Claudia Brevis's Blog

I’m giving away 10 copies of the paperback version of my new book, LIGHTNING: A COLLECTION OF VERY SMALL STORIES on Goodreads! Enter below:

.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px;
font-style: normal; background: white; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important;
text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;
border: 1px solid #6A6454; border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;
background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo... background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596;
outline: 0; white-space: nowrap;
}
.goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo...
color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;
}


Goodreads Book Giveaway







Lightning



by Claudia Brevis

Giveaway ends October 25, 2014.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win

The post Lightning: A Collection of Very Small Stories GIVEAWAY appeared first on Claudia Brevis.

So excited to announce (a bit later than intended, but life and a surgery got in the way!) that my newest book, Lightning: A Collection of Very Small Stories is now available.

As promised, the kindle version (and epub and various others) is FREE at Smashwords. You can download it HERE! I’m trying to get the Amazon Kindle version free as well, but as I learned, the lowest an author can price a book is 99 cents. So my Amazon kindle version is 99 cents and if enough people click the link at Amazon to indicate they found a cheaper version (at smashwords) I am hopeful that Amazon will price match and in not too much time, it will become Free on Amazon as well!!

And finally, this little book is available in paperback, and if you’re a fan of Sam Tsui’s art you’ll want to get your hands on this so you can really appreciate his beautiful cover design. Here’s the link to order the paperback: Paperback at Amazon!

I’ll be hosting a paperback giveaway on Goodreads.com shortly, so stay tuned!

The post Available now! Lightning: A Collection of Very Small Stories appeared first on Claudia Brevis.

I am so thrilled to finally be able to share this cover with you! Like my cover for A Gazillion Little Bits, this beauty was designed and created by Sam Tsui, and I am so honored to have his art for this book of short (short short) stories!

So, here’s the Kindle cover:

And here’s the front and back for the paperback version:

I’m waiting on proofs for the paperback and am assembling the files to upload for Kindle and I’m hoping to be all set by October 1st. Maybe earlier! And did I mention, my kindle version is going to be FREE!!! I’m so looking forward to your feedback. I’ve had a great time writing these little stories and hope you enjoy them!

The post Cover Reveal! Lightning: A Collection of Very Small Stories appeared first on Claudia Brevis.

I’m so excited to be putting the finishing touches on my flash fiction collection, Lightning: A Collection of Very Small Stories. In these one-page pieces, you’ll find Sirens, a red-mustached ghost, talking mice, serial killers, a dog, a mysterious warehouse, a woman lost in a parking lot, ancestors, a crazy farmer, rainbows, a shape-shifter, a factory worker, several stories from the post-apocalyptic world of my novel, A Gazillion Little Bits, and much, much more!

Each story in the collection is under 500 words and 6 or 7 of them are exactly 100 words each.

I’m also thrilled to announce that the wonderful Sam Tsui will be creating the cover for Lightning: A Collection of Very Small Stories! Stay tuned for that REVEAL. Anticipated publication date is October 1st.

And for the first month, the kindle version will be FREE!!

In the meantime, here are a few recent collections of short stories that I’ve enjoyed reading. Check them out. They’re on amazon!

Odds and Ends: An Assortment of Sorts by Dustin LaValley

Robbed Of Sleep: Stories to Stay Up for by Troy Blackford (Editor), Mercedes M. Yardley, Val Tenterhosen, Anthony J. Rapino, M.C. O’Neill, Todd Keisling, David Eccles, Tom Bordonaro, John Boden

Atlas of Women, by Suzanne Jenkins

The post Lightning: A Collection of Very Small Stories appeared first on Claudia Brevis.

THE ROOM WAS shrinking again. Anna dropped her phone—no time to call for help—and shoved furniture to the side, kicking rugs away.

She ran naked to the garage, arms stretched wide to keep the walls at bay.

By the time she reached the highway, Anna was suffocating.

Trucks pulled up on her right and left. Another bore down on her from behind. Ahead, a fourth truck slid into her lane.

Boxed in.

She flipped a switch and gulped cold air. And then, at seventy miles per hour, Anna climbed through the open sunroof into thin hands that reached for her.

The post Flash Fiction Monday: Boxed In appeared first on Claudia Brevis.

THE MICE IN Sienna’s kitchen were maddening, especially the brazen, fat little rodent who scooted across the linoleum from the stove to the refrigerator and back again.

The exterminator had visited, and although he’d closed holes and set traps, it seemed for every mouse killed another two appeared. Her cat had lost interest, and even worse, Sienna had seen mice at his food bowl more than once.

A shrill squeak pierced the quiet. The scurrying ceased. It’s the glue trap, Sienna thought. She’d hurry and toss the whole mess now, before the mouse died and that horrible, sweet smell of decomposition permeated her apartment.

Sienna pulled the trap out. The fat mouse’s bright black eyes caught hers, and in a tiny, deep voice, he said, “I can pay for my freedom.”

Sienna rubbed her ears. Had she dozed? Was she dreaming? She picked up the trap and regarded the struggling mouse. “I can pay,” he repeated.

“What are you offering?” Sienna asked slowly.

“Bearer bonds,” he said, whiskers quivering. “They’re like cash, you know.”

Sienna almost squashed the patronizing little rodent right there. She knew what bearer bonds were. “Show me,” she said, annoyed.

“I’ll take you to them,” he said. “But first unstick me, please. The glue makes my toes ache. Pour oil on my feet and I’ll be able to slide off.”

Sienna shook her head. “I’m not stupid. You’ll run away. I’ll pour the oil when you pay me.”

The mouse sighed. “Grab a flashlight,” he said. “And don’t forget the oil.”

***

Sienna followed the mouse’s directions down the basement stairs to a thick wall at the back covered with a century’s grime.

“The bonds are behind the brick,” he said.

She put down the mousetrap and oil and tapped the wall with her flashlight until she could pull out one brick, and then another. She shined the light into the black and retrieved a yellowed envelope.

“I’ve paid you,” the mouse demanded. “Now set me free.”

“No,” she said, examining the bonds.

“There’s gold in there, too,” he added. “Jewelry and coins lost from the apartments above.”

Sienna’s eyes lit and she yanked out more bricks, one narrowly missing the mouse as it dropped, knocking the oil over. “I can’t see anything,” she complained.

Spilled oil rolled over the trap, dissolving the glue. “You need to reach far down,” he said, wriggling free. “The gold’s at the very bottom.”

Sienna bent and stretched her arms into the hollow, fingertips searching.

The fat mouse scurried between the bricks to where his extended family assembled. En masse, they covered Sienna’s hands and arms, nibbling and tugging, biting and yanking, until she lost her balance and fell screaming into the wall, upside down, stuck where she landed.

Calling good-bye in a variety of tiny, deep voices, the fat mouse and his cousins left Sienna and went about their business, not at all minding that soon that horrible, sweet smell of decomposition would permeate the basement.

The post Flash Fiction Monday: The Fat Mouse appeared first on Claudia Brevis.

The mice in Sienna’s kitchen were maddening, especially the brazen, fat little rodent who scooted across the linoleum from the stove to the refrigerator and back again.

The exterminator had visited, and although he’d closed holes and set traps, it seemed for every mouse killed another two appeared. Her cat had lost interest, and even worse, Sienna had seen mice at his food bowl more than once.

A shrill squeak pierced the quiet. The scurrying ceased. It’s the glue trap, Sienna thought. She’d hurry and toss the whole mess now, before the mouse died and that horrible, sweet smell of decomposition permeated her apartment.

Sienna pulled the trap out. The fat mouse’s bright black eyes caught hers, and in a tiny, deep voice, he said, “I can pay for my freedom.”

Sienna rubbed her ears. Had she dozed? Was she dreaming? She picked up the trap and regarded the struggling mouse. “I can pay,” he repeated.

“What are you offering?” Sienna asked slowly.

“Bearer bonds,” he said, whiskers quivering. “They’re like cash, you know.”

Sienna almost squashed the patronizing little rodent right there. She knew what bearer bonds were. “Show me,” she said, annoyed.

“I’ll take you to them,” he said. “But first unstick me, please. The glue makes my toes ache. Pour oil on my feet and I’ll be able to slide off.”

Sienna shook her head. “I’m not stupid. You’ll run away. I’ll pour the oil when you pay me.”

The mouse sighed. “Grab a flashlight,” he said. “And don’t forget the oil.”

***

Sienna followed the mouse’s directions down the basement stairs to a thick wall at the back covered with a century’s grime.

“The bonds are behind the brick,” he said.

She put down the mousetrap and oil and tapped the wall with her flashlight until she could pull out one brick, and then another. She shined the light into the black and retrieved a yellowed envelope.

“I’ve paid you,” the mouse demanded. “Now set me free.”

“No,” she said, examining the bonds.

“There’s gold in there, too,” he added. “Jewelry and coins lost from the apartments above.”

Sienna’s eyes lit and she yanked out more bricks, one narrowly missing the mouse as it dropped, knocking the oil over. “I can’t see anything,” she complained.

Spilled oil rolled over the trap, dissolving the glue. “You need to reach far down,” he said, wriggling free. “The gold’s at the very bottom.”

Sienna bent and stretched her arms into the hollow, fingertips searching.

The fat mouse scurried between the bricks to where his extended family assembled. En masse, they covered Sienna’s hands and arms, nibbling and tugging, biting and yanking, until she lost her balance and fell screaming into the wall, upside down, stuck where she landed.

Calling good-bye in a variety of tiny, deep voices, the fat mouse and his cousins left Sienna and went about their business, not at all minding that soon that horrible, sweet smell of decomposition would permeate the basement.

The post Flash Fiction Monday appeared first on Claudia Brevis.

THE EXECUTIONER WAS tired. He had spent the morning preparing the site. Clearing the ground, chopping and piling the wood, tying the bundles of twigs. He had escorted the victim to the stake, where he tied her securely, covered her head and placed straw and branches between her feet, between her legs, around her arms and body, and for good measure, stuffed inside her gown. She was mostly silent, but when there was a lull in the noise of the crowd, or when the wind died down, he could hear her whispered prayers.

Thick clouds rolled across the skies. The Executioner hoped the rain would wait.

He wasn’t just tired physically, but emotionally. The girl he had bound to the stake, who waited for death by fire, was Jeanne D’Arc, and the Executioner was not sure, even now, if she was guilty of all she was accused of. She’d never wavered from her claim that God spoke to her through the Archangel Michael, but what angel, what God, would sanction such an end? She had fought selflessly for France and for her King, but she had been judged a heretic, and as such an abomination, she was to die.

The crowds cheered and waved as the Executioner took his place by the hooded girl. He touched his lit torch to the straw at Jeanne D’Arc’s feet. The flames licked at the twigs and within moments the careful and artful arrangement of combustibles was aflame. Her calves, her thighs, her torso, her arms, her neck.

Jeanne D’Arc’s wool hood threw sparks and smoke as it burned around her face. Oh, her face. Visible now, blistered, peeling, charred, melting. Horrible, bubbling face.

The crowds continued to wave and cheer, bending when the wind blew the acrid smoke their way, bowing when the heat was at its most fierce.

When it was over, when the screaming and praying and sobbing were almost a memory, the Executioner fell to his knees and asked God to forgive him once again.

A light rain began to fall. It fed the dry ground and the long rows of corn that waved in the wind. The raindrops hissed on the smoldering pile of ash and bone and strangely, a single unscorched ribbon of wool bathrobe. All that was left of Joan McCready, the farmer’s wife.

Randolph McCready rose from arthritic knees, picked up his blowtorch and started the long walk back to the old farmhouse, his barking, cheering hunt dogs at his side. It was a slow walk, for he was tired, both physically and emotionally.

The post Flash Fiction Monday: The Executioner appeared first on Claudia Brevis.

The Executioner was tired. He had spent the morning preparing the site. Clearing the ground, chopping and piling the wood, tying the bundles of twigs. He had escorted the victim to the stake, where he tied her securely, covered her head and placed straw and branches between her feet, between her legs, around her arms and body, and for good measure, stuffed inside her gown. She was mostly silent, but when there was a lull in the noise of the crowd, or when the wind died down, he could hear her whispered prayers.

Thick clouds rolled across the skies. The Executioner hoped the rain would wait.

He wasn’t just tired physically, but emotionally. The girl he had bound to the stake, who waited for death by fire, was Jeanne D’Arc, and the Executioner was not sure, even now, if she was guilty of all she was accused of. She’d never wavered from her claim that God spoke to her through the Archangel Michael, but what angel, what God, would sanction such an end? She had fought selflessly for France and for her King, but she had been judged a heretic, and as such an abomination, she was to die.

The crowds cheered and waved as the Executioner took his place by the hooded girl. He touched his lit torch to the straw at Jeanne D’Arc’s feet. The flames licked at the twigs and within moments the careful and artful arrangement of combustibles was aflame. Her calves, her thighs, her torso, her arms, her neck.

Jeanne D’Arc’s wool hood threw sparks and smoke as it burned around her face. Oh, her face. Visible now, blistered, peeling, charred, melting. Horrible, bubbling face.

The crowds continued to wave and cheer, bending when the wind blew the acrid smoke their way, bowing when the heat was at its most fierce.

When it was over, when the screaming and praying and sobbing were almost a memory, the Executioner fell to his knees and asked God to forgive him once again.

A light rain began to fall. It fed the dry ground and the long rows of corn that waved in the wind. The raindrops hissed on the smoldering pile of ash and bone and strangely, a single unscorched ribbon of wool bathrobe. All that was left of Joan McCready, the farmer’s wife.

Randolph McCready rose from arthritic knees, picked up his blowtorch and started the long walk back to the old farmhouse, his barking, cheering hunt dogs at his side. It was a slow walk, for he was tired, both physically and emotionally.

The post Flash Fiction Monday appeared first on Claudia Brevis.

Are you wondering what an EVERSTEW is??

To find out, check out my guest post, “Slow Cookin’ in the Year 2256 – The Food of A Gazillion Little Bits” at The Book Faery Reviews.

The giveaway (one paperback copy of A Gazillion Little Bits and one e-book international) runs until the end of June!

While you’re there, be sure to browse her site — lots of great reviews, guest authors and fun stuff.

Thank you, Farrah, for the opportunity to visit!

The post Giveaway & Guest Post appeared first on Claudia Brevis.