If you thought there was a lot of fiction during the first four years of this blog, you’ll think in the next year — March 2014 through March 2015 — I must have gone fiction nuts.

Maybe, but remember I also wrote opinions (future post to be) and did near-epic writing on many of the posts showcasing my photos.

Sometimes I wrote stuff most people (including regular readers) plain missed.

For instance, for a long while — October 2012 through December 2015 — I posted a printable monthly calendar. The first part of the post covered the process and background story of the photo I used, but usually, there was some writing aimed at being informative, humorous, or both. Most people, even them who read most of what I publish, missed most stuff. By the way, as far as printable photos go, I thought them pretty good.

Anyway, why did most people miss some of the writing?

Because I snuck my writing in between the following two disclaimers which appeared at the end of every calendar post. The disclaimers changed little from calendar to calendar, so people just ignored that section. To be fair, most people ignored the calendars as well, hence why I stopped producing them.

Disclaimers: I do not guarantee the accuracy of the calendar. My general understanding of time is limited to it being (mostly) an arbitrary demarcation of the unidirectional flow of existence. Many instances in my life have demonstrated to me the disconnect between any hard measure of intervals of time, and the perception of said time intervals.

It’s likely that, at a future time that will never be, I will not remember stuff that happened at a time long forgotten, because it never happened.  Such is life.

~ other writing here ~

Remember, you don’t have to use the calendar portion . . .  you can cut out the bottom part, and you have a picture to hang on your wall.

So, what did I add in the space marked “~ other writing here ~“?

Sometimes, it was personal details and culinary advice:

Sunday I shaved the beard I was growing. It did not have enough white in it to make it worthwhile keeping. I also had s’mores. Got me some graham crackers, put some dark chocolate chunks on them, and some miniature marshmallows atop of that. I then popped them in the microwave for twenty or thirty seconds (or until the marshmallows puff up), and then squashed the whole thing down with another graham cracker. Yummy.

I don’t know why people like the ones around a campfire; your marshmallow is gonna catch on fire, and it will taste like charcoal. Plus, there is a good chance the marshmallow will drip on your hand, and being all melty and stuff, it’s gonna burn, and you can’t easily clean it off. Yes, the ones I had were good.

Other times, I would offer up some humor:

Perhaps I should tell a joke instead of puns. Everyone likes jokes . . . Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him what?. . . a super calloused fragile mystic plagued with halitosis.

Let me tell you a joke . . . A woman and her little girl went to visit the grave of the girl’s grandmother. On the way home the little girl asked, “Mommy, do they ever bury two people in the same grave?” The mother replied “Of course not, dear. Why would you think that?”

“One of the tombstones back there said ‘Here lies a politician and an honest man.’”

Eh, perhaps people didn’t miss much. But, on to the fiction.

As I said in the previous post, “. . . in compiling the list below I might have missed small flash pieces that are not specifically identified in the title. Meaning, I have a habit of plopping a story inside a post that has nothing to do with writing. Sadly, unless I come across those gems accidentally, I may go years not even remembering I wrote them.“

Also as I said, that’s one of the reasons I occasionally go back and read my old stuff. That, and the fact I’m a huge fan of nearly everything I do.

Anyway, here we go . . . again:

The Macro Files – Shells Part 3  (Mostly photographs but there’s a short Small flash story toward the end of the post.)

If you read my fiction, READ THIS! (So, this isn’t fiction but explains why some of my fiction offerings after this point in time are behind a password. It’s FNSR or First North American Serial Rights. If you see a link that begins with the word “Protected“, you won’t be able to read it unless you have the password. If you want to read a password-protected story, drop me an email or just mention it in the comments (don’t include your email).)

150 Word Story (This came about because I did a bit of Beta reading — or is it Alpha reading? I can never keep those straight — for an author that had to write a 150-words story. I just wanted to see if I could. I mean, I knew I could because anyone can; I wanted to see just how crappy my effort would be.)

Protected: The Untitled NaNoWriMo Novel – Complete (Here is my first complete novel (64,000 words). It had been presented in serial format but here it’s gathered all in one post. It’s password-protected to preserve FNASR. If you want to read it, shoot me an email or leave a comment and I will send you the password.)

1,000 Words – Memories (This was another challenge — I believe it was the first — involving Perry and Gary and me. It was based on a video and we were to write either a prequel or sequel to the video.)

Ancient, My New Love (A short story I like a lot for the emotion — did I mention I like to stir emotions? It’s a sequel to a story presented in the previous post listing my fiction. In this story, I tried to set up additional players and a structure for what had gone on before and is currently happening. I have ideas on how to carry this forward, but those ideas sit along with tens — if not hundreds — of other undeveloped ideas and stories.)

July 2014 Flowers and a Bit of Flash (I wrote this story as I was composing this post about flowers (a long post with lots of flowers photos). When I inserted the photo of the carnation, I had an idea and started writing. It remains one of my favorite short pieces.

More July 2014 Flowers and Flash (Not as good as the previous story — but I still like it. And, it’s SciFi which many won’t like. OK, OK, they won’t like it because it’s difficult to follow due to poor execution. The story is near the end of the post.)

Who is this Disperser character?  (I mentioned before that I wrote for Legends Undying. I was asked to write a blurb about myself. While not strictly fiction, I did employ what talent I have in trying to make it more than a boring bio.)

Flowers and Flash (I had the idea of writing a triptych. I had just learned the term for a contest and, yes, it’s usually applied to photographs or paintings, but I wanted a writing triptych. This was it, a story spanning two lives and multiple years. The stories are in between the flower photos.)

Mini-update 3 with a bit of Flash (Exploring one of many contradictions in religion – the devil is in the details.)

~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Hey, here’s another of my calendar inserts:
We go to the Y every morning. The moment Melisa and I split up (different locker rooms) I slip on my “get-the-fornicate-out-of-my-way-and-stay-there!” look. My normal visage is one that is not conducive to promoting conversation, and when I wear my GTFOOMWAST look I can look positively mean, unfriendly, and best avoided.

It’s always a surprise, then, when strangers start conversations with me, especially when they be all smiles and shi . . . er . . . stuff. My first thought is they are blind, or mentally deficient. My second thought is “Great! Now I have to converse!“

I’m pretty good at conversation, but that does not mean I go out of my way to find it. Why do people want to talk to me? I dunno.

Worst yet, kids usually smile at me, and it takes me by surprise, meaning I smile back, usually before my brain engages and says “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot do you think you are doing?!?” . . . but by then it’s too late.

I then rush to the mirror and check . . . yup; still unfriendly-looking, still old, still foreboding. Kids be nuts!

~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Sunday With My Thoughts – On Writing (This is a post about writing but it also has another of my favorite stories born out of a few minutes of writing. It’s titled “An Ordinary Hero” and is found toward the end of the very short post.)

The Fall – Part 1 (I’ve received both castigation and praise for my propensity for the twist ending. I like them, so I’ll keep writing them. Here’s a very short flash piece illustrating what I mean.)

NaNoWriMo is still just around the corner (This is the beginning of what would eventually turn out to be my second NaNoWriMo novel which eventually became Hybrid. It was one of a few test samples I wrote to see which would grab me more.)

NaNoWriMo Test Sample No 2  (This was the second sample. For the rare people who click on the link, a surprise awaits you. It’s handwritten. At the time, I was exploring the connection between different modes of writing and creativity and the discovery process. By the way, yet another story I want to finish as I like both characters.)

Writing and Reading (this is the typed version of Test Sample No. 2, along with a bit of stuff about cursive writing.)

Halloween 2014 (I was in a rush to put this out in time and I’m not happy with the execution. I don’t think I got the idea/plot/premise across as well as I would have liked, as well as I saw it in my mind. That, by the way, is a common problem with most people: what they execute seldom matches the glory of what they saw in their mind’s eye.)

At this point in time, November 2014, there were a lot of posts with individual chapters of my NaNoWriMo 2014 — NaNoWriMo No. 2 — all of them password protected. If you want to read them in order, ask for the password and start with Chapter 1. Or, further down this list, you’ll get the link to the whole book in one post.)

The New York Times Pulp Fiction Contest (Another quick effort and one that won me . . . nothing).

Writing: the Bagel of Art – Redux (In a previous post, I wrote some random nonsense to confirm a suspicion that many of the “likes” I got were from people who didn’t read the post and just liked stuff out of reflex to seeing a new post. There was a line in all that gibberish that triggered the story of Golden Guardian, Silver Hunters. The line was “. . .  and great heron from ancient lands dreamed of visiting greco-roman architecture. . . “ I have to say I like this little piece of fiction. OK, OK . . . I like all my fiction, but some I like a tad more.)

NaNoWriMo No. 2 – Final Thoughts (These are my thoughts about the story I had just finished. Note that it’s posted in January. Even though I easily met the NaNoWriMo goal of 50K words, it would take more thousands of words to finish the effort that would eventually bear the title of Hybrid.)

Protected: NaNoWriMo No. 2 – Final Cut (and this is the complete story as written and pasted into one post. Be aware there’s little to no editing in this version. Again, note the “Protected” in the post’s title. You will need the password if you want to read it. Just ask.)

~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Hey, here’s another of my calendar inserts:
February 2015 The world is getting so that one is hard-pressed to find something to smile about. I find myself wanting more and more to lose myself in music, photography, writing, and Nutella sandwiches. Oh, also panini di formaggio e salame.

Perhaps if I told a joke  . . . . What’s the difference between roast beef and pea soup? Anyone can roast beef.

Did you laugh? No? . . . hmm . . . how about this: What do you call a boomerang that does not come back? A stick.

Come on, you had to laugh at that one!

OK, OK, one more . . . What do you call cheese that is not yours? Nacho Cheese.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Elven Story Continued (This is a continuation of my first elven story. The Hunting Party continues the story of Birro, half-man, half-elf. Another I’m fairly proud of and that — you guessed it — I aim to expand into a series. You know, sometimes, eventually . . . maybe.)

Writing and Photography (A few thoughts on writing and photography and including a short piece that probably misses the mark. If you want to skip this, go ahead. Actually, you don’t need my permission to skip this or any other piece, or even all the links.)

Sunday Stuff . . . on Tuesday (This has another short piece I thought clever and maybe even slightly humorous. Maybe.)

Cover Art for NaNoWriMo No. 2 (Not fiction per se, but my efforts with Pulp-O-Mizer deserve a mention. Or so I think.)

Romance (This is mostly a post about writing romance — and has links to some of my stories — but it also has  two flash pieces exploring the writing or romance stories. Why, there’s even a poll.)

That last one takes me to March 2015 and the end of this post.

Yes, most of my regular readers have already read these offerings, so I don’t expect a lot of traffic on those links. But, if you are a new visitor to the blog, and want a reason to either hang around or never visit again, take a look at a few of them and you might find something compelling you to do one or the other.

That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.

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