July 31, 2025 by booksoverlookedblog

FFM 31: Defiance

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cerebus, creative writing, family, fantasy, fiction, flash fiction, flash fiction month, flash fiction month 2025, greek mythology, grief, life, loss, mythology, writing
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_{Without in any way limiting the author’s exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.}

July is Flash Fiction Month! I’ll be sharing short short stories here through the month of July. This story is a companion piece to FFM 5: Guardian of the Gate. More notes at the end of the story.

This is also the last day of FFM! All my stories will be up through the month of August, after which some of them will be taken down. I also won’t have any posts in August, as I’ll be hibernating. Thank you for reading!

Rage. My rage is so loud it drowns out my sorrow. Screams and sobs become one noise, the sound of pure grief, spilling out of my tortured throat. I would tear down the world, wrestle Thanatos to the ground, spit in Hades’s face. I would defy the gods and return my family to my side. Grief is a weapon more powerful than death, and I am a sharpened blade.

I cannot defy the gods. Every man has faced grief, and no man has brought the dead back to walk in the sun again. Even attempting to bring my wife and child back to the world of the living is unnatural. We are born, we live, we die. Should I try to break this most unbreakable law, what I have left of my life will be mired in torment.

What I have left is a hut along the river that took my family from me. I have nothing. Nothing that matters without them. Food has no taste. Nothing brings me joy. My bed is empty; my life is empty. If I defy Hades, I cannot win. I know this. But without my family, I have no reason to continue living. For their sakes, I will defy death itself.

WE’RE DOOOOOOOOONE.

This was the final challenge of FFM. I didn’t follow it to the letter (please don’t eat me mighty Hydra), but it was to write an inversion of your last story. Instead of doing that, I wrote an inversion of my Cerberus story, this time from the point of view of the guy trapped under Cerberus’s foot. I wasn’t happy with my 369er, since every paragraph should be a story in itself, and that wasn’t the case of the Cerberus story. So I tried it here, while still trying to do the id-superego-ego combo.

And now I’m going to sleep for a month. Wake me up when September starts.

July 30, 2025 by booksoverlookedblog

FFM 29: The Shadow and the Shield

July is Flash Fiction Month! I’ll be sharing short short stories here through the month of July. This is the direct sequel to FFM 27: Sleepless in Tír na nÓg. More notes at the end of the story.

Gráinne ran at her trainer, thrusting forward with her rapier. He easily parried the blow. “You’re being too obvious, Your Highness.”

She glowered and took a step back. “Fair.”

Scurry, her trainer was a svelte man with a busy red tail and fingers with an extra knuckle, lowered his sword. “You can’t let your emotions rule you on the battlefield, Ma’am.”

“I know.” She shook out her arm and resumed her stance. “Again.”

He tipped his head one way, then the other. “No, I don’t think this will help you today. I think you need to hit something.”

“I am hitting something,” Gráinne said through gritted teeth.

Scurry’s tail waved playfully. “You haven’t managed to land a single hit on me yet. You’re a pixie in a tankard of ale.”

The comparison was not a flattering one. She was flailing with no real purpose, and couldn’t manage to get herself out of what she’d fallen into. But, unlike a pixie, Gráinne actually wanted to get out.

“Again,” she demanded.

“Very well,” Scurry said with a sigh.

They sparred for two minutes more, until Scurry disarmed Gráinne and knocked her on her arse. He chittered, disappointed, then offered the princess a hand. “Let’s take a break. Then we’ll work on something new.”

“Fine.” Gráinne sheathed her sword and went to the wooden benches that ringed the practice yard. Unsurprisingly, Alex was sitting next to her gear “What are you doing here?” She snapped.

“Waiting for you,” he told her.

“And you couldn’t wait in the castle?” Gráinne took several gulps from her waterskin. “Find something to do with Uncle Lex.”

Alex shook his head. “He had to help in the medical wing.”

That explained it. Alex had never liked the medical wing, a dislike that had turned to dread since the war began. Uncle Lex, who’d been trained in both magical and mundane healing, was often called there on his visits to the castle. With their parents gone at the moment, Alex had few options for someone to tail.

“Will you please stop following me?” Gráinne turned her back to him.

“But Gráina…” He tugged on the hem of her tunic.

She spun around and slapped him. “I said go away! How hard is it for you to just go away?”

This time, Alex listened. He ran back to the castle, holding his stinging cheek while tears ran down his face.

Uncle Lex was called in for negotiations. The agreed upon course of action was bed with no supper for Gráinne, and a talk with Alex about “alone time,” for both Gráinne and himself.

“We all need to be by ourselves sometimes,” Uncle Lex told the prince, while silently giving thanks that he didn’t have children. “I know you like to be with people, and I know that things are scary right now. It’s okay to be scared. But when your sister tells you she needs some space, you need to listen. Do you think you can do that for me?”

Alex looked down at his feet. “Okay.”

“Good.” Uncle Lex smiled at his nephew, and namesake. “I need to visit the library. Do you want to go with me, or go to your room for a little bit?”

It was a hard decision: a room with nothing but books, or being left alone? After a minute, Puck said, “Can you find me another book about electricity?”

“Can do.”

“And read Caps for Sale and do funny voices?”

Uncle Lex smiled. “Of course.”

Later, when Alex was totally absorbed in a book about circuits, Uncle Lex went to check on his niece. She had flung herself on her bed and was crying.

“Gráinne, I brought you supper.” Uncle Lex sat at the foot of her bed with a plate of battered fish and mashed potatoes.

Gráinne sat up slowly. She wiped her cheeks and sniffed. “I thought I wasn’t supposed to have supper.”

“You’re a growing girl. But no dessert.”

Gráinne accepted the plate and silverware from her uncle. “Thanks.” She didn’t eat right away, but stared sullenly at her food. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“I’m sure you didn’t.” Uncle Lex put his hand on top of her head. “But it happened. Do you know why?”

Tears swam in Gráinne’s eyes again. “Why can’t he learn to fight? Why do I have to?”

“You don’t have to. You like to. Your brother doesn’t like it, and he’s not very good at it, so he doesn’t have to,” Uncle Lex said.

“But if he could fight then maybe–” she hiccuped. “Maybe I wouldn’t have to protect him and…”

Realization dawned over Uncle Lex. “And maybe he wouldn’t have fallen?”

Gráinne nodded, tears falling from her chin. “I couldn’t protect him, and…and…”

Uncle Lex put his arm around his niece’s shoulders. “You did the best you could.”

“But it wasn’t enough and we were only at the ruins ‘cause I wanted to go and…” She threw herself down on the bed, hiding her face in her pillow.

“Shh…shhh. It’s okay.” Uncle Lex rubbed her back. “You saved him, and you’re both safe. That’s the most important thing.” He gave Gráinne another minute to cry. When she finally raised her head and caught her breath, he said, “He feels safe with you. That’s why he follows you around so much.”

Gráinne tipped her head to get a better look at her uncle. “You think so?”

“I know so.”

Night fell, and with it came Alex’s nightmares.

But when he woke up gasping, Gráinne was there, with a wooden sword in hand. She didn’t have the right words like her parents always seemed to, but she held up her sword so he could see it in the pale crystal light. “Go back to sleep,” she said. “I’ll keep all your nightmares away.”

Another challenge day!

CHALLENGE: IDIOMATIC

Element 1: Your story must contain an idiom or idiomatic expression; by which we mean an expression that is used non-literally. Confused? You’ll probably recognize some examples here.

Element 2: Your expression must be entirely made up.

A pixie in a tankard of ale = flailing, but not trying to hard to get out of the current situation. Fantasy lends itself very well to new idioms.

FFM 27: Sleepless in Tír na nÓg

July is Flash Fiction Month! I’ll be sharing short short stories here through the month of July. More notes at the end of the story.

The queens hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in over a month. No queen ever slept easy when their country was at war, but Fiadh and Mairead had another problem keeping them awake. A small, squirmy blond problem named Alexander.

He’d always been a happy child, with a ready smile and a musical laugh. But then he’d fallen, and that cheerful, confident boy disappeared. It wasn’t surprising. He’d witnessed something that no child should see, trapped and alone.

After that, Alex refused to be left alone for even a few minutes. When his mothers couldn’t spend time with him, he trailed behind his sister, Grainne. And if she couldn’t be with him, he’d go to the kitchens or follow the pages as they did their duties.

Every night, Alex drank soporific tea to help him sleep. He would fall asleep peacefully in his own bed, then wake up screaming. The only way he could fall asleep again was snuggled between his parents, safe.

It was getting to be a problem.

Alex kicked in his sleep. He rolled. He slept sideways.

And he still had nightmares.

There was a tea for dreamless sleep, but it was a powerful blend, too stong for a child. If Alex drank too much, there was a chance that he’d be asleep for days. Fiadh had remarked that she and Mairead should down a few cups and actually get some rest.

Then there was the matter of Grainne. She’s always been a serious girl, but she’d become sullen. She trained from dawn til dusk with any weapon she could get her hands on. She threw herself into magic practice, especially geomancy, which she’d always struggled with.

As much as Fiadh and Mairead had tried to shield Alex and Gráinne from the war, it had found its way to them. And its touch had changed their children irrevocably.

Things came to a head at breakfast one morning. “Mam and I need to leave for a few days,” Mairead announced. Alex and Gráinne looked up sharply.

“We’re meeting with some potential allies,” Fiadh told them.

“You can’t do that here?” Gráinne frowned.

“This group hasn’t exactly been friendly with us in the past. It’s better to meet them on neutral ground,” Fiadh replied, then stabbed her sausage with such force that her fork scraped the bottom of her plate.

“Better to have strange bedfellows than no bedfellows,” Mairead said. “Especially now. Uncle Lex is going to come stay with you for a few days.”

Normally, they would have loved this. Uncle Lex spoiled the kids rotten and was something of a mischief-enabler for Alex. But at this announcement, Gráinne shoved her chair away from the table. “I’m going to the practice yard.”

“Sit for a minute. Let’s talk about this,” Mairead started, but the princess was already gone.

“I’ll grab her,” Fiadh offered, then started after Gráinne.

Mairead looked across the table at Alex. He’d been voracious before, but now he stared at the food on his plate as if it were made of stone. “You know you’re safe here, right? Nothing will ever hurt you here. And Uncle Lex will keep you both safe.” She reached across the table and squeezed his hand.

“Do you really hafta go?” Alex asked, still staring at his meal.

“I can’t let Mam go alone. But I will miss you and your sister terribly, even if it’s only for a few days.”

“Then don’t go.”

Mairead let out a small, sad sigh. “I’m not worried, mo stór. And do you know why?”

Alex finally looked up. “Why?”

“Because I know you and your sister will look after each other.” She smiled. “Whatever happens.”

“But I can’t fight like she does.”

“Taking care of someone isn’t just about fighting. It’s about being there.” She scruffed Alex’s yellow hair. “Do you think you can do that for her?”

Alex nodded. “I think so.”

“Good.” Mairead stood up and kissed Alex’s brow. “You didn’t finish your breakfast…but I think there’s a bit of apple tart left over from last night. Should we share it with Mam and Gráinne?”

Alex shook his head. There was a mischievous glint in his eye that had been absent for too long. “They can have cold breakfast.”

Yep, another one. But, hey, I’m caught up now! Poor young Puck (Alex) had a bit of a traumatizing incident with far-reaching consequences when he was young. There were a couple images in my head of him trying to sleep after, and the first one is in here. The second one will be in the next part. I don’t love dividing my stories for FFM into multiple parts, but at 600+ words I didn’t think I’d be able to give the final scene the room it deserved.

Also, it’s around this time in his life that Alex started to be called Puck. He’s not quite there yet, though.

Sep. 2024 Recs: Hispanic Heritage Month

^{Without in any way limiting the author’s exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.}

Just a couple blog updates before we get started with this month’s book list. First: most of my stuff for Flash Fiction Month has been taken down, but there’s still a few stories I decided to leave on here. Second: until the end of the year, I’ll only be posting book recommendation lists here with any consistency. I may have a couple extra posts every so often (I’m working on one now!) but don’t expect them regularly.

September marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month! Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the achievement, culture, and traditions of Latinx Americans of Mexican, Central American, South American, Caribbean, and Spanish ancestry.

Hispanic Heritage Month officially begins on September 15, and goes until October 15. The mid-month start date is because many Hispanic countries declared their independence from Spain in September. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua all declared independence on September 15, 1821. Mexico declared its independence on September 16, 1810, and Chile did so on September 18, 1810. Over 150 years later, years later, Belize would declare independence from Great Britain on September 21, 1981.

For this month’s list, I’ve chosen to only feature graphic novels. I love graphic novels for many reasons, one of which is accessibility. They’re great for reluctant readers, or people who find reading difficult. Graphic novels are also not just for kids! They’re a unique medium that combines art and text to tell stories that can be as emotional, complex, and well-told as any novel. If you’ve never read a comic book as an adult, give ‘em a shot. There’s a ton of great stuff out there!

¡Vamos a leer!

Nonfiction

Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martín

Pedro calls himself a Mexikid. His parents and older siblings came to the U.S. as immigrants, while he and his younger siblings were born in the United States. With nine kids, life in the Martín house is cramped and chaotic, and Pedro can’t believe that Apá wants to bring their Revolution-era Abuelito from Mexico to live with them. Even more unbelievable, the whole family – all 11 of them – are driving down to Mexico to pick him up. This rollicking road trip is full of pranks, half-bananas, and family legends about Abuelito. Once they arrive, though, Pedro starts to doubt the legends – and himself. Can this old man really be “The Mexican Jedi” he’s heard so much about, and how can artsy Pedro connect with him? Is Pedro “Mexican enough” to really be a part of his extended family? And can he really step up to help his parents, like his older sister believes he can? This is a humorous and often moving memoir, told from the backseat of a Winnebago.

Fiction

Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriela Epstein

People think that George, Sara, Dayara, Nico, and Miguel must be the same because they all speak Spanish. The five middle schoolers know differently: the only thing they have in common is that they speak Spanish, and they’re all assigned to clean the cafeteria before school starts. At first, the kids only see the categories their classmates fit into: the brain, the weirdo, tough kid, the entitled rich kid, and the athlete. When George meets a young girl and her mom that really need help, the kids band together. As they do, they learn that there’s more to all of them than just their labels. Each kid has their own problems, and their own strengths and weaknesses. Yet they’re united in their compassion, and determined to help someone truly in need. Can this middle school breakfast club really make a difference in someone’s life? Or will they remain invisible?

Overlooked Books

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