island tales

After a nice long run that started in 2014, Friday Flash Fiction, one of my favorite go-to publications, decided to call it a day at the end of 2025. As a sort of goodbye present to the readers and writers who have called it home over these last years, Gordon Lawrie, the editor and publisher, worked long hours into the late night to put together a hardcover anthology of the “Editor’s Choice” stories accumulated along the way. I was fortunate in that two of my stories are featured in this nice little book, Lisa’s Demise and Safer. Should you have any interest, or would just like to see if it might be worth the while, have a peek on Amazon where it’s available for purchase. Thanks a million to Gordon and all the wonderful FFF writers and readers.

https://mybook.to/EditorsChoiceFFFF

My Christmas story for Spillwords 12 Days of Christmas series was accepted and went up on 12/17. I’m just now able to post this as here on this island, as opposed to Island Tales, thanks to a really nasty windstorm, downing dozens and dozens of trees, which knocked out our power and internet for 2 days, as well as clogging up most of the roads. (The internet is still out, and power restored just a couple of hours ago!)

Here is the link- I hope you enjoy. But, more so, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a wonderful New Year.

Ghost of a Christmas Past

Spillwords posted an interview this morning I’d done with them as part of their Author of the Month affair. Once again, very grateful to them and to those who cast a vote my way.

Interview

Not quite sure what to say here (like trying to replace a word you’ve used in your story 5 times in the same paragraph), but I was honored today with the news that I had been voted Author of the Month at Spillwords Press. My deep appreciation to Dagmara and her team there, as well as the folks who voted for me.

Thanks ever so much to all!

It appears that my last posting (really, the email that went out announcing it) has a wrong link (Thanks Drew for letting me know).

Try, try again – Unmasked

I was fortunate enough to have my Halloween story chosen by Spillwords for their annual “13 Days of Halloween” series and it went up this morning. Hope you enjoy.

Unmasked

After a long absence from putting out anything new, I threw together a 100-word story hoping to vent a little of the hopeless frustration I feel on occasion about our current political situation.

It went up this morning. Hope you enjoy –

Safer

Been a while since I put together a flash, and maybe it shows in this effort. A wandering off my normal course, as I allow the narrator to express an opinion, and it might even be political.

Hope you enjoy –

https://www.fridayflashfiction.com/longer-stories/back-side-of-a-milk-carton-by-jim-bartlett

Ah, let the air be filled with the smell of the fresh-cut grass, popcorn, and leather gloves, along with the crack of the bat putting that Rawlings over the wall, the crowd going wild.

Been a long while since I’ve posted, much less written, but here is my latest story (submitted back in January). Hope you enjoy.

The Dodgers Hat

I just received word that my story, The Grand Adventure, https://spillwords.com/the-grand-adventure/ was nominated for Publication of the Year, and to say the least, I’m both surprised and quite honored.

It was a fun story to write, and garnered Publication of the Month for April of 2024, so I’m really pleased with this nomination.

A writer friend in Germany, Michael McCarthy, was nominated for Author of the Year. Should you feel so inclined, I would appreciate a vote his way, and, of course, would love a check in the Grand Adventure box as well.

Happy New Year.