The Artist – Friday Fictioneers

Posted on April 15, 2026 by ceayr
© Ted Strutz

Friday Fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here.

Click here to hear the author read his words:

The Artist

When she paints, she creates colours unidentifiable by any eye, colours that cause Mother Nature to smile in envious appreciation.
When she paints, she brings to life the magical dreams that dance in the ensorcelled world within her soul.
When she paints grass, there is the scent of springtime, of dandelions and buttercups, the steady drone of bees and a distinct sensation of the fluttering of butterfly wings.
When she paints water, fish flash through bubbles exploding over rocks and the great white stag stoops his antlered head to drink.
Now she’s painting a graveyard, and the earth is restless…

Posted in Sound Bite Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Seabird – Friday Fictioneers

Posted on April 8, 2026 by ceayr
© Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Friday Fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here.

Click here to hear the author read his words:

seabird

isn’t it strange
how life can change
in an instant
when you realise
everything you wanted
everything you hoped for
everything you dreamed of
and worse
everything you had
is lost…

we are swimming
no
floating
lazily on our backs
in the gentle Mediterranean
just off the beach at Bonporteau
a calanque
or rocky cove
talking
laughing
happy
I think
until…

nothing tangible
not even a word
just a hint
a suspicion…

and then
as the doubt
slithers in
I see
on the cliff face
the fleeting shadow
of a swooping gull…

and I understand

* * *

You can find details of my new book here:
https://ceayr.com/2026/04/07/this-time-its-tartan-noir/


Posted in Poetry, Sound Bite Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

This time it’s Tartan Noir!

Posted on April 7, 2026 by ceayr

Click here to hear the author read the opening few lines:

This time it’s Tartan Noir!

C. E. Ayr, writing in his inimitable dynamic and incisive style, presents The Divorce Lawyer, a cynical, darkly humorous mystery thriller in the best traditions of Tartan Noir.

Following are some comments from Beta Readers, most of whom are Members of the Association for Scottish Literature:
* immensely enjoyable read…
* a confident, morally complex crime thriller driven by a distinctive narrative voice…
* darkly comic…
* intriguing story, characters and plot twists…
* terrific page turner, good addition to the genre…
* authentic Scottish phrasing…
* I laughed out loud…
And finally:
* Corruption, violence, loyalty, revenge, and moral ambiguity are not side themes. They are
the spine of the story.

The Divorce Lawyer is a new direction for C. E. Ayr, author of the acclaimed Sensei & Vidock series.
It tells a tale of love and violence, loyalty and revenge, corruption and conflict – and let’s not forget the deaths – set mainly in Ayrshire and Glasgow.

The Divorce Lawyer is available here:

UK:
https://bit.ly/4mbAKFR

Elsewhere (amazon.com): 
bit.ly/4skiOKl

Imprint of Ayr & Grayce Books
Posted in Novel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Box Friday Fictioneers

Posted on April 1, 2026 by ceayr
© Roger Bultot

Friday Fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here.

Click here to hear the author read his words:

Box

‘What’s in the box?’
She barely lifts her head.
‘What box?’
‘On the wardrobe.’
‘Nothing.’
‘Okay, I’ll toss it.’
‘Leave it.’
‘An empty box? Why?’
‘It’s not doing anything.’
‘Then what’s the point?’
Now she looks at me.
‘Are you after an argument?’
‘What? No! I just wondered…’
‘Don’t. It doesn’t suit you.’
‘I was going to put this suitcase up there.’
No answer.
‘But there’s no room unless…’
‘Just leave the suitcase.’
‘It takes up a lot of space…’
‘Not for long.’
She pulls clothes from the wardrobe, rams them into the case.
‘I’ll take the box too,’ she says.

Posted in Sound Bite Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Spider Gone – Friday Fictioneers

Posted on March 25, 2026 by ceayr
Copyright Sandra Crook

Friday Fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here.

Click here to hear the author read his words:

spider gone

Susie is a little spider who
made her home in a secluded corner
of my smallest room

after spending August in Scotland
(I am too cantankerous to willingly suffer the excess of heat and tourists here)
I was amazed and dismayed
to find
she had multiplied her size tenfold
or more probably been replaced

I jettisoned this intruder
humanely and
against all expectations
Susie returned the following day
perhaps wondering at the sudden disappearance
of her mother

but now she has gone again
with no explanation
no word or sign
in much the same way
as you did
my love

Posted in Friday Fictioneer | Tagged , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Tulip – Friday Fictioneers

Posted on February 11, 2026 by ceayr
Copyright David Stewart

Friday Fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here.

Click here to hear the author read his words:

Tulip

My friend Susan, a church-going Christian of off-centre flavour, had a dog called Tulip who, aged 14, sadly popped her clogs.
Broken-hearted but stoic, Susan, after an appropriate period of mourning, acquired a pup, called Tulip too.
Or perhaps Tulip Two.
They quickly bonded, showering bi-directional love to the enhancement of both lives.
Then, only weeks later, Susan wakened one grey January morning to discover Tulip dead in her bed.
Bereft, she retired to the darkest corner of her soul to reconsider her future.
Speaking as a life-long atheist, I have one thought on Susan’s god.
Bitching sense of humour.


Posted in Sound Bite Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Robert Burns

Posted on January 25, 2026 by ceayr
Robert Burns by Phil Burns

January 25th is the birthday of Scotland’s National Bard, the much-loved Robert Burns.

So today I pay tribute with some words from Oor Rabbie, who believed that all men were created equal:

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a’ that,)
That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an’ a’ that.
For a’ that, an’ a’ that,
It’s coming yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man, the world o’er,
Shall brothers be for a’ that.

bear the gree = come to the fore

But he was also a romantic:

Ye banks and braes o’ bonnie Doon
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair?
How can ye chaunt, ye little birds,
And I sae weary, fu’ o’ care.
Ye’ll break my heart, ye warbling birds
That wanton through the flowery thorn,
Ye mind me o’ departed joys,
Departed, never to return.

and even in English:

But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white–then melts for ever;

Thanks, Rabbie, and Happy Birthday, wherever you are.

Posted in Poetry, Poetry, Scottish Stuff, funny and serious | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

The Wheel – Friday Fictioneers

Posted on January 21, 2026 by ceayr
Copyright Dale Rogerson

Friday Fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here.

For technical reasons there’s no reading again today.

The Wheel

I remember when I invented the wheel.
‘What’s that,’ my wife asked.
‘It’s a wheel.’
‘What does it do?’
‘It rolls.’
‘Rolls? What do you mean?’
Well, it’s almost exactly what a brick doesn’t do.’
‘What’s a brick?’
‘Oh jings…’
‘So what’s it for?’
‘Well, if I make another one, I can invent the bicycle.’
‘What’s a bicycle?’
‘Then if I make two more, I can invent a bus.’
‘What’s a bus?’
She’s a bit limited, my wife.
‘Never mind, sweetie. Vroom, vroom.’
‘What are you doing with your wheel?’
She has no imagination.
‘I’m pretending to drive my car.’


Posted in Sound Bite Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Under the Dome – Friday Fictioneers

Posted on January 14, 2026 by ceayr
© Jennifer Pendergast

Friday Fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here.

For technical reasons there’s no reading today.

Under the Dome

We gather in the old gallery under the great dome.
Jason, 16, who sees himself as our leader, scrapes the pentagram into the marble floor, instructs us to sit in a circle around it and sneers down at us as he paces.
From the tattered yellowing papers he reads the incantations, his voice increasing in pitch and volume as his excitement grows.
The explosion is startling and, as the smoke clears, the great horned figure becomes visible.
As screams of terror ring out, Satan’s head turns slowly, carefully studying each face.
When he reaches me, he stops.
‘Hello master,’ he bows.

Posted in Sound Bite Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 46 Comments

The Wee Goat

Posted on December 20, 2025 by ceayr

As a response to Crimson’s Creative Challenge, I wrote this.
Click here to hear the writer read his words:

The Wee Goat

‘Mum, I can’t find him!’
Little Abigail is in a panic, running around the yard searching for her favourite goat.
Lionel’s the closest thing she has to a pet, to a friend, but even on the smallest farm a tiny goat can always find a place to hide.
‘Have you milked the cows,’ her mother calls.
‘Not yet,’ she cries, ‘I’m still looking…’
‘The cows can’t wait,’ her mother insists, her voice telling the child the discussion is over. ‘You know the rules, girl.’
Abigail finishes her chores then goes inside.
‘Dinner’s ready, so wash your hands, then come to the table,’ says her mother. ‘Doesn’t this look good? See, we’ve got paper hats and crackers! Merry Christmas, sweetheart!’
Abigail climbs excitedly onto her chair, then her smile disappears.
‘That doesn’t look like a turkey.’

Posted in Sound Bite Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments