This story first appeared in November 2009 in at Camroc Press Review. For the first time, an editor contacted me and asked me to submit a story, based on reading Katie's Six at Six Sentences (which I offered a couple weeks ago here). By reaching out to me, Editor Barry Basden gave me a new-found confidence as a writer and helped me rise to the next level. Not to say I don't have a million more levels to attain, but I sure am enjoying the climb.
At the original posting, there wasn't a place to leave comments. Feel free to leave your thoughts, or even a quick hello right here. Thanks for reading and following the #fridayflash links.
Left Out in the Cold
24 comments:
Yowch - I'm going to need the traditional Friday booze fayre to get me cheerful again!
Nicely done, harrowing.
Wow. What Maria said only make mine cookies. This was brutal and well constructed. The pink tennis shoe did me in.
Great job!
I remember this one well. It has haunted me since the first read. Stark and cold and heart-rendingly good.
Peggy, that’s a great story and it’s got a good home at Camroc Press Review.
Barry Basden’s the greatest!
Very well written. What a haunting story this is.
Hello!
You tempted me! It's your fault saying I could just say a quick "Hello." You don't know how hard I resisted. How difficult the battle was to restrain myself. And still I had to!
It's a rough but genuine piece. Glad to see you re-publish, or at least re-promote it.
Oh, a piece to pull and pull and hurt the heart!
I agree with Karen about the image of the little pink sneaker. Haunting. The girls were so young...
Well done.
I first thought after reading the story is, "absolutely awful" but the writing so so brilliant. This really does chill me to the core. Excellent, Peggy.
Very, very creepy and disturbing, as you intended. Is the evil inside or out? Good work, Peggy.
Somehow, I was able to see that coming. Brutally horrific, but well written:-)
Oh yes, this did it. I could feel everything as I read this, the cold, the bleakness, the longing to play and laugh with her daughters, the crushing guilt.
Terrible, terrible. And wonderfully written.
Well done.
Peggy, this is heart-wrenching. Beautiful, haunting writing.
Thanks for your kind words, Peggy. Always welcome.
We hope to see more of your fine work at CPR before too long.
Barry Basden
A haunting story. Well done.
I laughed at the snot paragraph--it was so well-done, with great imagery, and so true to kids--even though I knew something was (going to be) up. I felt the mother's weariness, the kids' boredom and cold, the horrible guilt and heartbreak the mother will probably never cease to feel intensely...Very well-done.
Tragic and Touching. Thx again for your writing.
Wow, what a brutal story, but congrats on being approached to publish with them. What an honor, not to mention a good pick-me-up.
Chilling and so sad. Wonderfully written. I'll take a cookie now, too.
Haunting and oh, so, sad. Your writing is so good that it was effortless to read, despite the difficult events for this family. You are a beautiful story-teller.
Wow, intense writing here. The entire last paragraph just sticks with you and sends a chill up your spine. Excellent story telling.
Real, raw, sad. Numbing, almost.
I love readding, and thanks for your artical. ........................................
Wonderfully told, heartwrenching tale.
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