These three words were chosen:
- Clarity
- Rock
- Massage
And these blurbs were written within five minutes….Enjoy!
FEATURED AUTHOR
JM PAQUETTE:
The jeweler held the stone up to the light, one eye squinting as she took in the interior. “Not too bad,” she commented. “Decent clarity.” She let it fall to the square cloth on the counter and looked up at the visitor. “How much are you wanting to get out of it?”
“That depends,” he said, a charming smile working across his handsome face. “What kind of rock is it?”
She smirked at him, not falling for the charm at all. “The kind of rock I pay a certain amount of money for,” she told him, “and nothing more.”
“Are you sure?” he pressed, glancing around the small shop, where they were alone. “What if I could throw in something extra?” He laid his hands flat on the counter in front of him, fingers long and no doubt dexterous.
She considered, possibilities tumbling through her head. His fingers were long. She measured the length between the knuckles with a practiced eye. The bones would probably work for what she needed. Those tendons though… She looked up at him, suddenly welcoming. “That depends,” she said in a new low voice. “How are you at massages?” She used the opening to touch one of his hands, pressing against the fingers, testing the give of the joints.
“I’m so good,” he said, clearly thinking she was going for it. What the hell, she thought. It’s been a really long time. And I do need a whole new set of knuckle bones.
LISA BARRY:
Bennie stared at the her now ex-boyfriends back as he walked away. The clarity that had overcome her this morning was fading as melancholy set in. She’d been so used to having him around, she couldn’t quite imagine the void and yet here she was turning away from him and heading home.
He had been a rock for her but the realization she’d had this morning was that she was not the same for him.
On a hunch, she followed him to his work only he didn’t go to work. He went to the bar. In the morning. She didn’t even know such things might be open at that time. Bennie had gone to two of her own appointments, delivering massage to clients at home and then went back to that bar. He was still there. She waited for another hour before he left, a bottle of water in hand while chewing a huge piece of gum.
The sameness was ending but so were the lies. Bennie opened her front door and looked around. She smiled. New beginnings weren’t always that bad.
NICOLE DRAGONBECK:
Riel was relieved to see the ranger, despite the fairy’s misgivings. This adventuring business was not within Riel’s usual scope of activity, and the twists and turns of political intrigue in attempting to overthrow the king did not lend any particular clarity to what was the right path. Something about the man with the smokey blue eyes and grey beard gave a confidence that it would all turn out alright in the end. “But,” the ranger continued. “I’ve brought someone that might set your mind at ease.” The fairy massaged the bridge of his pointy nose, looking pained. “You’ve brought someone else? What are you trying to do?” The ranger shrugged. “In times like these, you look for friends wherever you find them.” “Well, where is this new companion?” Riel asked. The ranger put his fingers to his lips and gave a piercing whistle, making the fairy jump. Something large stirred in the trees behind them, and a creature that looked to be made of crystalline rock lumbered into the clearing, making the forest feel very cramped all of a sudden.
JACKLYNE BARD:
Michael shrugged, completely unabashed or even faintly aware of what he did wrong. Andrea stared at him, a new sense of clarity washed over her suddenly and she looked down at the rock in her hand.
“Oh, baby, you’re right! That’s a great idea. Come here and I’ll give you a massage. You must be tired from your transformation.” She said in a sickly sweet voice.
Michael looked at her warily for a moment, not sure if she was being sincere or not. She sometimes liked to trick him. His vampire senses told him something was off. But he brushed it off, she was his girlfriend after all, what was she going to do to him?
Ink Slingers Guild 