in trust only to be knocked down
You say all is above me
You say others are worth more than me
You say I cannot perform while others can
I see your impenetrable exterior bubble
I see the disconnection of your emotional side
I see the darkness cover you
Rescue me
In a clearing beyond city evolution
there are no humans
just engravings carved into dead wood
An unknown bent and weathered creature sits in a clearing
content in nature
at the end of a flat base of a tree torn down by past roaring winds
‘Don’t put the blame on humans’, I shout
without affinity to what lies beyond
The creature pulls a pocket watch from a rock crevice beside it’s particulate body
‘Time for tea’, it growls
The world before me transforms into an asymmetrical buffet table
Before me I see another twisted creature
dressed in red with a top hat to match
It throws Ceylon tea leaves into the sky above
creating an island surrounded by a raging sea
This creature leans forward with a wide smile
‘Mistakes cannot be changed or replaced
– criminality which brings black snow falling from ash filled heights
cannot be forgiven or reversed with a slice of sponge cake’
With little time to digest what is before me
I feel guilty
I am dressed in rich human clothes
My long existing human tea party is over
The creature changes shape
with a wave of it’s forearm
it turns into – from memory –
what appears to be a type of gnome
The now Mad Hatter gnome takes control
of living senses
tearing down the corporate walls of earth and mankind.
My thoughts and forms of past events fall away.
I am alone
born again
I hear the whispers,
stage whispers,
spoken to another in the wood of the floor, above the crystal grid
loud enough that I feel the vexation from within
It was here in the Midnight Hotel, Room 13, where the keeper of the stone vanished
leaving behind a cluster of displeased voices
and a knot of corn flowers
I feel the intensity with the coven’s agitation growing
Knowing the natural cycle of life and death will be torn apart
I eat the seeds of the cornflower and enhance my psychic awakening
bringing forth an inner storm To find the truth
Dancing lights surround me
Knock, knock, knock
I hear you
The night manager steps through the shimmering door of room 13
Glowing eyes reveal your presence in an inhumane way
The night manager’s body quivers drawing the air from my body
The whispers stop
My mind explodes and I fall
Weathered iced fingers reach up
between crystal grid lines
drawing my body down
Knock, knock, knock
Whispers become toned voices
sharing knowledge long forgotten
from pagan times
I am the Guardian of the stone
I am the one who will change the future
within the Midnight Hotel
where the wildlings spare those
who believe in the old Gods
Hidden in blinding madness
the soul gathers the weapons to fight
to defend attacks from outside the physical
Opposing action is weigh laid
by the force of will to defend
an urgent request
from the intuitive recognition of previous defeat
I cry while the rain floods the earth
– biology forced into overdrive
through the destruction
of the natural world
Fly Away – the voice in my head whispers
Shallow thoughts follow the migratory birds above me
forming their linear formations
Spasms of wishful thinking toward the next life with wings
overtake the physical earthly concerns
of human disrespect and self absorption
The birds anticipate each others’ movements
inviting fellow birds of the same kind to join and follow
I think I’d like to be an albatross
soaring through air currents atop high sea
connecting to the spiritual realm
gliding through changes independent from emotions
bludgeoned upon me
Past trauma repeated
again and again and again
with the curtain raising before the emotional opera begins
then ending with one lonely soul bowing to an empty theatre
Unable to escape the mindless vandalism
the curtains close hiding the inevitable
The birds fly away
Canberra ACT Australia, outside National GalleryLiving in a world on the other side of the mirror
I see our parallel universes – a complete mirror image
with a two way doorway
where transcribers help navigate
decisions made and become
changeable or reversible
I’ve seen particles capable of switching between the two sides
I’ve been torn between the two
watching the mirror of myself
wondering which portrays the best of me
The debut novel ‘Beckoning of the Gate’ by Australian writer Benjamin J. Ryan is an intriguing and well written story. It brings to life a strong female lead by the name of Santha Lathagin who overcomes major obstacles of human depravity, malicious Fae and the eldritch realm of magick.
The Vāyilian Threads Book 1 draws the reader in with the great character build of Santha where she struggles to find herself in the human world and then comes across the Fae key that turns her life upside down. She is then taken on a quest to find the gates of the faerie lands and help the Fae get home.
This fantasy story is fantastic and a hard put down. The ever present beasts are brought to life in such a way that the reader almost feels their presence.
The ending brings the cast of characters together in such a way that it leaves you wanting more.
Definitely a book to be read! I hope the second book is travelling well to publication.
I recommend reading this great story
Goodreads link: https://goodreads.com/book/show/58839671-beckoning-of-the-gate…
Walk the length of past and present
with the intent to improve the future
Use your imagination to restore cultural land
that was born in peace
Develop along the way
thoughtful protection stories and poems
that will change the narrative
Along the way build the framework
of colours that soften the view
Within this frame capture yourself
flying above the darkness towards
soft edged clouds
the colour of fresh snow
Share the scene with those that surround you
The future is within sight
in the framed picture of your life.
The stage is set
Lights fade creating shadowy figures
moving between empty chairs
Cello bows rise in unison
while the viola brings forth it’s inner voice
The soft melody pulls
repressed emotions form past loss
whilst the song of the rhythm stick exposes your true nature
from my mind
Resounding drumming resonates
through your spirit world
and into my soul
Escape is a vanishing idea
with reality questioned
Age has worn my whole being
the music draws me forward
I surrender to the unknown embrace
Life and Beyond 