Announcing Wordsplash Hodgepodge

Wordsplash Hodgepodge  by Joanne Faries brings a mixture of whimsy to your day. Hodgepodge is a hash, a jumble – a word stew. The author’s poetry from A to Z exudes energy, reflection, and food. Eat a waffle for dinner as you waffle over life choices.

Dash through a sprinkler or shed a shoe as you experience other random poems.

Want a quick read? Splash in the flash – six wee stories with some tiny twists to surprise and delight.

Finally, is a memoir ever truly done? Enjoy three more tales – additions to My Zoo World and Athletic Antics. 

Available now on Amazon - paperback or Kindle

 https://www.amazon.com/Wordsplash-Hodgepodge-Joanne-Faries-ebook/dp/B01J882KC0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471364119&sr=8-1&keywords=wordsplash+hodgepodge#nav-subnav

Doorknobs Issue 80 - I have two stories

http://www.iceflow.com/doorknobs/DB.html

Not bragging too much, but I'm always pleased to have stories in this journal. 
Enjoy my wacky darkness

Doorknobs

Robin Dunn—Leaving the Globe—Winner

Joanne Faries—Fall from Grace

Ryan Pillarsy—From Arbendale Before Rainfall

Anna Bálint—Saint Anne

Bev Vines-Haines—Saints Marching In

Roger Leatherwood—No Saint

 Hayward Fault Line

Bev Vines-Haines—Achieving Sainthood—Winner

James Shaffer—Saint Januarius

Joanne Faries—No Man, Just Me

Kristen Caven—Vino Vidi Vesuvia

 Dorsals

Steve Rodriguez—Fictitious Memories—Winner

Anna Bálint—Boy on a Bicycle

Sandy Vrooman—Googling Down Memory Lane

Tapas

Frank Stewart Symons—Saint Cecilia—Winner

James Shaffer—Saint Anthony

Abha Iyengar—Living in Hope

Roger Leatherwood—Joanna Lost at Seaside

Trudy Cusella—Recollection 

Cairo Room

Lester L. Weil—Cigarettes, Whiskey, and Wild Wild Women

KJ Hannah Greenberg—Her Bulbous Eyes

John A. Ward—The Saints We Know—John A. Ward

Andrew Ramer—Lament:  in several fonts, sizes, colors

Too Flashy Tuesday

Emotional Water Shed by Joanne Faries

We brush by the lush rainforest ferns, trying to reach the waterfall. I ignore the sweat dripping from my brow, and try to avoid swiping my leg every two seconds for imagined insects.  

Trey and I are at a crossroads – on this trip, in our relationship, in our work. We are overheated, seething undertones of rage in our terse answers. His focus on water conservation and my botany thesis united us for one trip to the rainforest. Seemed perfect until he yawned at every photo I snapped, every tweezers of moss I gathered. And seriously how many waterfalls does he need to time? I’m ready to throw the stopwatch into the briny deep.  

Yet here I am, trudging to another waterfall. I contemplate my biggest dilemma. Shall I give Trey back his ring? He proposed as we packed, tossing me the box, casually saying, “I think you’ll need this to wear.” I did not hesitate and agreed to marry him.  

Now. This trip. Oh so many flaws in our life plan. He’s selfish. Hogs the towels in the hostels. Obviously we both faked interest in each other’s work.  

We arrive at the waterfall, pay our admission, and ask the girl why she’s crying. “Princess Diana was killed in a car crash.” This took me aback. Here, in the rainforest on the other side of the world in 1997, Princess Diana news brings tears. I gulp and sigh. 

“Life’s too short, Trey,” I said as I hand him the ring.

 

Wordsplash Flash: A New Collection

I'm pleased to launch my second book, a collection of flash fiction tales. Here's the back jacket blurb:

Flash Fiction - Tell a story in less than five hundred words. Capture love, hate, and heat on a page. Enhance characters with dialogue or a sigh. Let them bemoan their fate or choose to persevere.

Wordsplash Flash is a collection of sixty stories, none over five hundred words. The book contains four sections: Love/Hate/Love, Saints & Sins, Labor, and Heat. Lose yourself in a corn maze (Maize), stomp on love (Wrath of Grape), and spit watermelon seeds (Toothless Grin). Meet an underwear model (Brief Encounter) or slog in a factory (Press On).

In our hurry-up environment, you need a break. Take a minute to step out of your world and into the past (1940 Theater) or the future (Too Hot to Cold).

Wordsplash Flash tales offer a respite, a laugh, or what just happened? moments.

It is available on Amazon   both in print and as a Kindle e-book

A Flash:War Crossed

War Crossed by Joanne Faries

Joseph Kelly III, struck mute from the Gettysburg battle near the farm, communicated with me in varied ways. I milked two cows and he fetched buckets, his limp lessened each day. Slender fingers weaved straw dolls for baby Mary. Her gurgling smile unfurrowed his brow. His blond hair tousled, blue eyes unwaveringly trusting.

Our hug goodnight now included a kiss. The only barrier to welcome him to my bed was my husband's shadow. I assumed Thomas survived. War ended and he should be home soon. Joseph would return to Philadelphia and resume studying law. I knew this from notes he wrote in answer to my questions. Notes nestled near my bible.

City boy. Farm girl. Our paths never to cross save for the war. My young girl heart long ago vowed loyalty to Thomas. Roughhewn, he provided for Mary and me. My womanly heart - alas, time to sever from nursing a soldier to health, new love, and newfound tenderness.

One June morning, I woke with dread. Joseph, dressed in his mended Union garb, bent over Mary's cradle and kissed her forehead. He stood, embraced me, and whispered in my ear, "I'll remember you forever, Kathleen."

I, struck mute, watched this strapping man stride out of my life.

An hour later, a neighbor arrived on horseback with a telegram. Thomas. Long dead, never finished the march to Atlanta. I sobbed. Tears streamed, soaking the telegram in one hand, ribbon bundled notes in the other.