Friday 5 August 2011

RFW Challenge/Blogfest - Voices!


In case you're visiting and haven't heard about Romantic Friday Writers, and you happen to be a romance author, take a peek at RFW because you may feel your missing out on a fun thing to do.
 RFW hold a weekly challenge (post Friday) which equates to weekly blogfest! Each week we have a set theme (as above) to write to: max word count 400 You can post a snippet from latest novel (released), from ongoing WIP, a piece of poetry, or Flash-Fiction.

Mine this week is a stand-alone piece of Flash-Fiction.  





Voices?
She turned over, very slowly, not wanting to make the bed creak, and gently shook Jeff’s bare shoulder. The voices suddenly ceased and he woke with a start, exclaimed, “What the hell?”
       She instantly clamped his mouth with hand, and whispered, “Shhh. I can hear voices downstairs.”
       He sat bolt upright. “You’re joking?”
       They listened, intently.
       “You sure you’re not imagining things?” he said, a husky whisper.
       But no, the voices were at it again.
       “Shit.”  
       “See, I told you so.”
       He threw back the duvet, swung his legs over the bed. Aided by minimal moonlight casting through gap in the curtains he slid from the bed. “Stay here.”
       “You can’t go down there.”  
       “Course I can. It’s my house.”
       “Yes, but they might be armed.”
       “So?” he said, making for the door.
       “You can’t go like that, you’re stark bollock naked.”
       “Better like this, nothing to grab hold of.”
       “Yes there is, and I value that part of you. Stay here, and let’s call the police.”
       A whispered chuckle came back. “I know what I’m doing. Believe it, they’ve picked the wrong house to break into.”
       With that he opened the door not a click heard and disappeared.
       She sat in silence the voices now quiet, too.
       Had they heard Jeff?
       Whilst silence hung heavy all around, her heartbeat and pulse likened to cacophony of drums. 
       How many minutes had he been gone?   
       Oh God. Voices again. They’re still down there.
       She couldn’t bear it. What was going on? Where was Jeff?
       All of a sudden he let out a terrible war cry, like he was some mad warrior hell-bent on revenge. Next thing a light went on outside the door, and footfalls heard on stairs. She held her breath, fearing the worst. The bedroom door flew open, her warrior then standing before her.
       “What happened?” sounded lame, and her with duvet clenched to breasts.
       He laughed. “It was the bloody television.”
       “The TV?”
       “In the heat of the moment of your wanting a valued part of me, you forgot to switch the damn thing off.”    
       “Oh  . . . Sorry about that.”
       “You will be,” he said, taking a lunge toward the bed. “My valued part is primed, cocked, and ready for action.”
       “I love it when you talk dirty, soldier boy” She threw the duvet open. “He who Dares, Wins.”
       “I love you, too.”

Word count 399


To see entries by other participants go here.

23 comments:

dolorah said...

Ok, I'm hot. Where's that Daniel Craig picture? This was great F. So real. I could tell you horror stories about the TV being on in the middle of the night . .

Thanks for the funny write :)

.......dhole

Anonymous said...

Saucy! LOL! Great twist with it being the TV voices. That happened to me once and it was as scary as you describe, though hubby was on night shift that night so I was all on my lonesome facing the demons!

The only thing that seemed awkward in the piece was the wording 'became likened to' :O)

Francine Howarth said...

Hi Donna,

Yeah, I could see DC doing this piece quite well. ;)

Hi Madeleine,

Thanks for the heads up on "became". LOL, I did this on the fly late last night. Barely a read through and posted it first thing this morning.

best
F

Scarlet said...

I love the fun and funny aspect of this story.

I am learning from you ladies on how to become a better writer.

Great share ~

Beverly Diehl said...

Great suspense, and then humor at the end. Not that I've ever left the TV on *rolling eyes & looking at ceiling*

Debra St. John said...

This is FABulous! I love it, love it, love it!

Is stark bollock naked a British phrase? And I so love that he's 'cocked' and ready. Naughty, naughty!

Unknown said...

Ooo, great atmosphere! So creepy and yet so funny too. Love this line: " “Yes there is, and I value that part of you."

The Poet said...

Loved the suspense and humor in this one, Francine.

We're fanatics in our house. My wife will check the locks, the electrics, etc before bedtime, then I'll go back and recheck everything too.

Anonymous said...

A really fun piece, you can tell these two know how to get it on! A little scare is always good to get the adrenaline pumping, so I'm guessing they had a great time afterward!

Daydreamer said...

LOL, very cheeky with it!
A fun tense and fun read, thank you.

Paula Martin said...

Great take on 'voices' - made me laugh!
Sorry I'm been AWOL from RFW - so much to do, so little time. Will try to contribute again next week :-)

Francine Howarth said...

Hi ladies, thanks for stopping by. I really enjoyed writing this piece. It's only the second time I've written a piece on the spur of the moment.

Andy: My mum was like that, only it was her that went back to check to be sure she'd locked up proper. And, she always hid the chef's knives!

We often don't lock up here at all, out in the sticks, but the wolf (hybrid wolf/GSD)is always waiting to greet any unsuspecting burglar. He's dead sneaky, too. He doesn't bark at humans, he let's them walk by and comes out behind them. If they don't belong he curls his lip, bares his teeth and snarls!!! ;)

best
F

Unknown said...

Dear Francine,

Thank you for your comment. Yes, I agree with you that I need to think more about what a romantic text is.

Then I read your snippet and see that there is a great range within which different texts can be considered "romantic".

Your text is dramatic, suspenseful and funny using the theme title "voices" in a surprising way.

I would never - in a million years - write a text like this. But that is what is fun with these "writing-blog-hops" - we are all different, and can learn something from one another.

Best wishes,
Anna
For the benefit of other readers:
Anna's Romantic Friday No 13 - 'Voices'

Marsha A. Moore said...

What a wonderful twist! I actually felt scared with her and ended up laughing. You crafted Jeff well--such a fun character, letting out a war cry to perpetuate her fears.

J.L. Campbell said...

Francine, this was fun. After her anxiety/fear and the war cry, I didn't expect it to be the television. Very clever. Wish I'd thought of this. :)

Denise Covey said...

Ha ha Francine, you minx! Okay so that happened the night before and you rushed to get it on paper is that it? You created the suspense, naughty Jeff played to her fears, then whammo! I like it when there's a progression of emotion involved. Write more on the fly!!

Denise

Theresa Milstein said...

"...you’re stark bollock naked." Love that line!

Kiru Taye said...

Absolutely fantastic! I laughed so hard whilst reading this. In fact, I'm going to read it again, just so I can laugh all over again.

Well written, Francine!

Francine Howarth said...

Hi Anna,

Ooh yes, huge scope for romanticism, even if only fleeting! ;)

best
F

Francine Howarth said...

Hi Marsha, J.L, and D,

I got such a kick out of writing this piece! ;)

best
F

Francine Howarth said...

Hi Theresa and Kiru,

I love a bit of humour in a romance novel, and although some of dialogue might seem a little crude, he's a soldier boy and she's an army wife! ;)

best
F

Kerrin said...

Francine, that was so funny!

Francine Howarth said...

Hi,

Thanks Kerrin. Glad it tickled you!

best
F