Laura Besley

Father’s Guide for Troubleshooting the Eight Pound Baby Boy Problem: My Eight-Pound™ is forming a closer relationship with its mother than with me. Possible Solution: This is common. This problem typically results from your spending less time with the produ…

'Problem: My Eight-Pound™ is forming a closer relationship with its mother than with me.'
Fabulous use of unusual storytelling method.
#fiction #flashfiction #writingcommunity
Father’s Guide for Troubleshooting the Eight Pound Baby Boy flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2026/03...

Zen and the Art of Appliance Maintenance A few months ago, my therapist suggested that I should connect more with those in my life and open up to more people about my feelings. So, I began having a series of polite conversations with my s…

'A friend told me about a therapist who specialized in kitchen appliance anxiety. “It’s a booming industry,” he said.'

Fun & surreal with a serious undertone. 'Zen and the Art of Appliance Maintenance' is a great piece of #flashfiction
#writingcommunity

flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2026/03...

Great to know you enjoyed it, Laura. Thank you for reading and sharing @laurabesley.bsky.social‬ @allisonfieldbell.bsky.social‬ #microfiction #MicroMonday

Trouble Trouble rarely appears in the form you expect. Ok, true, sometimes it’s foreseeable. Sometimes during a first date you’ll catch yourself thinking that in a couple of months you’ll look back on this…

'Trouble' reads like a breathless sentence (but isn't) bc of the pacing. Tension builds & builds, the crescendo hits in the right place, and the ending thuds perfectly. Fantastic read by Anne van Leeuwen.
#fiction #flashfiction #writingcommunity
Trouble flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2026/03...

MicroMonday #46 Nighthawks by Allison Field Bell I could tell you about the image itself: the way the four figures are arranged at the coffee bar in the early hours of morning of some city. How two are together, o…

'It’s a message to me. Saying without saying.'

I adore Edward Hopper and this piece by @allisonfieldbell.bsky.social @fictivedream.bsky.social is a superb accompanying piece.

#fiction #microfiction #writingcommunity

fictivedream.com/2026/03/02/m...

Lovers Have to Know Everything Annie waits in this motel at the end of a row of motels, brimming, can sense the dirt on the sheets, can feel it on the tips of her fingers, and she wants to shine a blacklight, to see the bed illu…

'Annie waits in this motel at the end of a row of motels, brimming, can sense the dirt on the sheets, can feel it on the tips of her fingers...'
Superb single-sentence story by Nadim Silverman
#fiction #flashfiction
Lovers Have to Know Everything flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2026/02...

Please The radiator in Lisa’s steamy bedroom fights against outside’s raw Sunday. White sky clings to bare branches. Her parents are away, her younger sister, too. Lisa and me, and Max the dog stare at th…

'The radiator in Lisa’s steamy bedroom fights against outside’s raw Sunday. White sky clings to bare branches.'

Love this opening and this piece by @mauroaltamura8.bsky.social in #FlashFictionMagazine

#fiction #flashfiction #writingcommunity
flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2026/03...

IT'S WEDNESDAY!

It's #buyastrangerabook day!

The grooviest day of all.

I'll give out TWO books.

FOR FREE.

If you'd like one, let me know.

Also, if you'd like to #BuyAStrangerABook too, let me know.

It's a thing! Look.

www.biggreenbookshop.com/stuff-you-mi...

UK only.

That's so true and possibly even more true when you write short fiction. Lots of people are focused with word count (& if that works for them, that's great), but it's not always a helpful goal to aim towards. Sometimes a time goal can be more/just as helpful.

Congratulations to the winner, 2x runners up & 3x highly commended for this year's novella-in-flash competition 🎉🎉🎉 Very much looking forward to reading those published. And big thanks to @judehwriter2.bsky.social for continuing to champion this form.
#fiction #flashfiction #novella-in-flash

Congratulations, everyone 🎉🎉🎉

My pleasure!

Seventeen Years From Now, - Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine Photo by Maxim Yuryshev on Unsplash by Laura Besley when her son asks, ‘Mummy, why do your eyes have mud round them?’ she will be reminded of tonight, the night her father yells at her that no daughte...

‘If only she were meeting a boy. Someone like Rupert or Hunter or Joe, who have cars and trust funds and play golf at the weekends.’

Echoes across the years in this heartbreaker from @laurabesley.bsky.social in @gooseberrypielit.bsky.social 💭

gooseberry-pie.com/seventeen-ye...

Thanks so much, James!

Thanks, Lisa! It's such a great issue. I love gooseberry pie too 😊

Thanks, Jeff!

#ICYMI 'Seventeen Years From Now' is my 6-sentence story in the wonderful @gooseberrypielit.bsky.social
The whole issue is fab!
#fiction #microfiction #amwriting #writingcommunity

Barrelhouse - Online Issue: The Aftermath The Aftermath Stories often focus on the climactic events in one’s life, but after these points of intensity, the world goes on. What happens when the adventure is over? How do you live your daily lif...

New call for submissions from @barrelhouse.bsky.social: The Aftermath. We're looking for fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art about what happens AFTER the big story is over and life goes back to "normal" (or whatever counts as "normal"). More details here:

New online issue is open for subs. A lot going on here these days.

This group is a great way to explore the fascinating and versatile genre of novella-in-flash! #WritingCommunity #books #BookSky #FlashFiction

Thanks so much!

Congratulations!!

The new block of The NIFTY Book Club starts next week! On Monday, 23rd February, we'll be discussing 'Lessons at the Water's Edge' - the prize-winning novella-in-flash - by Caroline Greene.
There's still time to sign up! See ⏬ for details ⏬
#fiction #flashfiction #novellainflash #writingcommunity

Skin Theory - 101 Words We live inside sacks of skin. I peel an orange and think of how easy it would be to unmake myself. To slip a finger under the surface, to feel the wet separation of self from self. We can touch our li...

'To slip a finger under the surface, to feel the wet separation of self from self.'
Great micro by Evan Gassmaan in 101 Words
#fiction #microfiction
Skin Theory 101words.org/skin-theory/

My pleasure!

Review by Laura Besley of "Paper Sisters" by Rachel Canwell "What you saw was a woman, bent out of shape. Pushed beyond her breaking point. Turns out we’ve all got them."  Rachel Canwell’s debut novel...

Here is my ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ #review of Paper Sisters by @bookbound2019.bsky.social #published by @northodoxpress.bsky.social OUT NOW
#book #books #bookreview #historicalfiction #WWI

everybodysreviewing.blogspot.com/2026/02/revi...

Seventeen Years From Now, - Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine Photo by Maxim Yuryshev on Unsplash by Laura Besley when her son asks, ‘Mummy, why do your eyes have mud round them?’ she will be reminded of tonight, the night her father yells at her that no daughte...

"If only she were meeting a boy. Someone like Rupert or Hunter or Joe, who have cars and trust funds and play golf at the weekends" Possibilities for a girl conjured up by @laurabesley.bsky.social in this moving story
gooseberry-pie.com/seventeen-ye...

Thanks so much, Sam!

Thank you, Claudia!

Thanks, Ruth!