This week's six are from another piece of flash fiction debuting today. Click on the link after the excerpt to read the whole thing in less than a minute!
* * *
With Patty looking on in puzzlement, Leona looked into the lion's empty eyes, concentrating. She raised her hand to its mouth and inserted her fingers. Almost as quickly, she withdrew them, to show Patty the slip of paper wedged between her index and middle fingers.
“See there?” she said, reading the printing on the slip. “Oh, this is great! I can start tomorrow, and it's close to my house!”
* * *
"Job Fair" came to me, the first story to do so since before I'd started my PhD, some time after I'd moved in with my wonderful husband to our beautiful, rickety house in Cambridge, Massachusetts (so we're talking early 2009). I've been trying to place it ever since. I thought, "In less than 500 words, this story compresses all the frustration I personally have felt about my already years-long unsuccessful job search in light of the now floundering economy." I knew I wasn't the only one experiencing that frustration, so how could any publisher pass it up? Many, many of them did, though, and so you see that my writing career got off to a slow start. I mentioned the story in an earlier post.
The title, which I've fiddled with to no avail, is trying to be a play on words. The lion head is sort of an automatic job fair, and also Patty feels that the way it assigns jobs isn't especially fair. She's the one who's worked hard and long to find something! So maybe, there's a little message tucked in there about finding what you're looking for only when you're completely relaxed and accepting, i.e., ready for it. That's how it's worked out for me, at least.
Now at last, when I thought it might never happen, "Job Fair" has found a lovely home in the Journal of Microliterature. Hooray! Enjoy!
Great six and an interesting premise, both for the work and for the genre, microfiction. Never heard of it, but it strikes me as perhaps the Haiku of prose. Really cool!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finding a home for your story! I love flash fiction!
ReplyDeleteReally interested in these characters!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Interesting snippet.
ReplyDeleteOoh intriguing!
ReplyDeleteIntriguing snippet...
ReplyDeleteNice snippet!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Very intriguing snippet.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations from me, too. Love how well you write flash fiction. Pulling a paper from the mouth of a lion, I love it.
ReplyDeleteOooh. When she put her hand in the lion's mouth, I was reminded of that old Audrey Hepburn (I think it was Audrey Hepburn) movie, Roman Holiday. (I think it was Roman Holiday.)
ReplyDeleteTaryn and I think alike. I pictured Cary Grant right away! I enjoyed your 6
ReplyDeleteLove the pic of the lion!! Great six!
ReplyDeleteYep, I'm another Roman Holiday thinker :)
ReplyDeleteGreat six, Jessica
great six. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your release and great snippet.
ReplyDeleteGreat six--good job packing lots of detail into a brief segment.
ReplyDeleteCongrats! And nice six!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Flash fiction is so much fun.
ReplyDeletenice post and congrats
ReplyDeleteIntriguing, Jessica!
ReplyDeleteCongrats.
ReplyDeleteIntriguing six
Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteNice six!
such mystery wrapped up in excitement.
ReplyDeleteCool opening image!
ReplyDeleteLoved the snippet, very interesting.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, and thank you for the snippet! Enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Allure
Congrats! Love the snippet.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finding it a home! Great snippet, too. I like the word play, and the lion's head being the source of jobs. Great concept and great six!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the publication! I like the imagery with the lion's mouth, too.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your achievement. Great six.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the story placement--cool six! (I'm a total sucker for anything with lions in any way shape or form!)
ReplyDeleteCongrats as well, and nice snippet...Intriguing.
ReplyDelete