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Posts Tagged ‘flash fiction’

ebookcoverI can’t seem to manage blogging with any amount of consistency these days. WordPress told me today that I had 5 days to renew my site or they were giving me the boot. I’m a little disturbed that in renewing, I can’t get that ad off unless I pay, when I was the one who volunteered to have the ads here in the first place. Why did I do it? ‘Cause everybody else was doing it. Well, maybe not you but somebody was, so I figured I should too. Now, I don’t want it anymore and can’t get rid of it without paying. Like a bad marriage.

But I won’t whine any longer. Today, I’m sharing a story from my beloved book of tales, Sock It to Me, Baby. I must also share the review George gave the book on Amazon. I never solicited her to do this but I thought you’d like to know, and I’d like you to know, what’s being said about me and my work (wink, wink):

Ms. Fomby explores the complexity of human interactions in well-drawn sketches  of her contemporary “Cannery Row” characters. The characters are presented without sentimentality and with their flaws and foibles intact. The portraits are often harsh, and always humorous. There are the down-on-their-luck folks and the self-indulgent swindlers, the lazy, the addicted, the hypocritical and the self-important. The sketches are boisterous, outrageous, funny and familiar. Ms.Fomby writes with a natural style that draws the reader in. She adopts the dialect of her characters throughout lending credibility to their voices. “Sock It To Me, Baby” is entertaining, hilarious, bawdy and entirely readable. A solid
first book.

I never properly thanked George for her well-written review. With her being the smart woman she is, I believe every word she said. (Wink, wink). Thank you much, George. You’re most appreciated, as well as the readers who visit this blog. Now, let me spin a little tale for you, folks…

Some Souls to Keep

What he felt and wanted to say to his dying mother was caught in his throat. She lay, closer to dust than life, and the most he could do was stand above her looking, the memories of faceless men coming and leaving her bedroom from way back. One even peeped in his door and stepped a foot in ‘til he heard her drunken voice calling about bringing some weed back from ‘round the block.

There were no mix of emotions. He felt nothing at all. Not even bitterness welled up. His sister walked in, filled with enough for them both.

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Gather around in a circle folk and hold hands. You can even snuggle up and suck each other’s toes if you want. I won’t tell a soul. Now, I need absolute quiet ’cause I’ve got me a little story to share with you today. Hence, I won’t be sucking toes myself since I’m doing the storytelling.

I’ve done little in the way of promoting my eBook. I will, however, share a story from the book with you today. It’s a repeat for those who bought the book  but that’s okay, I hope. If not, well, this too shall pass and come again, when I do another promo.

You see, I was too bogged down to promote and this summer, I’ll spend time with you in that way. I hope you don’t mind, ’cause I don’t.

Coroner’s Report

ebookcoverGeorge was a good man, Least, everybody always talked about his devotion to his wife, children he’d sent to college and church. Had a distinguished baritone in the choir that made women folk wet and ready to drop their drawers.

A few of them had too. As good and normal of a man George appeared, he only desired a few sniffs between their legs. Just a closet weird ass.

The last one he was smelling, George up and died. A smile on his face and the smell of twat on the tip of his nose, according to the coroner’s report.

Story from Sock It to Me, Baby, 2013.

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"Lunch with the Girls" Art and Cover Design by Totsymae Copyright 2012

“Lunch with the Girls” Art and Cover Design by Totsymae Copyright 2012

Hope you folks enjoyed your holiday. Hope you had a happy whatever it is you celebrate. Or if you don’t do that sorta thing, hope all’s good and well with you. I had a fine time myself. Been working on getting my eBook published and man, is it work! It’s all good though. The image above is one of the stories in my book. I have 100 flash pieces in the book but no, I won’t be painting 100 pictures to go inside. No can do.

I was over here deliberating myself, like I often do, and I’ve discovered that I’ve developed an addiction that I’m none too pleased about. Folks, I am addicted to reality TV. Those shows are like Lays Potato Chips, you see. One of two won’t be enough. I think I’m up to five of them now. However, it’s not my fault. It’s this little circle of folks around me that got me into it ’cause I really don’t have addictive characteristics. At least, that’s what I’ve been claiming for years. And I’m not in denial ’cause I won’t tell you I can quit anytime I want on account of me not wanting to just yet. Sometimes you just don’t wanna do shit about such habits and that’s where I am right now. If I told you otherwise, I’d be a liar and since I have a conscience and making strides to live consciously, I won’t be lying and whatnot to you.

So folks, I’m about to consciously scan these networks to see if there’s a reality show marathon on while I paint a coupla more pieces to go in my book. I’ll check on you good folks after the New Year. Be safe and Happy New Year.

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Okay. Here’s the deal. I need your help, if you care to give it.

You see, I’m trying to figure out this cover design for my little ebook and well, I can’t figure it out. Therefore, I need you decisive folk to click and vote for the one you think oughta be the cover. Normally, I would come up with three pieces of artwork but since I have three different cover designs, let’s pretend I followed best practices for the design world. After all, I did come up with more sketches you didn’t see, so I did all the work in the background.

Now, just so I don’t get on your nerves or nothing, if I haven’t already, I won’t make mention of voting for nothing else until I ask you to vote for something else. I would reward you in some way but I’m planning on a yard sale next year and I can’t pull nothing out to give you ’til I see what sells first. I’m all about industry and whatnot, if you catch my drift. I will, however, make up your time in the future, if you call clicking a button all in half a second taking up time. You let me know and I’ll catch you on the rebound.

Anyhow, make yourself useful while you’re here and vote. And grab yourself some punch and knock yourself out. (See how funny, and ultimately, lame I can be on the spot?)

Thank you, folks.

Cover art and design by Totsymae - No. 1

Cover art and design by Totsymae – No. 1

Cover art and design by Totsymae - No. 2

Cover art and design by Totsymae – No. 2

Cover art and design by Totsymae - No. 3

Cover art and design by Totsymae – No. 3

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Okay. I have this cool title for my book of flash fiction. Right now, it’s gonna be in ebook format only. I’m calling my debut publication Sock It to Me, Baby. I told you that before but?in case you didn’t remember…

I’m?not altogether sold on this cover, so I’ll present another, hopefully, before the week is out.? I find it so hard to satisfy myself. I’m halfway done with the second piece of artwork, so I’ll do my best to have it posted in a coupla days. I feel myself getting ill again. Not like me. The quick turnaround, so maybe it’s a temp kinda thing. Meaning, it’ll be all good tomorrow.

For this book, I even have a concept for my book trailer. I don’t know if folk do that for flash books but oh well, I am. It’s gonna be fun. I hope. If I don’t cower, it should be fun. We’ll see. In the meantime, I’m trying to figure?out this whole e-publish formatting. The cover is right, from what I’ve read so far.

I thought of writing something on the raunchy side but I’m not the raunchy type. Least nobody’s ever told me that….Hmmm…Wonder if that’s a good or bad thing. Maybe good, for a Southern Belle as myself.

sock it to me baby

Artwork and Cover Design by Totysmae

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“Patches” Watercolor/Ink on paper. Copyright 2012 Totsymae/www.toshfomby.com

Thank you, good folks, for your insightful comments as we continue race talk in collaboration with the special that will be airing on PBS. It’s airing tonight, folks. My apologies for not telling you in advance. I just didn’t know how to break it to you that it was airing on the same night as the second presidential debate. Damn! But you know what? I’m gonna have to record them both ’cause I’ve got a little work to do tonight. What I’ll do is record and we can talk about it later on this week. I know you folk think you’re all smart and whatnot and I’ll go ahead and give you that. I feel like I’m in real good company. Thank you for letting me in your little circle and all.

Well, today, I wrote a few shorts that kinda reflects what happens in this world we live in, inside America. I think we’re all like a stitch in this country that holds it together or cause it to unravel. And then there are those stitches that are barely holding on and trying to keep the fabric of what’s been created together. Anyhow, I wanted to share a coupla stories and maybe the thing you could assess is why/what do we think when we hear such stories in real life. Do our contrasting histories, inevitably, make us think as we do? Or don’t mind me at all. I’m not hear to tell you how to think. I’m just making it my damn self.

ooooOOOoooo

Snippet No. 1:

“You recognize any of’em?”

Lana couldn’t focus on the line-up of faces. Too distracted by the lieutenant’s eyes boring into her flesh that felt close to somebody ramming himself between her thighs again. She never caught sight of a face with her eyes toward the ground. All she heard was grunting and the sound of her tears dropping on the cold pavement. It had to be one of the black men though.

Snippet No. 2:

Melody was known for doing things differently in her family. Today’s different was bringing home her boyfriend who spoke broken English and worked like the devil doing all kinds of odd jobs. The evidence showed with cuts and bruises on his hands that knew her body well. As soon as the door swung open, she felt her mother’s eyes piercing Jose’s seed in her womb.

ooooOOOoooo

Check out the PBS video here and your local listing for airtime, folks. Also, to learn more about the Race 2012 project, visit Monica’s Tangled Web, where you can read other participating writers. Thank you again for your thoughtful assessment on race in America as we move closer toward this very important election.

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I took time to finish my book of flash fiction. I added more stories to a point that I’m satisfied with what I put out there. Now, time for the artwork. This comes at a good time, in a way, cause it’s almost my birthday. I say in a way ’cause it was my intention to have the book published by that time but instead, I’m spending a little time figuring out the e-book process. I shant be long. I’m not as technically challenged as it may seem since my training’s in graphic design. Anyhow, this halfway explains my brief absence, which I didn’t tell you before I left but hey, we’re all grown folk around here, right?

If so, let me introduce my favorite female comedienne. Folks, put your hands together for my girl, Sommore!

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I spent a little time painting in Photoshop and listening to music on the plane. 12.5 hours is a long time in the air. Copyright 2011 Totsymae

I totally forgot to celebrate or acknowledge one year of blogging. Two days ago, that is. So, what have I accomplished besides running my mouth here? Well, let me see:

I spent six weeks in Taiwan. Got real tired of the dirt and pollution and took my ass back to the states. Since I’d never been there, I figure me seeing some other part of the world is an accomplishment, don’t you?

I finally got me a Nook. It was a gift, so it’s not like I accomplished getting it myself but if you wanna count the fact that I hinted around a million times that I wanted one, well, I must’ve run it in the ground and my son and now, daughter-in law, whom I’ll call Mr and Mrs Soldier Boy, got it for me.

I’ve finished a book of flash fiction. I’m a little unsettled right now, which I won’t go into, but I’m wanting to put the work out there once I get the cover design done up. If I’m able, I’ll try to upload and let you vote on which is the best look for me. Maybe I’ll pick a name from a hat and the lucky winner will get an abaya sent off to them to sport around. (wink, wink)

I’m halfway done with my book of short stories. I don’t know if that’s an accomplishment or not. I’ve had so many interruptions but I aim to finish it within a couple of months. Shit, I’m getting on my own nerves in not finishing yet.

I got to travel to Saudi Arabia. I know it’s strict over here and all but I get to see it all for myself. I feel lucky and unlucky at the same time. Though, for the sake of mental health, I’ll focus on the lucky.

I figured out how to restructure my novel. I’d been having some major issues with backstory stuff and now that I’ve figured it out, I can settle down to write, once I’m settled down, that is. Shit does happen in life and right now, I’m dealing with a hunka shit, folks. That’s just the way it is. In the end though, I know it’s gonna be all good.

I learned how to say my head is hurting in Arabic and thank you in Chinese. Not that my head is hurting. Though it’s big, it feels just fine. Because I’m starting a little newsletter/journal over here, I asked one of the Sudanese ladies to give folk like me Arabic lessons in the newsletter. And, because I’m a graphic designer, the newsletter will be interactive with audio and videos. Anyhow, I asked her to teach me that ’cause folk need basic communication skills in Arabic when they go to a doctor. Not that I plan to be going to no doctor over here. Please, pray that I don’t get sick over here, folks. Lordy, mercy! And too, I won’t be saying thank you in Chinese over here but I know how to say it in case I need to.

I got myself a tan. Not that I needed one but I got it over here in this hot place. It’s getting hotter too and I ain’t figured out a hiding place yet.

I explored new ways to express myself artistically. Well, I don’t sing and dance but you know what I’m saying if you’ve been hanging out with me for a good while.

I met the U.S. Ambassador of Saudi Arabia and got in arms length with the prince. Being at that little brunch made me kinda homesick but I’m all good now. At least, as all good as can be expected being over this way.

And I have to thank all you good folks for sticking around. Much appreciation to you.

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“Deliverance” Watercolor on paper. Copyright 2012 Totsymae

She Said I Do

Couldn’t love him through the pain of hating himself and continue packing flesh-colored powder around the black and blues of what used to be a beautiful face. Laura stuffed  grocery bags and rushed to the boys’ bedroom, where dry splatters of blood stained their walls from last week. Then, headlights came beaming through the window.

Her Last Thoughts

Never planned to lay dying at forty. Projects waited for her to complete them. She wondered if Clara, her only friend, had washed the dinner plates in the sink from days before. While the monster ate at her last breast, she imagined her last drink of wine, the glass rim stained with signature maroon lipstick.

The Choice

They paraded outside with signs, bantering with a sense of rage that she was vile for cutting the cord to life inside her. Noma wept inside and out, thinking of the baby that her step-father planted inside to swell up her thoughts, while her mother sat with folded arms and anger etched across her face.

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I’ve learned a good deal since blogging. For one, I’ve learned from reading other blogs. Thank you for that, folks. You’re most appreciated. Well, the latter part of the summer, I discovered what flash fiction was all about. In February, I began writing 100-word stories. Since then, I’ve produced, well, a mini book of them.

Being in transition at present, I’ve discovered this type of poetry called limericks. To give you the mini skinny on it, if you don’t know already, a limerick is “a kind of witty, humorous, nonsense poem.” It’s said that “the true limerick as a folk form is always obscene and essentially transgressive; violation of taboo is part of its function.”

I’ve composed a few limericks to share with you. I’m sure I’ve broken a few rules. Regardless, I think of these as sorta like rhymes in a Mother Goose book, only on a blog. For grown folk. Ready? Here we go…

It was a clear and starry night in June

That Clara Mae’s brain went out of tune.

She stripped to the core of her nakedness;

Had the neighborhood in uproar and unrest.

Oh me, oh my, what a loon.

~~~ooOOOooo~~~

Felicity couldn’t stand to wish no more;

She purchased a toy johnson from the store.

Soon after, she fell in love to marry.

She named the johnson Good Ole Larry,

Suffice to say, Felicity kept happy like a ten-dollar whore.

~~~oooOOOooo~~~

Otis wasn’t what you’d call a proper man,

So when he met up with this woman named Jan,

He was ready to bed her in an instant.

Naturally, to this, she was resistant

Til he stuck a wad of cash in her hand.

~~~oooOOOooo~~~

Goodness, gracious and amighty,

Beulah was stacked but so damn flighty.

She’d go, “Huh” and “Duh” when called her name.

Damn ditty damn, what a ditsy dame;

Then one day, she said her name was Heidi.

~~~oooOOOooo~~~

Georgie was a man getting up in age;

The good sex years, he’d long turned the page.

He began popping the little happy pill

To gain back years of thrill.

Ole Georgie busted his zipper like a tiger from a cage.

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One matter of my pondering is the erratic nature of this here blog. I say that ’cause I see other blogs that have a straight-on direction.You know, they may write about writing or do reviews, things of that sort. Now, you may not have noticed at all but there have been a couple of times when I got stone bored with blogging but like other matters in life, I saw my way through it and kept chugging away.

On the backside of all this, I’ve been writing a lot of flash fiction as I, mentally, try to work out how I need to restructure my novel. Now, this is the novel I aim to finish first ’cause it’s the same one I took to my critique group that helped me define my writing style. Let me say this folks, Totsymae is the writer and the other person is the artist. The artist ain’t been painting so much ’cause Totsy’s taken over after so many years of not writing faithfully. And that’s okay. With this collection of flash pieces though, I’ll be doing a lotta drawing and painting soon.

Any ole how, sometimes I have to reflect on this blog so that it’ll keep my interest, as well as yours. Certainly, I don’t wanna write nothing where you can see I’m totally distracted or the blog’s turned into a Hollywood gossip column. Well, I do like dabbling but I won’t dig down too deep in the Wood. Okay? Believe it or not, I’m methodical about the content here but not in an organized fashion. So maybe you can answer some of these burning questions:

  1. Should subscribers know the rhythm of when you post? Should they expect to hear from you twice a week, if that’s how you roll or once a day? I ask this ’cause word is, if you wanna turn blogging into a profession, posts must be consistent. That’s not my target but for whatever you’re doing on your blog and you want followers, blogging, it’s said, shouldn’t be sporadic.
  2. What’s too much in your mailbox? Is three times a day too much? Once a day? What?
  3. Are guest posts okay on the blog you subscribe to or not? What if there was a noted author or noted whoever? Would that be cool?
  4. What’s your least favorite topic when reading a blog?
  5. What makes you fall in love with a blog or fall out with it?

These are all general questions you can relate to any blog, not mine specifically. I guess I’d be okay with you telling me something I didn’t wanna know. I don’t know. I’d have to read what you said first. Then, if I didn’t like what you said, I’d blog real bad stuff about you. Just joshing, folks.

Many thanks to all of you. You’re most appreciated. I was about to say I don’t have any thank you gifts to hand out but I do actually. Download this PDF. Listen to it and after you finish your business, hang it on your wall. (Hehehehe!)

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"Walking the Block" Watercolor/Ink on paper. Copyright 2012 Totsymae

All he wanted was to get the mail out the box down the little driveway. Stars were twinkling bright and shit. Of what could be seen. The crickets chirping reminded him of peaceful, country nights back home as a boy. Shit, how long ago was that? Forty some-odd years?

Soon as he stuck his hand in the damn box, something hard beat down on his head. He found himself fighting for his life. And he wasn’t doing a good job of it either. Shit, had he known an unexpected ass-kicking was coming, he’d have kept it in the house. Damn!

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