Texas State Fair [original painting on display in the office of Scott Zashin, M.D. in Dallas, Texas - circa 1970s]
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Featured Stories and Narratives
Video Narratives
The Haunting of a Cracked Window [paranormal]
Happy Halloween!
Day-Six of Creepy Pod Podcast's 31 Days of Horror, 2022
(The Haunting of a Cracked Window begins at 18:40)
Day-Six of Creepy Pod Podcast's 31 Days of Horror, 2022
(The Haunting of a Cracked Window begins at 18:40)
Christmas in Four Parts
The Poets Lounge
Production, Narration and Music by: Alan Johnson
Written by: Lisa H. Owens
The Poets Lounge
Production, Narration and Music by: Alan Johnson
Written by: Lisa H. Owens
Till Death Do Us Part
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Her Chair
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A Lover's Kiss
The Poets Lounge
Production, Narration and Music by: Alan Johnson
Written by: Lisa H. Owens
Read Story
The Eyes Have It
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The Gatekeeper
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Twelve Months of 100-Word Photo Prompts
See All 100-Word Prompts here.
A Conversation Regarding the Effects of Shrooms [November, 2023 - 100-Words]
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"Your eyes are funny. You trippin', man?"
"Uh Huh." "What are you on?" "Shrooms, man." "I remember shrooms. My college days, they had me trippin' balls. Seein' things. Talkin’ to ghosts and such." "I know whatcha mean, man. Magic mushrooms wrote my senior thesis. My professor said it was the most detailed paper he'd ever read on The Drake Equation as related to communication with extraterrestrial civilizations. Gave me an F." "You failed? What the Hell, man?" “My theme was, The Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis.” The old man in the mirror laughed and gave him a knowing wink. By Lisa H. Owens Just 100 Words 100 Word Stories - November 2023 Photo Prompt |
[photo courtesy of www.100wordstory.org]
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Helen's Finger [September, 2023 - 100-Words]
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Timmy was a strange kid. He’d been born with an index finger where a lateral incisor should be. His body was riddled with bites and odd scratches, as without thinking, he often used the tooth-finger to scratch his itches.
The dentist suggested amputating the finger. Digging the appendage out of his upper gum to replace it with a pearly dental implant. Well hell, they would brighten all his teeth giving him a winsome smile. Timmy loved the words “winsome smile,” but he also loved the only evidence of his twin sister, Helen, whom his body had absorbed in the womb. By Lisa H. Owens Just 100 Words 100 Word Stories - September 2023 Photo Prompt |
[photo courtesy of www.100wordstory.org]
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A Symbol of Good Fortune [August, 2023 - 100-Words]
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Uncle Ken’s been different since his notorious Lockdown-Meltdown of 2020. He’s a real peach these days. Thoughtful and content. No more rants on misuse of tax dollars or declining work ethics.
This Uncle Ken senses what is not apparent. He freely gives bear-hugs and is in high demand on family outings and holidays. He winks when I snap photos of him, his arm draped over the neck of his everpresent guardian, Haru the Dragon. The grown-ups scoff and roll their eyes, but I know he’s real. Haru tells me he will rain fire on the villains. I whisper their names. By Lisa H. Owens Just 100 Words 100 Word Stories - August 2023 Photo Prompt |
[photo courtesy of www.100wordstory.org]
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Howard's Photo [July, 2023 - 100-Words]
The Fourth of July's Actual Grand Finale [June, 2023 - 100-Words]
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The wind awoke as Dad gingerly carried the punk, its firey tip enhancing his coppery hair.
“Light’er up,” we cried. Dad squatted to light the fuse while the breeze caressed and teased his graying sideburns and the low side-part above his ear. “Come on wind,” we urged. The wind billowed—speeding the flame along—to ignite the lift-charge of the Grand-Finale-Rocket. Against a starburst backdrop, a glorious gust disengaged the flap of Dad's hair, sealed into submission by a wad of pomade, and we broke out in song, “It’s a Grand Old Flag…” finally celebrating the release of the combover. By Lisa H. Owens Just 100 Words 100-Word Stories - June 2023 Photo Prompt |
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Clara's Infamous Key Lime Pie [May, 2023 100-Words]
The Vengeful Murder of Mittens [April, 2023 100-Words]
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Mittens destroyed the kingdom. ‘Twas merely an accident, for though he looked ferocious, he wasn't a vengeful dragon—simply plagued by allergies.
Upon hatching, an approaching thunderstorm induced a sneezing fit, setting every candle wick aflame, and Sally realized she had a problem. Not in keeping a dragon (though it was frowned upon by the council), but in slathering a poultice of aromatic herbs and lard upon Mittens’ ruby throat at the first rumblings of thunder. In a drunken stupor, she was, the night of The Great Storm followed by The Great Burn and fed-up villagers arrived wielding enchanted pitchforks. Lisa H. Owens Just 100 Words 100-Word Stories - April 2023 Photo Prompt |
[photo courtesy of 100wordstory.org]
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County Drive-Thru Testing Site [March, 2023 100-Words]
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The line of cars started alongside the makeshift tents. It snaked through abandoned fair ground concessions—dotted with wayward cups and haphazard propane tanks—and ended miles later beyond the stockyards.
Ben fidgeted in the driver's seat. “This is fuckin’ madness,” he grumbled, “and you hacking up a lung.” I lifted my mask to pop another flavorless lozenge, choking back a cough as dry as the Sahara, and cracked my window. “Roll it up. Smells like shit out there,” Ben shifted his eyes to the adjacent cattle barn. Another cough. Another tear soaking my mask. I hadn’t smelled a thing in days. Lisa H. Owens Just 100 Words 100-Word Stories - March 2023 Photo Prompt |
[photo courtesy of 100wordstory.org]
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The Things She Wanted to Say [February, 2023 100-Words]
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“A penny for your thoughts?” His voice was insistent. The edgy tone he used when he was on the brink.
She thought about the things she wanted to say. How he was too controlling and turned every conversation into a monologue. What was wrong with the world. Wrong with her. How for years she’d dreamt of ways to end his reign of terror. How last month she started adding a special ingredient to his morning coffee—him contemplating why it was this particular brand tasted of almonds. Instead, she said, “I don’t deserve you, darling,” focusing on her cracked teacup. By Lisa H. Owens Just 100 Words 100 Word Stories - February 2023 Photo Prompt |
[photo courtesy of 100wordstory.org]
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A Cozy Blanket of Snow [January, 2023 - 100-Words]
Leftover Dirt [November, 2022 - 100-Words]
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True to his word, Uncle Joe took the key to his grave. One stormy night of the cousins working together, grunting, taking turns sharing shovels and the casket revealed itself. The hole was dank and cavernous.
We drew straws. Which unlucky bastard would do the deed? Open the lid and run hands over old Joe’s decaying corpse, digging through gore encrusted pockets. I was the loser; but also, the winner. I launched out of that hole, smelling of death—key in my pocket—guns ablazing. The conundrum? What to do with the soil displaced by four dead cousins haphazardly astride Uncle Joe? By Lisa H. Owens Just 100 Words 100 Word Stories - November 2022 Photo Prompt |
[photo courtesy of www.100wordstory.org]
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The Evidence [October, 2022 - 100-Words]
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Bob's apartment looked like an explosion. The couch cushions were shredded, the twin mattress stripped and flipped. Every drawer dumped to form one haphazard pile in the center of dank wall-to-wall carpet.
This had Gianelli Thugs written all over it. Bob’s apartment, smaller than his recently vacated prison cell, tossed. He opened the freezer and pulled out a Tony’s Pizza box and felt inside—beneath the shrink-wrapped pepperoni pie. They were still there, sealed in the baggie. He didn’t give two shits about anything else in this wretched hellhole. The hidden negatives were his way out. His ticket to Easy Street. By Lisa H. Owens Just 100 Words 100 Word Stories - October 2022 Photo Prompt |
[photo courtesy of www.100wordstory.org]
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"Big Tex" [State Fair-1988]
Rescue, Fred [Chihuahua/Schnauzer mix - 8 years old-2022]
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Rescue, Lucky [English Pointer - RIP], Autumn & Al
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Rescue, Buddy [Terrier mix - 14 years old-2022]
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Neo [Boxer Mix - RIP] & Rescue, Dingo [Shepherd mix - RIP]
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Rescue, Cleo [Basset Hound - RIP]
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Rescue, Henry [Labrador mix - RIP]
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It's not that we are bad pet owners; it's just that we've had many dogs over the years that led post-rescue lives, long lives, filled with kindness. RIP to those we lost.
Until we meet again someday.
Until we meet again someday.