Friday Fiction – The Dragon Must Go

Meet Bob

A little something I wrote this week in a prompt group on FB. Enjoy!

“The dragon must go now!”

“But that’s discrimination! It says on that sign that you serve everyone, no matter what race, sex or species!”

“And we do, and we did! But we have no grog left. The dragon’s drunk it all. And it’s singing! It’s hurting our ears and making the paying customers leave and well, there is the matter of the fire breath!”

“What about the fire breath? You said you liked it before when it warmed up those hot toddies!”

“That was then and this is now. It’s clear that it’s going a bit far. Please take him outside before he burns the whole bar down.”

“OK then mate. Come on Bob! We’ll find another bar!”

Have a good weekend. And remember if you take your dragon out to your local pub make sure they drink responsibility.

Tea 4 Two!

Hey folks, Happy March. Today is one month before the official release of ANOTHER CUP OF TEA. And I’m offering a special deal for followers of this blog and my newsletter. Preorder signed copies of one or both books and pick up free audio book versions to listen to at your pleasure. The audio for TEA & DARK CHOCOLATE with be delivered immediately, while the audio for ANOTHER CUP should be out around May (depending on when Audible approve it.)

Prices include shipping to anyone in the US. If you’re somewhere else or would like to pick up your copy from me personally at RavenCon or Archon let me know and I’ll adjust the price.

Signed copies of TEA AND DARK CHOCOLATE available for just $10 including shipping (US only)

Signed copies of ANOTHER CUP OF TEA available for just $10 including shipping (US only)

Or order both for $15

Or preorder Another Cup of Tea on Kindle for just $2.99.

Another Cup of Tea – Now on Preorder!

Four years ago I published a little book of silliness called TEA AND DARK CHOCOLATE. It was a passion project that I created for my mother, who wasn’t so fond of some of the darker themes in my fiction. She adored it.

Sadly my mum passed away at the end of 2018 so when I put together this new collection I found little pockets of poignancy sneaking in among the silliness.

In any case I hope you all enjoy it. It is now up on presale on Amazon and will be available also on all other outlets and what better day to release a humorous collection but April Fools Day.

Preorder your copy today or if you’d like a sneak peak at the book join my ARC review team over at Story Origin.  

Also in honor of the presale TEA AND DARK CHOCOLATE is currently on sale for just 99 cents.

Halloween Flash Fiction and Assorted Free Books!

Who Doesn’t Like Free Books?!

So, some of the authors from the awesome FB group,

 Fantasy and Sci-Fi Readers Lounge

all got together and put together a special treat for you! Free books!

That’s right, just follow the link below to get your hands on some of the best free Fantasy and SciFi the group has to offer!

https://storyoriginapp.com/…/928c9b0e-e52f-11e9-84d4-f3a8f0…

Also included in this giveaway is a free copy of FSFRL Halloween Flash Fiction! This is the first Episode of a series of Flash Fiction books we plan to put out as a thank you for following us! You can grab a copy of that here:

https://storyoriginapp.com/…/b69d69ce-e93a-11e9-949f-9b3659…

*All books are offered free in exchange for subscribing to the author’s newsletter, so give each author a try! What perfect way to find your next favorite author than by getting a free book?*

Happy Early Halloween!

Walter and Shirley

Today would have been my parents’ Shirley and Walter Manber’s 57th wedding anniversary. Here’s a little something I wrote a few months after my mother passed at the end of last year.

————————————————————————————————————————————

Walter sat in the chair reading. This was the fourth book in the series and he smiled when he read about the camel. She reminded him of someone. Someone he had known a long time ago.

There was a knock on the door and she entered. She looked like she had done when they had first met at the dance. She walked up to him unsure.

“I see you made it,” he said.

She nodded and smiled, then pointed at the book.

“I liked that one. It was the last thing I read. You know she put the camel in for me?”

“I thought so. It was definitely a good bit.”

 

“Ah I see she found you,” said a voice from the doorway.

Walter nodded at the cat that waited just outside the door. He was used to Griddlebone. The cat would come by and talk every few days and would ask if he wanted to pass on to the next place. He always said no, he would wait until she could join him.

“Are you ready?” asked Griddlebone.

Walter turned to Shirley and she nodded, and they both followed the cat.

#GargoyleTroubles

I recently traveled to London with my daughter and one Saturday night we went to a concert at O’Meara, a newish venue in a small street with a church directly opposite. As we stood in line I kept looking up at part of the stone wall surrounding the church and I swore I saw a carved face in it, though my daughter couldn’t see it.

Later in the evening I ducked out of the concert for a breather and sat in the corner of the bar drinking a cider and scribbled this little piece of flash fiction on a napkin.

#GargoyleTroubles

by Debbie Manber Kupfer

Seamus O’Meara was a gargoyle now, and he hated every minute of it. Not that he had any choice. His dad had been a gargoyle as had his grandfather, great-grandfather and all his ancestors from back in the realms of history where the O’Mearas had begun.

They had started off of course as leprechauns, but had got cocky – and the fairy godfather thought he would take them down a notch, so gargoyles they became. One church after another until finally Seamus had ended up looking down at O’Meara Street.

But O’Meara had changed of late. No longer a quiet alleyway only known to the church goers, but rather a place of worship often desecrated by partygoers that frequented the venue that had sprung up across the street. Seamus had been sat on, spat at, climbed and pissed on – all in the interests of a congenial Saturday night.

He’d had enough. He gazed down at the revelers and plotted his revenge.

 

© Debbie Manber Kupfer, 2017

Friday Fiction – The End

A little dark micro fiction for you today. What do you think happened next?

The End.

I gazed at the words on the billboard. I had driven all through the night to get to this point. Now I slowed the car and stopped. I joined the lines of others waiting. For what, we did not know.

Scrambled! A Valentine’s Story

A little post-Valentines flash fiction – enjoy!

 

“Mrs. Dumpty is just as klutzy as her husband. Why they can’t just stay off that wall it beats me.” The King sighed. He’d tried sending in his men and the horses again. Didn’t work though. One of these days he’d give up and just make a huge pan of scrambled egg.

But today wasn’t the day for that. Today was Valentine’s Day. So he’d call in Cupid.

“Can’t do it,” said Cupid. “Not my area.”

“Don’t care,” countered the King. “You owe me a favor. Remember that stray arrow last year?”

“Yeah, I remember. You’re never going to let me forget that, are you? I’ll see what I can do.”

“Cheers mate. If anyone can get the Dumptys back together I know it’s you.”

Cupid flew down the wall. The Dumptys lay on the floor groaning. It looked bad, real bad. He worked for three hours straight but in the end had to call the King back.

“I’m sorry your majesty.” He sighed. “Even I couldn’t bring them back together.”

 

Want to read more stories like this one?

Pick up a copy of Tea & Dark Chocolate today – only 99cents/99p on Kindle

Friday Fiction – Meet Moishe Zeikel

Happy Chanukah folks. This Friday I’m sharing a little drabble I wrote for Facebook’s Fiction Writer’s Group’s annual holiday drabble collection. You can pick up the full collection on Amazon for just 99 cents.

First a little about Moshe Zeikel. Moishe was in P.A.W.S., but was never given a name. He is the kindly old man who takes in Max and Celia when they first land in New York. Of course he thinks they are just cats that stowed onto the ship to America. So here is a scene from Max and Celia’s first Chanukah in America.

First Lights

By Debbie Manber Kupfer

Moshe Zeikel sat by the window in his one room apartment on Essex Street and waited for the sun to set. As it descended he took the blue shammas candle from its holder in the center of the menorah, lit it, and recited the prayer.

The two cats sat close by watching. The brown tabby looked over at the grey silky one with the green eyes. He put his paw on hers as they observed the old man light the Chanukah candles. They were home, he thought. Home and safe. It was time for a whole new adventure to begin.

Friday Fiction – Reindeer Games

The holidays are just around the corner. Here’s a little tale written by me and my daughter Ronni. Enjoy!

The Reindeer Games

By Debbie Manber Kupfer and Ronni Kupfer

Rudolf crouched behind the igloo waiting for his chance. He could see Blitzen in the distance on the other side of the snow bank. She was the last. Dasher and Prancer had been easy pickings. Vixen had taken longer. He had one poisonous dart left hidden in the recesses of his red, red, nose. Blitzen edged out and now Rudolf had a perfect line of sight. Pow, he sent the poison dart. It hit its target and Blitzen fell to the ground. The Reindeer Games were over. Rudolf was the Victor and he would get to guide Santa’s sleigh tonight!

Read more short fiction in Tea & Dark Chocolate, the perfect collection for the holidays.