The events and scenarios described in Hibiscus Tea are fantasy fiction. But I tried to write the poems in a way that matched the styling of poetry about love and loss and rediscovering joy. Because that’s what it’s all about. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written.

Writing slop tonight.

For our June 15, 2026 edition, please select from the following ‘P’rompts: - pea soup - pinochle - (peanut) brittle Please tag us, so we can find your entry easily. Feel free to reply, or repost, and make sure to check in next week! Happy writing! ✍️

Unseen. A poem from my upcoming book.

Happiness can be so beautiful it ends up being cruel. An unwanted reminder of how life would have turned out if we hadn’t worshiped our flaws. 🪽 👁️ 🪽 Requiem of Dice coming 7/31. Cover art by Alejandro Colucci

He ducks all the time in this institution.

When in doubt (which is most times), I don’t take things (stealing is wrong!) too seriously (cheddar = money).

Writing question: Suppose three characters from your story meet at a local cafe on a Tuesday afternoon. Who orders a coffee? Who orders a muffin? And who orders pineapple on the pizza meant for the group? How is this received? And who covers the bill or is it split three ways?

“I’m thinking about calling it Quits.” “I don’t know,” she said, “Isn’t that an odd name for a boat?”

Looking through abandoned writing projects to avoid working on the nearly finished ones.

Ducks of the day! These are wigeons. Photo by TheOtherKev.

I keep forgetting I have this website where I'm (very) slowly publishing a story. chroniclesofnowhere.com/

Been reading so many serious books lately. I really need to find some slop to read. Any recommendations?

BREAKING NEWS: Inter-Dimensional Bypass Finished After millennia of effort, construction on the inter-dimensional bypass was finally finished. With its creation, efficient travel from one dimension to the next was finally possible. It even allowed you to skip the months of preparation and years of travel needed to reach a neighboring dimension, taking only three years to cover the entire route rather than three hundred. The only issue was, as you traveled the bypass, stretching across the space-time expanse, things began to go sideways. Literally. There was one particular spot on the route that flipped each traveler sideways, causing their atoms to dangle, if you will, giving the appearance that their flesh was melting off their bones. At this point of the bypass, you either closed your eyes and blocked out all the pained groaning about you, or you tried to hold in your lunch. Either way, 99.999% of travelers agree that this was by far the worst section of the route. the other 0.001% rather enjoyed it, but the majority would agree that they were sick in the head, and a lot of other nasty things that do not quite translate into this dimension’s linguistic systems. Hope you enjoyed this micro-fiction for #microfictionmonday! @mondaymicrofic #WritingCommunity #amwriting #microfiction

@mondaymicrofic 'Bypass' Bob's computer monitor went black. A small window popped up. It was white. Black text read: "Do you want to sleep tonight? Y/N: |" The cursor blinked. There was no X to close it. Bob clicked all around the window. It wouldn't move. After a few more curse words, he restarted the computer. He typed in his pin. For several minutes, nothing happened. Then the modal window showed again, with the same question. Bob typed "Y." After a few seconds, a response appeared. "Too bad. Would you like to live through the night? Y/N: |" "The f..." Bob typed "Y." "Possible. Data inconclusive. Would you like to bypass this window? Y/N: |" Bob slammed his finger on the Y key and cursed. "Wouldn't it be nice to bypass the consequences of our lies? Y/N: |" Bob typed: "What lies? What the hell is this? Who is this?" The cursor blinked. 20 minutes later, there'd been no response. He then typed "Y." "Too bad." He shut the computer off and went to bed. Later, he saw the light from the computer monitor in the living room. He walked in and saw the window again. "Unfortunately, data indicates death. Good luck |" The cursor blinked.

#Mondaymicrofic Recap from Ep10 Hailey reached over and hugged him from across the small table, cups bouncing.  Croissants can be the buffer Ep11  Prompt: Sap  I wasn’t sure if it gets to the same place when I included mondaymicrofiction so did it again

Microfiction Monday! @mondaymicrofic Theme: Bypass Thought about using the other two, but Remi would not let me hear the end of it if I used the word "sap". This is based on a mission that Alex Booker caught the tail end of when he visited Hallie in the Core in Book 9.

@mondaymicrofic #microficMonday #Edna #sap Chapter 7: Luma in the Middle The thing about will o’ wisps is they don’t mean to. Luma never meant to lead Cookie into the elderberry patch. She was simply going that way and Cookie was simply following the light and the shapeshifter was simply following Cookie and well. This is simply how these things happen. Luma glowed when she was happy. It was an ember glow, a spark spitting ka-swoosh plook kind of glow. Luma was always happy. This was, depending on who you asked, either a blessing or a significant operational problem. “Luma,” Elder Thistle called from somewhere behind three bushes and a considerable amount of smoke, “why is everything sparkling?” Luma opened her mouth. Then closed it. The honest answer was that she had gotten excited, which had made her sap rise, then glow, which had delighted Cookie, which had produced rainbows, which had inspired the shapeshifter to become a prism, which had (in a sequence of events that made perfect sense from the inside) resulted in the elderberry patch refracting light in seventeen directions simultaneously. The beetles, always up for it, had decided to hold a festival, adding dark green and blue smushy swishes to the mix. “It might be the shapeshifter,” Luma said. The shapeshifter, currently a small brightly lit chandelier, said nothing. Cookie wagged her tail and poofed one itsy flame. Edna sat on a tree root, watching, her chin in her hand and smiling a smile she wasn’t bothering to hide. This, she thought, is all exactly right. Luma glowed a little brighter. She couldn’t help it. She never could. But this time, Edna thought she meant it.

#MicroFictionMonday @mondaymicrofic June 8, 2026 Prompts: sap, bypass ——— Hearts and Hydraulics ~ based on a true story (probably) “Hand me the crescent wrench?” “Here. You know how the Bible says, ‘the heart is deceitful’?” “Thanks. Sure, in Jeremiah.” “And Jesus said, ‘if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out’?” “He was using hyperbole, but yeah.” “What if your heart causes you to stumble? Like, wouldn’t it be easier if you could take out your heart?” “The Bible says to guard your heart. Three-quarter wrench? Thanks. Guarding it will help protect you so you don’t get hurt.” “No. I mean, yeah. But, I’m not talking about me.” “What do you mean?” “Every time I have feelings for someone, it’s like I’m wrong, I scare them, or somehow hurt their feelings.” “In that case, guarding your heart protects them, too.” “Wish I wasn’t such a freaking sap.”  “Heh heh! The sap flows strong in you. Family trait. Here, take these? All set. It’s just like this mill’s hydraulic system. Stays contained, and keeps everything running.” “Til you blow a leak.” “True. But, you do the best you can, clean it up, tighten it up, and keep sawing.” “Wish I could bypass it, or something.” “Well, son, when you figure that one out, let me know.” “Thanks, dad.”