Food – Hugh's Views & News

Flash Fiction Friday – The Field

Published on March 3, 2023March 2, 2023 by Hugh W. Roberts25 Comments

February 27, 2023, prompt: Write a story about a golden onion in 99 words (no more, no less). Any golden onion. One planted or harvested. An onion chopped for a meal. How can you use an onion as a prop in a character’s hand? Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.

The Field – by Hugh W. Roberts

Laying in a dark field, the skin of a giant golden onion shimmered in the moonlight, hoping to tempt passersby to touch it.

Townsfolk spoke of a curse cast by a vengeful, vindictive spirit on the onion. They avoided the field, warning their children never to venture in.

Travellers thought the shimmer was gold. Some failed in their temptation to go into the field. Those that touched the onion disappeared without a trace.

Some nights, the air was filled with the scent of onion, reminding the townsfolk that the cursed golden onion was waiting to claim its next victim.

***

Image of a bunch of golden onions on a chopping-board. — Image Credit: Charli Mills

Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.

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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘Glimpses.’

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Glimpses

28 short stories and pieces of flash fiction take the reader on a rollercoaster of twists and turns.

Available on Amazon

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Time For A Treat? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Published on February 22, 2023February 21, 2023 by Hugh W. Roberts47 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Photo of jars of colourful sweets — What’s your go-to treat?

Not sure what Wordless Wednesday is or how to participate? Click here for full details.

Linking to the Sunday Stills photography challenge hosted by Terri Webster Schrandt. Theme: Sweet

Are you participating in Wordless Wednesday? Leave a link to your post in the comments section, and I will try and visit it and leave you a comment (provided the post and pictures are Wordless and do not contain any words). I will also share the post on Twitter, provided you have connected your Twitter account to your blog.

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Flash Fiction Friday – All It Took

Published on February 17, 2023February 17, 2023 by Hugh W. Roberts29 Comments

February 13, 2023, prompt: Write a story about a smear of jam in 99 words (no more, no less). Is it across a slice of toast, a white shirt, or something unexpected? The jam could be the focus or detail that ads a twist. Who are the characters with the jam, and where are they situated in space and time? Go where the prompt leads!

All It Took – by Hugh W. Roberts

ChatGPT recommended the jam and put it on her shopping list.

Two days later, she spread a smear of the sticky jam on her toast and took little notice of the tiny handprint on the side of the jar.

Spitting out the toast’s remains, she drank a glass of water to eliminate the awful taste of the jam.

Moments later, she felt a strange sensation in her mouth, looked down and saw something moving in the jam.

In the instant before she craved human flesh, she knew the smear on the jar wasn’t a handprint; it was a warning.

Image of a opened jar of jam on a wooden table — Image credit: Charli Mills

Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.

Click here to view last week’s entries.

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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’

***

32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.

More Glimpses

Available on Amazon

Paperback – £4.99

Kindle – £0.99

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Flash Fiction Friday – Cravings

Published on July 29, 2022July 29, 2022 by Hugh W. Roberts34 Comments

July 25, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story sweet as cherries. It can be about the fruit or something cherries represent. Why is it sweet? Can you use contrast to draw out the beauty? Go where the prompt leads!

Cravings – by Hugh W. Roberts

Life was a bowl of cherries for Vinnie.

Despite what was happening, he still had ample food.

Life was fun, and had given Vinnie a sweet tooth. When he saw Mrs Longacre running past his kitchen window holding a cherry pie and screaming, he knew life was about to get sweeter.

Within seconds, Vinnie was out of the house and sinking his teeth, not into a cherry pie, but into Mrs Longacre’s neck. The sweetness of flesh helped his sweet cravings.

Having been a Zombie for an hour, Vinnie hoped the sweetness of this new life would last forever.

***

Image of a bowl of red cherries — Image credit: Charli Mills

Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.

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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’

***

32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.

More Glimpses

Available on Amazon

Paperback – £4.99

Kindle – £0.99

Follow Hugh on his social media platforms by clicking the buttons below.

Did You Know That Something Is Watching You? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Published on May 18, 2022May 18, 2022 by Hugh W. Roberts30 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Photo of poached eggs on toast — Can you smell the aromas of hot-buttered toast and poached eggs?

Linking To Sunday Stills Photography Challenge hosted By Terri Webster-Schrandt – Theme: Aromas

Not sure what Wordless Wednesday is or how to participate? Click here for full details.

Fresh And Fruity #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Published on March 2, 2022March 2, 2022 by Hugh W. Roberts15 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Photo of a pot of tulips looking up towards a blue sky — Tulips On The Sky

Photo of a bowl of fresh fruit salad — Fruity Salad

Linking to the Sunday Stills Photography Challenge hosted by Terri Webster Schrandt – Theme: Fresh

It’s A Small World #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Published on August 4, 2021August 4, 2021 by Hugh W. Roberts33 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Photo of a close up of a lone mushroom in a garden — Mushroom

The Potato Thief #flashfiction

Published on March 8, 2021March 25, 2021 by Hugh W. Roberts52 Comments

March 4, 2021, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that includes sweet potatoes. It can be part of a recipe, meal, or used as a nickname. Where do sweet potatoes take you? The grocery store? The garden? Mars? Go where the prompt leads!

The Potato Thief – by Hugh W. Roberts

He should never have stolen my home-grown, sweet potatoes.

He may have been an enthusiastic, good-looking man, but just because I gave him some, he had no right coming back in the dead of night to help himself to me and more potatoes.

Furious, I ended up hitting him over the head with the shovel and burying his body under the sweet potato patch. Boy, did it make them taste even sweeter; until the day forensics arrived and dug up the patch.

Still, at least I get to make sweet potato mash for all the boys here in prison.

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Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch. Click here to join in.

A Kind Of Pumpkin #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Published on October 14, 2020October 14, 2020 by Hugh W. Roberts33 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Linking to: –

Daily Squares: Theme – Kind – Hosted by Becky at The Life Of B

Consumer Testing #flashfiction

Published on September 28, 2020September 30, 2020 by Hugh W. Roberts25 Comments

September 24, 2020, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about snacking. It can feature crunchy snacks or creamy one. Who is snacking on what and why? How can you make this a story? Go where the prompt leads!

Consumer Testing – by Hugh W. Roberts

“So which one do you think tasted best? Snack 8816CAO or snack 10345HBX?”

“The second one.”

“Snack 10345HBX?”

“Yes.”

“Fantastic. That’s our own brand. It’s thirty-five percent cheaper than the market leader, which you also tried. Can I tempt you to a few packets?”

“Yes, but what’s the flavour?”

“Homolastic. It’s a new flavour we found on a planet called Earth. They know it as plastic. When mixed with Homo sapiens, which are full of plastics, you get the perfect combination of flavours. There are just under 8 billion of them, so we’ll never run out during our lifetime.”

Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch. Click here to join in.

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Honeymoon #flashfiction

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Pizza #flashfiction

Published on April 8, 2020April 14, 2020 by Hugh W. Roberts30 Comments

April 2, 2020, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that includes pizza. It can be an original pizza pie (or slice) or something pizza-like. Go where the prompt leads!

If you’d like to read the story so far, click on ‘The Newlyweds‘ on the menu bar at the top of my blog.

“I know what you did, Clarice,” giggled the face looking down at Mike. “You tampered with the pizza, didn’t you?” As alarm bells rang in his head, pains raced across Mike’s chest and down his arms.

***

As the woman turned around slowly to reveal her face, Sophie’s heartbeat increased. Horrified, she watched as the book in the woman’s hand turned into a slice of pizza.

“Now, I’m in control,” screamed the woman.

***

Two floors above, Doug became more and more terrified at the way Clarice looked at him.

“Sophie? The one who poisoned the pizza you ate?” she asked.

Click here to read the first part of this story and follow the links back to this part.