Fire Update, Mystery at the Reunion, Giveaway Ending: Monday Blog Post

Posted on June 27, 2021 by conniejean

Waiting for the Mail?

Newest News:

Last week I talked about the Backbone Fire https://www.facebook.com/BackboneFireInfo, just 13 miles from me. Two small towns, Pine and Strawberry, were evacuated to the town where I live. Saturday, word came down that Pine evacuees could go back to Pine but the danger level is at SET. Strawberry is still on evacuation orders. The fire is still a threat to Camp Verde, and the multiple neighborhoods that dot the forest northwest of us. Last Friday, all of the National Forests and many of the State Forests were put on Level 3 fire restrictions, meaning they’re closed. No camping, hiking, smoking, fires, shooting. Closed. Please, please, please, if you live in the west or are just visiting, fire is our greatest enemy. Obey all fire restrictions, our property and our lives depend on it.

It’s the weekend as I write this blog. I’m pondering my story, Mystery at the Reunion. I love the story but it’s just too short. I’ve thought about other side stories (plot lines) that I could put in the book. One thought was to follow Karen back in Grayson but that really doesn’t fit in with the theme of the book which is Las Vegas. Could I involve one of Jean’s old buddies as a sidekick? Probably not as I’ve pretty much set up her ex-husband in that role. His second plot line is miniscule but really, not worth expanding. What I need is a new direction. Probably using the already introduced characters. One that is with Jean to distract her, lead her in the wrong direction or one that is really trying to help but is perhaps not helpful? Perhaps a totally new character? But who might that be? A Vegas resident? An attendee at the reunion that Jean just met there? It’s a struggle to be sure. I hope my editor has an idea or two.

Hoping everyone is able to access a covid shot, or two if needed. The delta variant of the virus is racing through my county. Hospitalizations have jumped three-fold and the majority of the people hitting the ERs are unvaccinated. We’ll only beat this disease if we all work together. Please schedule your vaccination as soon as you can. The shots are still free!

Giveaways:

Our Spring giveaway will end tomorrow or maybe sooner. Then, the summer giveaway will begin. So hop on over to the page with the following link and get in on the prizes. https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

On July 17^th, starting at 9am – 3:30pm I’ll be at the Payson Book Festival! Yes!! That’s correct! The Payson Book Festival is a GO! You’ll be able to visit us in person, meet authors, and have some fun picking out your next books to read. See more at http://www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe, I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Fire, Interview, Giveaway: Monday Blog Post

Posted on June 21, 2021 by conniejean

Beautiful Sunset with Father and son fishing by Randy Cockrell

Newest News:

If you live west of the Mississippi, you know we’re in a severe heatwave and drought. Arizona, where I live, has multiple fires in progress, one, the Backbone Fire https://www.facebook.com/BackboneFireInfo, is just 13 miles from me. Two small towns, Pine and Strawberry, have been evacuated to the town where I live. Smoke fills the sky to the north of us, where the fire is, at this point, 0% contained. It’s moving north, so now threatening another town, Camp Verde, and the multiple neighborhoods that dot the forest northwest of us. Please, please, please, if you live in the west or are just visiting, fire is our greatest enemy. Obey all fire restrictions, our property and our lives depend on it.

I was interviewed on KRIM radio this morning about the Payson book festival. I have details below, but if you’d like to see and hear the interview, it was recorded and put up on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/c/KRIM963FMPayson/videos. I’ve written this post before my video was uploaded but you’ll see my name and/or Payson Book Festival in the title once it’s loaded.

Hoping everyone is able to access a covid shot, or two if needed. We’ll only beat this disease if we all work together.

Giveaways:

Our Spring giveaway is nearing its end. Soon, the summer giveaway will begin. So hop on over to the page with the following link and get in on the prizes. https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

On July 17^th, starting at 9am – 3:30pm I’ll be at the Payson Book Festival! Yes!! That’s correct! The Payson Book Festival is now a GO! You’ll be able to visit us, in person, meet authors, and have some fun picking out your next books to read. See more at http://www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Newest Releases:

Haircut, Fund Raiser, Another Fire, Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale: Monday Blog Post

Posted on July 6, 2020 by conniejean

Corona Hair. I couldn’t take it any longer.

Newest News:

Anyone else staying at home? I’ve kept myself at home since the beginning of March. My last haircut was the end of February. I looked a mess with my hair grown out nearly 4 inches. The bangs came down to the end of my nose and the side hair had turned into wings. I couldn’t take it any longer so I had my hubby put the biggest clipper guard on the clippers (an inch and a half) and buzz cut my head. I feel so much better. Here’s a quick video to see the aftermath. Above is a before picture. By the way, feel free to follow me on that Youtube page. https://youtu.be/5ppG669Vwto

I’m asking that people donate to my favorite 501c3 non-profit, the Payson Book Festival as my birthday fundraiser. Cancelled this year for the Coronavirus, I thought I’d try to get a jump on earning money so that the 2021 Payson Book Festival will be even better than before. So if you’d care to, pop on over to Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/donate/952277878565180/10217646111446962/, and drop a little money into the kitty. You can find out more about our festival at www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

Another fire has cropped up, lightning caused, about 11 miles west of us, called the Polles Fire. It’s been hot, dry, and windy so the fire has a hot shot crew, and at this point, a level 1 management team. The fire is in a wilderness area, no roads, so the firefighting crews have to be helicoptered into the area. It’s rough and rugged landscape but the firefighting teams are keeping the fire in check, though it’s still at zero percent contained. News about the fire is on https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6825/.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

New sale! Over on Smashwords starting the 1^st of July, it’s the summer/winter sale. Several of my books are on sale and I hope you get a chance to go to that site and check them out. Click on the link and scroll through the list to see books on discount sale. Have fun and check out some other authors while you’re there! https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell Don’t forget. The sale starts 1 July and ends on the 31^st.

The spring giveaway, Spring Flings and Book Things, is over. I’ll let you know when the winners are drawn.

In the meantime the Summer giveaway is now in progress! Check it out here: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always the authors are giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Phoenix Fan Fusion, September 25^th – 27th. This event has been Cancelled. The next one is next May and note that the event is a day shorter, starting on Friday rather than Thursday. For people who have special Thursday passes and other special tickets, check out the Fan Fusion website for details on how those will be handled.

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting, has been officially rescheduled. The new date for my appearance is October 26th, still at 1pm. so if you happen to be in Pine, AZ on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Newest Releases:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Art, BookShop.Org, The Garden, Fire: Monday Blog Post

Posted on June 15, 2020 by conniejean

Newest News:

I belong to a Facebook group that does casual art. The admin posts a new prompt once a day and if you feel the prompt, you draw, paint, photograph to the prompt. The other day the prompt was campfire. Above is what I did. It’s pencil and watercolor paint on art paper.

The other day I was scrolling through Facebook posts and there was one from an author group I belong to talking about a newish website called BookShop.org. They said the site had their books on it so I clicked over to take a look. BookShop’s About page describe it as an alternative to Amazon and the site supports local bookstores. I went ahead and set up a page on there. You can now find my books, all except Gold Dreams, at bookshop.org/shop/conniesrandomthoughts. Check it out.

The weather here has been hot and dry and windy. My garden plants are taking a bit of a beating but still doing well. The tomato plants are blooming, so that’s a good thing, though I won’t have any tomatoes until well after the 4^th of July. The basil is still surviving, and the potatoes are dying back quickly. I just need to harvest them promptly when they’re ready. The peas and beans that were overwhelmed by the potatoes are now visible and the peas, especially, seem quite happy. They’re blooming too. The roses are past their 1^st glorious bloom and if I weren’t so lazy, I’d deadhead them and get a nice second blush. Sigh.

https://wildfiretoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Bush-Fire-closes-Hwy-87.jpg

There is a major fire burning just 60 miles south of us, called the Bush Fire. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6773/ Nearby neighborhoods, directly east of the fire just this morning, have been issued an evacuate order. The air here is smoky and people with breathing problems have been advised to stay indoors. This was a human caused fire, a car caught fire on the highway that runs between Phoenix and Payson. So not deliberately set. Unfortunately, it has closed the highway since Friday afternoon and the traffic confusion that has resulted on Saturday and Sunday has been immense. All the valley campers up here for the weekend were forced to take very long reroutes to get back home. I17, to our west, had 50-mile backups as there was a fire near that travel artery as well. Arizona is beautiful, but escape routes, especially for rural areas like ours can be down to just one or two ways out. So everyone who heads out of your city and to the country for weekends or vacations, please, please, please follow no burn rules if they’re in place. A careless camper can devastate miles and miles of countryside, potentially destroying local towns, and send residents running for their lives. We have a saying up here, “If it’s not camping without a campfire, just think what it’s like with no forest.”

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The spring giveaway, Spring Flings and Book Things, is now open. You can get to it here, on my Giveaways page.

Where will I Be?

Phoenix Fan Fusion, September 25^th – 27th. This event has been postponed until the end of September. Note that the event is a day shorter, starting on Friday rather than Thursday. For people who have special Thursday passes and other special tickets, check out the Fan Fusion website for details on how those will be handled.

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting, has been officially rescheduled. The new date for my appearance is October 26th, still at 1pm. So if you happen to be in Pine, AZ on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Newest Releases:

Fire! Christmas Gifts, Book Festival: Monday Blog Post

Posted on December 11, 2017 by conniejean

By Randy Cockrell

Newest News:

Fire! By now everyone knows that California is in severe distress from fire. My daughter lives in Oxnard, right next to Ventura where the Thomas fire is creating havoc and devastation. She and her roommate are under a prepare to evacuate notice. The air is too thick with smoke to breathe and as a mother, I’d just as soon she come here until the danger is over. But, she’s volunteering at the Ventura Fair Grounds where the county has set up an emergency animal shelter, despite the fact that a section of the city was burned. I know many of you also have friends and/or family in southern California that you are worried about. We send prayers of hope that the courageous firefighters can get these fires under control and that no one else has to perish.

Photo by Randy Cockrell

I don’t know where the year has gone but I was not prepared for December and Christmas. Anyone? Anyone? I had no idea what to get my husband. He’s the sort that when he wants something, if we can afford it, he just gets it. Frustrating. Anyway, I have thought of a few things for him and have gotten them and wrapped them and put them under the tree. All the decorating I’m going to do is done. All the holiday baking and candy-making is done, and packages have been mailed to family. Now it’s time for the party rounds to start. I love this time of year and can’t wait to hang with friends over bring-a-dish buffets and the New Year’s Eve party my friend Karen always has. I hope you’re preparations are going well.

On my Vision Board business, I’ve been locating supplies, gathering magazines and think I’ve found a venue where I can hold it for not a lot of money. I still need to call the place but unless they’re booked, I should be booked this week. Women I’ve talked to about getting their magazines have expressed interest in the workshop. I’ve priced materials like poster board, glue, glue brushes, scissors, and other materials I’ll need to conduct the workshop. So, I’m moving forward and eager to do my own vision board.

Me, Story Monster and Marsha at the Mesa Book Festival

I attended the Mesa Book Festival Saturday with my friend Marsha Ward. I found out when I was there that it was their first one! It was well organized, and the weather cooperated with us. A lovely 75 degrees or so and no wind. Several of the Payson Book Festival authors were there and many from Marsha’s ANWA (Arizona Night Writers Association) member were there as well. Also there was Story Monster, a regular attendee at the Payson Book Festival. We talked with so many readers! It was a great day.

Giveaways:

Starting December 1st, the Roses and Dreams Christmas 2017 Facebook event began. This is a combo event. FIRST EVENT will be a featured author each day. 23 authors in total (1 each day) who will introduce themselves and their books. Competitions and giveaways at their discretion. 45 minutes with any winners notified the next day. I was scheduled for Sunday December 3rd at 1:30PM Arizona time (8:30pm London time) on www.Facebook.com/events/1990733174542034, for 45 minutes with games and book talk.

The SECOND EVENT will be our showcase and we are very excited to announce it. You’ve heard of the Eurovision song contest well now (drumroll please) we’d like to present World Bookovision (#WorldBookovision).

How does it work?

Two weeks starting Monday 4th December (Monday to Friday)

Week one a poll will be pinned with that week’s participating authors. Each day three authors will have a thousand words of one of their books posted (We will post it in the morning) and people get to vote on which ones they like. You can vote more than once. At the end of the week, the two people with the highest votes will go through to the final.

Week two follows the same pattern and the two with the highest votes will go through to the final.

On the week commencing 18th December, the four finalists will showcase the next thousand words of the same book and a new poll will be posted. At the end of the week, the poll will close and one author will win. The author will receive two weeks’ worth of social media advertising from Su and Maria. The winner will provide a copy of that book as a prize (print or e-book) and this will be presented to the person who has participated most in voting. If there are more than one, then we will put them into a draw and the winner will be picked randomly. I’m in this WorldBookovision on Thursday the 14th with 1000 words of one of my stories and I’d appreciate a vote! www.Facebook.com/events/1990733174542034

Throughout the day we will also post lots of Christmas fun. Come and join us as a reader or a participating author.

The Christmas Giveaway has begun. There are 70 authors giving away at least two prizes each and there’s $160 in PayPal cash for the grand prize winner. Check out https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ and click on the Rafflecopter link to enter the new contest. Books, ebooks, jewelry and more is being given away. You don’t want to miss out.

Shout Out:

Author Kebba Buckley Button

Kebba Buckley Button was a 2017 Payson Book Festival author and was also at the Mesa Book Festival with me on the 9th. She is an ordained minister and former engineering manager, a Masters’ Degree scientist, award-winning author and corporate stress management trainer. Rev. Kebba Buckley Button creates books and programs that help people live with both the vitality and inner peace they have been seeking. For spiritual people who ache for self-calming, Kebba wrote Peace Within. For those who want an easy how-to for meditation, she created Sacred Meditation. For anyone who wants to trade in their stress for energy and joy, the answers are in Discover the Secret Energized You. Yes, you can enjoy life! You can find out more at www.kebba.com.

to one day work full time as an author, since there are many, many stories playing out inside her head.

Where Will I Be?

Check my website, https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/where-will-i-be/ for my next engagements.

My book events for the year are now completed. Enjoy your holidays and come back in January to see the 2018 line-up.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on both the regular and the Brown Rain newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming.

Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Book Release:

Mystery at the Book Festival released June 1st and I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords, today! You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads. It’s critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Flash Fiction Friday: Out of the Ashes

Posted on June 13, 2014 by conniejean

Phoenix by FleetingEmber via www.deviantart.com

On June 6th, Chuck Wendig issued a challenge, http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/06/06/flash-fiction-challenge-rise-of-the-phoenix/. Write a flash story that in some way relates to the fabled Phoenix of legend. Here’s my take. Click on the link and view the blog comments to see what other authors have done with the story. I think you’ll like them.

Out of the Ashes

“This tower is on the top of an extinct volcano,” the fire tower keeper, Brigette, explained to the group of nine 4-H members and their leader.

The kids ooh’d and eyebrows went up as mouths fell open.

One girl asked, “Will the volcano erupt again?”

Brigette shook her head. “The region has quieted. There probably won’t be another volcano here, ever.”

The kids looked reassured. That was just before the ground rumbled and the tower began to sway.

“What the…” she started to swear but thought better of it with all the kids around. What’s going on? This area is seismically stable. “Get down the ladder,” she yelled as the radios began to slide across the table and the humming bird feeders swung wildly in the air.

Kids ran down the ladder, the 4-H leader encouraging the ones who were frozen with fear.

“Let’s go sweetie.” Brigette took the hand of a little boy who was staring, wide-eyed. “Come on, we need to get down the stairs.” She pulled him toward the hole in the tower floor. The sound of the descending Leader and children echoed up the industrial steel steps.

They were half way down the tower when she saw her house begin to crumble. The ground was shaking and the kids already on the ground screamed. Brigette saw several of them fall. The tower swayed over her. “Let’s go, kid.” He latched onto the hand rail and wouldn’t move.

She grabbed his wrist and pulled. They had to hurry; she didn’t know how much longer the tower would stand in all the shaking. She half carried, half dragged the boy down three more circles of the stairs, the tower creaking from every rivet joint. Brigette dragged him to the Leader and turned to watch her house. The roof was caving in, the walls were tipping into the middle of the house. Boards snapped, glass shattered and the collapsing walls and roof roared. A huge cloud of dust rose over the house.

The Leader was piling kids into the mini-van. “Get in,” she said. “I’ll drive us down the mountain.”

Brigette shook her head. “No, my car seems fine. You go. I’ll be right behind you.”

The Leader shrugged and jumped into the car. “Buckle up everyone.” She did a three-point turn in the van and raced along the dirt road, dirt from her tires fountained into the air. Brigette raced to her car. At the door, she realized there was more to the noise of the house collapsing than just the wood and the glass.

She stared at the house. Is that roaring? Brigette opened the car door, the ding, ding, ding of the keys in the ignition alarm could hardly be heard. It looked like the house was trying to stand back up. “What…?”

As she watched, debris rose up and slid away from the house. A claw, the size of bus came out of the middle, shoving bits of wall and plaster out of the hole, then another, followed by a beak. Brigette blinked. A head poked up covered in red and gold feathers. It screeched as it pulled itself out of the ruin. As the sunlight hit the feathers, they began to light; waves of fire covered the monstrous bird. A bit of egg shell flared into flame and fell off of the bird’s body.

Brigette got in the car and turned the key. The engine turned over and the bird turned its black eyes toward the noise. It screamed again. Chills ran down her spine as she shoved the gear shift into drive. “Holy crap,” she whispered as the giant bird spread its wings over the remains of her house. It flapped once, twice, screeching each time. Heat washed over her.

She sped out of the gate and followed the dirt road down the mountain as fast as she could negotiate the hairpin turns. At the nearest Forest Service office she tried to make a report. They were too busy. The area she’d just left was enveloped in forest fire. On the TV, there were reports of a giant bird flying overhead.

A reporter was interviewing an ornithologist from the University. “It’s a Phoenix,” he told the camera.

“But those are a myth,” the reporter said.

“Apparently not. From the maps, it appears that the bird has risen from an ancient volcano. That would seem appropriate, given its fire background.”

Brigette stared. A Phoenix? The whole southwest is going to burn. She grabbed a Ranger, “The TV says it’s a Phoenix. Look!” She pointed at the television. Pictures of the beast were being shown as people took pictures of it from the ground. Later in the day Emergency Defense offices opened. People were told to evacuate. The Governor appeared on TV during a phone call to the President. Aid in the form of the Air Force and Emergency Management was promised.

The next day there were reports of other Phoenix’ arising from extinct and dormant volcanoes around the world. It was now an International emergency. With only the clothes on her back, Brigette drove to Nebraska; an old college friend lived there, far away from any volcanic activity.

A year later, people huddled in caves or collapsed stone buildings, the land around them burnt and blasted. Brigette and her friend had joined forces with a few other survivors. They had a garden started and life was settling in. They learned to set snares for rabbits, no one wanted to be outside where a Phoenix, high in the sky, could see them and swoop down. The Phoenix were excellent hunters, people didn’t roam too far away from stone shelters.

One of the survivors told a child. “We thought they were a fable, a myth. They rise from the ashes, we were taught.”

Brigette stirred the communal pot of soup. “I wish they’d go back to the ashes.”

The End

998 Words

Find more of the Forward Motion Flash Friday Group here: http://www.fmwriters.com/flash.html

Flash Fiction Friday: The Signal Fire

Posted on February 22, 2013 by conniejean

Altan stood on the hilltop, wrapped in his cloak against the chill night wind. It was summer but up here, the wind blew cold, especially at night. It was midnight, nearly time for his relief, Bora, to come up. As the Chief of the Watch, he could have taken the day watch but he liked the night. It was peaceful and quiet, just him and the stars. He checked the signal fire pile, everything was in readiness. The brazier held coals, ready for him to thrust the torch into, and it helped to keep the watcher warm. All was ready for Bora.

As he stood, watching to the north where the next signal fire was, Altan could hear Bora coming up the hill. The Visigoths were on the move, he’d heard from the runners carrying messages to the Roman fort at Demre to the south. He hoped they’d decide to attack to the east going to the Black Sea but he knew that was a futile thought. Demre was a port town at the east end of the Mediterranean, near the straights leading to the Black Sea. It was a ripe target, one they wouldn’t pass up.

Bora was close. Altan could hear his breathing and dislodged rocks rolling down the hill. He stared to the north, there! The signal fire was lit; he could see the sparks flying into the night sky.

“Bora!” Altan called out to his friend. “Hurry, the signal fire has been lit!”

Bora came crashing up the remainder of the hill, panting up behind his leader. “Where?”

Alton shook his head, barely visible in the half moon light. “It was lit, Bora. It was!”

They knew the danger. “Are you sure?” Bora strained to see into the darkness.

Altan sighed. “I’m sure.”

“It’s not there, Altan.” Bora’s heavy breathing from his run up the hill was quieting but the worry was in his voice.

“It was there, Bora. I saw it lit. Then, just before you crested the hill, it was gone.”

Bora wrapped his cloak tighter. “An accident. They lit the pyre by accident.”

Altan scratched at his beard. “Perhaps. The Roman runner said the Visigoths were on the move. What if they are at the mountain? What if the watchers lit the fire but the Visigoths put it out before it caught well.”

“What if it was an accident, Altan? The Romans won’t be happy to be pulled out of the garrison and run up here if it was a false signal.”

He turned to Bora, “What if the signal was over run? The Visigoths could be headed here now. They move fast, they could be here by tomorrow evening. Our families would be killed, and no signal would warn Demre. The town could be overrun.”

Bora kicked the wood at the edge of the pyre. “True.” He looked up into Altan’s face, “You must decide. Quickly.”

Altan chewed on a ragged thumbnail. “A signal fire is worthless if it isn’t used in time. Light the fire. If I’m wrong, I’ll deal with the Romans when they get here. If I’m right, Demre will have a chance.”

Bora thrust the torch into the brazier. It sprang to flame and he touched it to the pyre. They stepped back as it roared to life.

The End

550 Words

Find more of the Forward Motion Flash Friday Group here:http://www.fmwriters.com/flash.html

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Tag Archives: Fire

Fire Update, Mystery at the Reunion, Giveaway Ending: Monday Blog Post

Fire, Interview, Giveaway: Monday Blog Post

Haircut, Fund Raiser, Another Fire, Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale: Monday Blog Post

Art, BookShop.Org, The Garden, Fire: Monday Blog Post

Fire! Christmas Gifts, Book Festival: Monday Blog Post

Flash Fiction Friday: The Signal Fire