Please note: My short stories & flash fiction pieces are located in Elaine’s Prose
Corpse Du Jour – A trip to the Burgundy region of France inspired this story. My husband and I toured wine cellars and learned that the intricate labyrinth of tunnels cover approximately 100 miles under this wine-growing area and connect to beautiful chateaus that we’ve passed along the way. I told my husband that a BODY could be down in one of those tunnels and never be found. Every author needs the perfect idea, then the perfect setting–which I now had! Add a clueless American and a Frenchman, who has ulterior motives. Voila! Come along with me on this dark and deadly journey, if you dare!
Metamorphosis – Children are often caught in the middle between parents who no longer get along with each other. This was the idea behind my dark, fairy tale-like story of a young divorced woman with a five-year old daughter. This young, precocious child adores her inattentive father who now has a new family of his own. He makes up for it by buying her a deluxe Fairy-tale Castle Play Set that takes up most of her bedroom, much to the dismay of this mother who still loves her ex-husband. Mental illness, dysfunctional love, and jealousy take on extra meaning as the woman slowly transforms into something horrific as the story progresses.
Playback – In this speculative flash fiction piece with a touch of magical realism, I asked myself–“what if…we could live our lives going backwards instead of forward?” For the elderly, the chance to ‘relive’ their past might be a happier, more hopeful direction for some of them to go. My main character is an elderly photographer who orders a magical memory card hoping it can ‘play back’ lost, forgotten memories. I used photography terms throughout the story. I liked the symbolism equating the human eye to the camera lens. The word, “light’ can be interpreted in both technical and spiritual ways such as letting the “light” into the lens of the camera or “seeing the light.”
The Lightning Chamber – This speculative short story has supernatural and sci-fi elements to it. I wondered – “what if…there was a connection between the scientific world and spiritual world we live in?” These two worlds are as opposite as they could possibly be. What does it take to be a believer? Is there a Heaven? Do we need physical proof or is faith enough? The father in this story is an eccentric old inventor and his adult son is a meteorologist and they do not get along. The departed wife and mother to these two characters is the connecting and spiritual part of the story. My husband, Allan, a retired meteorologist, served as my scientific consultant for this story! The ball lightning scene actually happened to a person he knew.
Wedding Hair Blues – I’ve always enjoyed my visits to my hairstylist’s salon and thought that would make a great setting. In this fictional salon, things do not run as ‘smoothly’ as they do when I get my hair done. The story explores the relationship of two sisters as they try to ‘untangle’ their feelings of jealousy. One sister is the mother of the bride, the other is an owner of the beauty salon. It all takes place before the wedding and ‘hair’ takes on a symbolic and emotional significance.
Please note: My poems are located in Elaine’s Poetry
To Speak From the Heart – I’ve always wanted to write a loving tribute to my father who died in 2006 from Pseudo Bulbar Palsy (a form of ALS.) Along with the life-threatening effects of this disease, he also struggled with involuntary emotional control and a gradual inability to speak. This seemed to frustrate him the most but didn’t stop him from trying to find ways to make himself understood. In this poem, I used musical imagery, a beautiful and powerful way to offset the hopelessness of his devastating disease. Through it all, my father never gave up. To this day, his inner strength and love for life speaks to me, straight from his heart to mine.
The Key Maker – A cautionary poem told through mythological imagery that reminds us that we have the ‘key’ to turn around our lives.
Love Knot – In this free verse poem, I use metaphorical imagery to explain the art of tying a knot and the expression–tying a knot. In the end, there is a promise that the knot will never unravel. Also, I think these words would be perfect as a wedding vow to be said by the bride and groom.
AMELIA – A love poem to my first granddaughter, 4 1/2 months old at the time of the writing. Each line begins with the letters from her beautiful name.
THE CANYONLAND COLLECTION – Poems expressing the awe-inspiring natural beauty of the Southern National Parks visited in June, 2019.
- Desert
- Over the Rim
- Canyon Watcher
- Pronghorn
Fisher Photos and Prose 