Fast Fiction: 101 Stories 101 Words Each

By Scotty Cornfield

In FAST FICTION, you'll enter a cafe where the menu is loaded with nothing but literary appetizers, designed to be quickly consumed and easily digested. You'll meet people with secrets and others who wished they knew how to keep them; characters looking to exact revenge and others getting their just desserts when karma calls. Fans of the combo platter will see it all here, from the dark to the darkly comical; the laugh-out-loud funny to the thought-provoking; offering more twists and turns than a pretzel—more ups and downs than a souffle. Designed to be picked up and perused at any time-- FAST FICTION is perfect for those impromptu moments while you're waiting in line or otherwise find yourself with some extra time to kill--not long enough to get deeply engaged in a novel but just right as a fun alternative. Even if you do have time to put your feet up, get comfortable and grab a book, these 101-word tales will keep you entertained, briefly encountering characters you will never see again--if you're lucky.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667866338

Book preview

A lot can happen in 101-word tales.

Here are excerpts from three of them.

»

Jessica playfully kissed Dirk’s ear

as she removed the .22 revolver from her purse.

•

Why didn’t anyone ever tell the Dynamic Duo

that underwear goes under the tights?

*

—Or we’ll get chain-sawed in our sleep,

Jazmyne jumped in.

◊

Turn the page and let the games begin.

©2022 Scotty Cornfield. All Rights Reserved.

Published by Flagstone Press.

www.scottycornfield.com

»

ISBN: 978-1-66-786633-8

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Foreword

•

A Most Unexpected Gift

They Think They Know Us So Well

I Know What You’re Thinking

The Nuances of Family Connections

Mystery Within a Mystery

Where Else Will You Meet People Like This?

Keeping the Story Straight

Surgically Removed

Model Behavior

Verbal Judo at the Breakfast Table

She Should’ve Invested in a Security Camera

Reading Between the Lies

No Right Answer

What It Takes to Change a Man

Small Talk in the Waiting Room

The Gift of Mercy

Maybe Tomorrow

Thank You for Your (non) Service

Honesty Should Count for Something

Nobody Knows for Sure

I’m a Good Neighbor

Falling in Love Can Really Hurt

A Leader Who Knew How to Talk the Talk

Law of the Jungle

He Made Work a Four-Letter Word

Nobody Said There’d be a Test

Guess I Missed the Memo

Lessons Learned Inside the Crime Scene Tape

Even Lawyers Have Appeal

Where Sensitivity Training Goes to Die

Too Lost to Know It

He’ll Never Be Completely Alone

Pushing the Envelope Until the Envelope Pushes Back

What You Don’t Know, Can’t Hurt You

He Should’ve Bought the Warranty

When Being Nice Isn’t Enough

Lessons from a Grim Reaper

Is This Why I Still Commute by Train?

How to Break the News

It’s Always Funny Until Somebody Gets Blown Up

Some People Are Just Good

America’s Own Michelangelo

Hangin’ with My Time Traveler

Purely a Business Transfer

Beyond Repair

Teddy’s Moment of Regret

Reality Check

Compromising Positions

She Bought a Ticket but Didn’t Like the Show

Just a Lucky Guess?

Why I Don’t Need to Watch TV

Even Love Children Have Limits

Domestic Terrierist

Oh, Henry!

Trust Me: It Sounds Better than It Is

A Rush to Judgement

Tonight’s Menu: Carrots and Sticks

The Ultimate Challenge

Going with the Flow

Equal Opportunity Employers

Tommy’s Rude Awakening

Meet-Cut at the Garden Show

Teaching Immigrants About America

Work with What You Got

Must We Share Everything?

Counterintuitive

When Sparks Fly

My Next Door Stranger

Some Parents Are More Clueless than Others

What Do You Do If You Get There?

He Makes a Good Case for Reincarnation

A Saturday Ritual Goes Awry

Goldilocks Redux

The Choices We Make

The Interrogation Room—Where Memories Go to Die

Finally, a Reunion Worth Attending

It’s Enough to Make Your Head Hurt

Horace Pays It Forward

Finally Free

He Slept While the World Imploded

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

They Put the ass in Passionate

Not All Boy Scout Leaders Are Alike

A Touch of Class

Here’s What I’m Gonna Do to You

Justice Is Served

Close Encounter with a Celebrity

Summer Vacation: Last Day Edition

Some Zebras Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Change Their Stripes

So Much for My Suggestion

He’s Testing My Optimism

Neither Safe nor Sane

Nobody Knows Killers Like a Profiler

Follow Me Where I go

Still Fighting the Good Fight

Unfortunately, not Everybody’s a Baseball Fan

The Unpredictable Nature of Online Dating

Something New on the Menu

Dad’s Secret Sweet Spot

Priming the Pump

Just Hope It’s not Contagious

*

Legend

The End of the Beginning

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Many people, spanning decades, have played a part in bringing this first book to life. I guess I