Flash fiction is a term used for a short story (usually between 100 and 1,000 words) that tells a complete story with four components: character, setting, conflict and resolution all wrapped up in a frozen moment of time.

Here are three "Flashers" I've written (100 word limit).

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CHEF GEORGE by Merri Hiatt

“The Food Network is George’s religion,” Betty said to her next-door-neighbor, Alice.

“Does he cook much?”

“All the time.”

“Lucky woman.”

Betty put her hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. “Watching the Food Network makes you a chef as much as watching the Medical Channel makes you a doctor.”

____

PALE THIN LINE by Merri Hiatt

The first thing I noticed, his eyes. The color of Fall leaves before they disappear with a crackle underfoot.

Next, the pale line around his ring finger.

A few bit-too-long glances and a bare leg crossed just so brought him to my table.

I pushed the chair out with the toe of my scarlet stilettos.

He sat and lifted my hand to his lips, lightly grazing my flesh.

“Sorry.” I gestured to his hand with the inviting pale line.

“Lost the stone last week; it’s being repaired.”

Yanking my hand back, I said, "Stilletos are perfect for crushing Fall leaves."

____

LOOKING FOR A VICTIM by Merri Hiatt

“Come here often?” I asked, knowing the line was lame as hell.

She dismissed me with a cool stare.

Turning my attention to the dance floor, I noticed a leggy blonde. Right height, slight build, three-inch heels; she’d do.

“Can I buy you a drink?” I asked when the band took a break and she headed back to her table.

“Sure.”

We talked; inconsequential.

Forty-five minutes was all I needed. Jared gave me a nod. We were set.

“What do you look for in a woman?” she asked.

I wasn’t looking for a woman. I was looking for a victim.

When Love's at Work is now available online free at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Here's some linky goodness.

AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/When-Loves-Embracing-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B005MH4UH0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1315852793&sr=8-4

BARNES AND NOBLE
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-loves-at-work-merri-hiatt/1105811312?ean=2940011511936&itm=1&usri=when%2blove27s%2bat%2bwork

SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/88084

If you don't have an e-reader (Kindle, Nook, iPad, etc.), click on the Smashwords link as it will allow you to download the book as a pdf, in plain text, or even read it online in your web browser!

To celebrate the release of the paperback book When Love's at Home (book two of the Embracing Love Trilogy). I've made the first book in the trilogy FREE as an e-book! That's right, When Love's at Work is FREE! You can download it at Smashwords by following this link: Smashwords

I'm waiting for it to become free on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, as well. It will take several weeks. Smashwords has many options for downloading the e-book: Kindle, Nook, PDF, and you can even view it in a browser online.

Did you know you can download Kindle for PC and iPad free? Well, you can. It's a free app in the app store and here's a link to downloading Kindle to your PC: Kindle for PC

Enjoy your free e-book on me!

My favorite season is Fall. Yes, I know every season has its amazing qualities, but Fall, oh dear sweet Fall, you are my favorite.

Grey skies fill with puffy white clouds and rain drowns out all other sound, or falls so quietly and tenderly you are barely aware of it. Pace slows. We become more deliberate about our journeying, combining trips to save time (and gas), but also because the days are shorter, darker, and we smile at the light that shines from the windows of our home when we pull into the driveway.

Time is spent curled up by the fire with a good book and a cup of something warm. I can breathe in the Fall. Deeper than at any other time of year. Maybe it's because I allow myself not to be quite so busy, although it sometimes feels as if I'm just as busy. The very air feels different.

When I was a kid, I remember reading Winnie the Pooh and discovering the blustery wind. One day I actually saw leaves picked up by the wind and tossed over my head. They danced in the current and I was wide-eyed watching them. Blustery wind really does exist!

Dreams become real in the Fall. Passions are ignited. It is not a coincidence that women have babies about nine months after Fall has passed. ** insert eye wink here **

And, of course, more time inside means more time spent writing! Love that part.

Happy Fall!

I never thought I'd be saying this. I love e-books.

I have been a tried and true fan of paper books for as long as I can remember. I loved the way they felt, the way they smelled, and how I felt curled up in a big chair with a thick blanket and a book in my hands.

When I was a kid, my sister and I used to go to our town library. It was one small room with a great big black pot bellied stove in the corner with a woven rug beside it. We'd find hardcover picture books that we'd looked at a hundred times before and lay on that rug and read and laugh and dream of faraway magical places.

I dug my heels in when the Kindle arrived and vehemently declared that I would NEVER read books on some impersonal electronic device. Until I bought an iPad.

I didn't realize I'd be able to increase the font, change the screen and text color, or turn pages with a simple tap. I no longer had to change positions every few minutes because my arm ached from trying to hold the book open or reposition pillows on the bed to make the book stay open. Or worse yet, bend the binding back so I could read the words that somehow always managed to creep into that center crevice.

I also wasn't aware that many authors offered books, short stories, and samples for free. If I didn't particularly like a story, I could simply delete it from my iPad. I could even lend books to other friends who had an iPad.

What really changed my mind, though, was my vision. I simply could not read a paperback novel any more. The pages didn't offer enough contrast and the font size, which had been fine just a few years ago, was just not comfortable for me to read any more.

I was kicking and screaming about e-books when they first came out and now I've learned to embrace the technology. They'll have to pry my iPad from my hands when I die.

After all, my sister and I could have visited the library, laid on that woven rug, and kept warm by the pot bellied stove while we tapped our way through books on our iPads. The memory would have been just as sweet.