The last two mornings, I have woken up to a large orange globe of sunshine floating in a low grey sky. It makes my little spot in the world less hot from the intense heat dome, but for the people suffering through the terrible fires, it must be a nightmare.
It was Monday morning, and I was still half asleep when I started writing. Most of the essentials were done: the trash and recycling were out, the dogs had been out for their constitutional; Henry, ten, for his walk to the park, and little Daisy, seventeen plus, for her routine trot around the garden. I sat at the computer with my coffee and began contemplating the day. My writing, and yesterday’s Blue Bottles Writing Studio gathering. Then I had to leave, people to greet, appointments to keep, and gardens weed. While busy with the activities of my Monday day, I thought about our Sunday writing group sitting around my six-person table in the garden, three regulars, and two new people.
It was a lovely diversion from working in my garden, especially the home-cooked fresh peach pie. Sunday’s prompt was a first liner from the futuristic middle-grade novel Cleo Porter and the Body Electric by Jack Burt.
All our stories were different, but one story piqued my interest. It was a Fan Fiction piece. (Fan Fiction, also called fanfic, are stories where a writer takes pre-existing source material involving a popular fictional character and creates something new.)
Below is a short excerpt from Jill Flores’ story, who is a new member of the Blue Bottles Writing Studio, and her spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
The Prompt:
Three objects sat upon the carpet in Cleo Porter’s living room: an apple core, a human skull, and a package wrapped in red.
The Doctor’s Work
In the attic of the castle, there was a hidden doorway. Victor pushed aside a large cabinet that blocked the doorway from view and entered his secret laboratory. He felt more than saw evidence that someone had been there, even though he knew he and Cleo locked the door when they left. Everything seemed to be in place, but with further inspection, it was clear that someone had been in the room while they were gone.
The body laid out on an operating table in the center of the laboratory was an amalgamation of human parts, pieced together and crudely stitched. There was a large scar across the forehead and the head itself was attached with a large bolt on each side of the neck. It was the result of Victor’s life’s work. The body was unusually large, nearly eight feet tall, and was covered with scars and stitches where the limbs were attached to the torso. . .
A storm raged outside, and Cleo was due home any minute. He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had been in the house while they were gone. He walked around the laboratory searching for clues but found nothing out of place, so he went down the stairs to search the rest of the house. Three objects sat upon the carpet in Cleo Porter’s living room: an apple core, a human skull, and a package wrapped in red. One by one, Victor picked up the items, turning them over in his hands, trying to make sense of things. . .
To read the completed story, watch out for the next Blue Bottles Writing Studio collection of stories, coming some time next year.