Newsletter, Flash Fiction
A Shocking Dinner Time Surprise
The front doorbell accompanied the clink of our glasses with a baritone ding-dong…
The family have been busy lately. My darling wife, April, started a new job managing a nightclub in town. She comes home most nights in the early hours of the morning and sleeps late the next day. I have to say I feel neglected and expected May to give my pole the attention it deserves. But she has been over in Munich helping Octavius organise the Oktoberfest, and apparently has had her fill of German sausage.
And what of the third sister June, I hear you ask? Well, the butcher — Julius — gave her a job, and now she spends most of her time tending to his meat… not mine.
Enough was enough! I ordered all the family to show up at a dinner party. What with Thanksgiving and Christmas on the horizon, I decided we could have a joint holiday celebration at a time when April and June are not needed at work.
That is how the three sisters, myself (Augustus) — plus May’s beau, Octavious — found ourselves sitting around a large wooden table ready to break bread together.
Julius had been invited but declined. June informed us he wasn’t well. However, she arrived with a wonderful lamb joint from his shop, while Octavious supplied the finest German Pilsner.
The front doorbell accompanied the clink of our glasses with a baritone ding-dong. We all stopped and looked at each other before April jumped up and went out to the hall, returning after a couple of moments with two members of the local Constabulary.
“Erm. They asked to speak to June,” April stammered. Obviously nervous as to why her sister was wanted by the police.
June stood up from the table and immediately the female officer approached, and then read out her rights:
“June Monte we are arresting you on suspension of murdering Julius Butcher. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
We were all too shocked to speak until June was led away… and then May piped up,
“Damn. I suppose that means no more free meat from Julius.”
Catch up with other April, May and June family stories here…
November/December Prompt — What happened at dinner time?
With holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas on the horizon, we thought an interesting prompt would be to set your transgressive fiction around a dinner table. And go from there.
- Perhaps someone gets poisoned?
- Is this a normal family dinner, or a kinky get-together?
- The meal could be set in a grand house with maids serving.
- Does someone share some shocking news?
- Maybe one of the dinner guests tells a horror story!
Feel free to let your deviant imaginations spark dark and dismal tales. Perhaps with ghosts, ghouls or psychotic demons… The choice is yours. Just as long as the setting is around a dinner table.
- Write a story of any genre, as long as the result is transgressive.
- The theme can inspire a shorter Transgressive Thursday story, or a longer featured tale.
- You can use the prompt in more than one story.
- Please mention somewhere, in the kicker or the subtitle it is a writing prompt tale — so I remember to feature your story in the next newsletter.
- You can publish your story on another magazine, but please link and tag to us.
Stories that are written with any of the 2023 prompts in mind, will be featured in the next newsletter.
September/October Prompt — Accidentally — Stories
- Lights On or Off? — She has rules to follow. Make sure you follow them, or else! by Alexander Martin
- The Oktoberfest Killer Is Back! — She fell in love and forgot all about revenge, but then her new lover reminded her by Marie A. Rebelle
- I Accidentally Gave My Boss a Blowjob — I mean. It can happen to anyone. Right? by Sonja Glucksberg
- Tied and Bound: When a Text Takes a Wrong Turn — Do all accidents happen for a reason? by May More 💜 Tales
- Shiny Objects — Here’s the thing. Knives are shiny and diamonds are shiny. So, big deal — I accidentally stabbed my girlfriend instead of giving her an… by Ryan Klemek
- I Accidentally Flashed my Stepson (and his Friend) — Who knew they could see into my room? by Posy Churchgate
- I Accidentally Blew Up a House Full of Swingers — It could have been the entire neighborhood by Richard Steele
- The Killer Butcher — But slaughtering him like the pig he was, was not justifiable murder and she went to prison by F. Leonora Solomon
- Do Scorned Androids Binge on Electric Pints of Ice Cream? — Or do they melt your face with lasers instead? by Ryan Klemek
- I Accidentally Slept With the Butcher’s Meat — Flash Fiction: a juicy double entendre story by May More 💜 Tales
Other stories using 2023 prompts:
Driving
- The Hitchhiker Has Vanished — The story of a hellish ride to redemption by Luis Rosa
- Tedium: 8 — An Apocalyptic Roadside Attraction — Middlegate becomes an oasis before a deal goes down in the east by Gentry Bronson
Madness
- Unfettered Bones Part 3: It’s a Mad Mad Mad World — Madness Comes in Many Forms… by Aaron Michael Thomas
- How I Lost My Sanity — A short story by Camilla Seth
Cheat Codes
- Cheat Codes — Part 2: Modding — Customizing the new toy by Jerico Knight
Other 2023 prompts:
Last year’s prompts
Which officially are no longer evergreen but if I know, or see one I will include:
- 2022 May More Cage Match of Prompts — Time to find out the Best Prompt by Zatanna Dark
- The Oktoberfest Killer Is Back! — She fell in love and forgot all about revenge, but then her new lover reminded her by Marie A. Rebelle
If I have missed a story of yours that has been written for a prompt, I do apologise. Let me know and I can add it.
Statistics
It is very difficult to know Redemption’s top viewed stories, as Medium no longer shares a page with useful stats for all posts. Which is more than frustrating! However, during a brief period of high magazine views, I managed to pinpoint that one particular story was primarily responsible for the increase:
- SLUT ME OUT — At eighteen, Lexi moved to Los Angeles to become a Hollywood starlet. Instead, she became a #caucasian #blonde #porn legend. By Marcello Spektor
Congratulations to Marcello who received over 700 views…
If you would like to check out the 2023 top ten tales with high engagement — according to Medium — then click here… Well done to Sonja Glucksberg (2), Sifu, Dianne Herbert (3), Marcello Spektor (2) & May More (2)
That’s all for now, see you all in the new year!
After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations. ~ Oscar Wilde