I now spend the first of the month eagerly awaiting the image shared by Visual Verse. You have an hour to write a micro or flash ranging from 50 to 500 words, based on or inspired by the image. I’ve always felt like such a visual writer anyway, with a scene or person encouraging me to make up a story, and so far I’ve been so inspired by their images.
I’m honored that they’re sharing my piece, “Colors in the Air,” this month.
CLOSED! Thank you to everyone who entered and shared the giveaway on Twitter and Instagram. Lauren Voeltz is the winner!
I can’t believe my book has been in the world for one month now! So many friends have posted pictures on social media and shared their favorite stories. Oh, and David Sedaris has a copy of it! I went to his reading last week and gave him a copy at the signing. He asked what it was about and said “I look forward to reading it.” !!!
To celebrate, I’m hosting a giveaway. You’ll get a signed copy of the book, a super-cool Venus tea trap, and two delicious teas from my favorite companies.
The Pomegranate Punch Decaf Black Tea from Plum Deluxe has a fresh citrus flavor mirroring the clementine from my story “Lost and Found.”
The Firebird chai from Wendigo Tea will make you feel “Electric Inside” like the first story in the book.
Comment below with your favorite hot beverage, and visit Twitter and Instagram to see how to earn extra entries!
Contest open until Saturday, October 29th, at midnight Central time. I’ll announce the winner on Sunday!
My micro, “A Love Story in Pantoum,” was shortlisted by Visual Verse!
I wrote this inspired both by the image and from Sarah Freligh’s micro class, where her last prompt asked us to use a poetry form for a micro or flash piece. I’m honored it was shortlisted for the Visual Verse contest!
Today my piece “Leaving the Canyon” is live at Misery Tourism.
This story is based on an experience I had when I was traveling the US alone in 2011. Back then I blogged on Allison Writes (see how “grown up” I am with Allison Renner Writes is now?!) and shared the true story. When Misery Tourism announced they were closing up shop, I knew I had to shoot my shot.
I went to the site and the randomizer told me “How about submitting a Randian objectivist tabletop game about death, you fucking misanthrope?” So I used the framework of that trip and added some game/Choose Your Own Adventure elements.
I’m excited to announce I’ll be reading with some AMAZING writers I work with at Split/Lip Press! The reading is online via Zoom on Tuesday, November 1st at 7p CT. Hope you see you there!
Listen to the recording HERE. My section starts around the 53 minute mark.
This Sunday from 1-3pm CST, Alien Buddha Press is hosting a reading. It’s audio-only through Twitter Spaces, so grab your phone and listen in without needing to primp for Zoom vide. You’ll see a colorful ring around @thealienbuddha‘s profile picture when we’re live. If you follow the press already, the Space will be at the top of your newsfeed. Whichever approach you use, just click to join and listen to these great writers:
I’m thrilled to have a photograph, “Diversion,” in issue 8 of Rock and a Hard Place magazine!
“Rock and a Hard Place Press is a lit-noir publisher, focused on stories of struggle, tales of the powerless and marginalized, characters on the fringes of society … and what they do next.”
Don’t miss out on all the amazing stories and art in this issue! Get it now!
I’m honored to share this blurb for my forthcoming chapbook, Won’t Be By Your Side.
I met Keely O’Shaughnessy when I was a priority editor at Flash Fiction Magazine. She’s the managing editor and fearless leader, and an amazing writer to boot! I kicked off Chapbook Week showcasing her book, The Swell of Seafoam, which you can get right now (free!) from Ghost City Press. The microchap is stunning, with the mysterious sea taking on a prominent role in each story.
Since then, Keely’s second book, Baby Is a Thing Best Whispered, came out with Alien Buddha Press. Once I stopped staring at the gorgeous cover, I dove in and the stories swept me away. The relationships in this book are realistic, even when that means they’re fraught with uncertainty and anxiety. Keely deftly inspires those emotions in the reader.
A few of my favorite stories include:
I need to stop before I highlight every story, but you get my gist. This flash fiction collection is one you don’t want to miss!
The first cover tease was a photo taken during the same shoot, but that and the color scheme are the only common threads with the cover image itself. This tease is getting a little closer to the source…
Spoiler alert: The cover of my upcoming chapbook is a photograph I took a few years ago. I’m never one to take a single photo and feel satisfied, so I usually take dozens (okay, hundreds) each shoot. I culled this specific shoot down to about 12 images, then picked my eight favorites. One is the cover—as soon as I titled the book, the image came to mind and just clicked. I tried another image and it wasn’t right, so I listened to my gut. But I still wanted to share the other seven pictures, so I planned out a few cover teases—and this is the first.
Allison Renner Writes 