easytopia!

I’m giving you a break from my recent spate of serious stories. Hope you had a nice, dumb, fixed Superbowl. ~HS There is a new Episode of The Arc of The Bard, with Sean Glatch of Writers.com tomorrow, February 9 . Check that out. There were no snacks in the pantry. It was so cold outside, and Bill had planned to stay in this weekend to clean the place, catch up on his shows, and watch the Superbow...

“I don’t have time for this.” Cheri said. “I have too much to do.” “What?” Jamie asked. “All of it.” She replied. * Get my $5 eBook | The political class in 15 minutes or less * Use this link for discounted tech items * Check out The Arc of The Bard “But what do you have time for and what is it that you don’t have time for?” “None of it” She said. “I know the feeling, prioritizing can be hard. We...

The sounds of helicopters passing through were elusive and intermittent, having nothing from which to echo. They could have been anywhere. The visibility above the thick cover was undoubtedly spectacular. * Get my $5 eBook | The political class in 15 minutes or less * Use this link for discounted tech items * This is the best landing page system you’ll find for writers * Check out The Arc of The B...

One of the things one does at a job like this, while seeking out smoke and flame from way up there on the deck, is follow lights. There’s not much else to do. There are plenty of them. Airplanes, satellites, helicopters, and the other things. * Get my $5 eBook | The political class in 15 minutes or less * Use this link for discounted tech items * This is the best landing page system you’ll find fo...

Welcome to Day 4 of 28 stories, podcasted, in 28 days. The 3rd Annual Flash Fiction February. The political class in 15 minutes or less. Listen to The Arc of The Bard Leopard 5 is referred to as The Watchtower by the Project Team. It sits in its solar system in such a way that it’s not only in view of most of the other planets, most of the time, but it’s in the best position to see into deep space...

The sleepy little town of Mirth was an eventful place whose boom time had come and gone. They manage to stay busy, due to their fortuitous location on the lake. There is tourism, and plenty of cleanup to do from the years of mining and shipping. It’s a pretty special spot. It’s the people though, it’s the people that make it. They like where they are. They figure it out. They want to be left alone...

“I can’t get my head around this.” Juni says, and she winds some string around her forearm. Milo lies on his back, watching from a few feet away. “Move your arm around more, in all directions” Juni is getting more perplexed. “I can’t even figure out what this is for, what am I supposed to do with it?” She says, as more of the spool of pink string is unwinding on the floor in front of her. “I think...

Day One of the Third Annual Flash Fiction February. 28 brand-new stories in 28 days. Come back tomorrow. Check out my new podcast. I interview writers, and we try to figure out where the hell stories come from. New Episodes every Monday. Episode 004 this week . The premise for The Arc of the Bard , is that the phenomenon of original thought is fascinating and mysterious. Storytelling is a facility...

Not Flash Fiction today. A couple of real life anecdotes, instead. Please check out and buy my very short and cheap book here: https://linktr.ee/herschelsterling , where you can understand the political class in 15 minutes . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe

Thanks for your support and for being a fan of my podcast. When I tell stories, I do get listens, and I get larger numbers of listens than my subscriber list. So, I thank you for the sharing and however that happens. Also, I was on a podcast last week . Go take a listen to that and be sure to subscribe to the Raydical Truth Podcast. That was a lot of fun. I want you to consider that Civil War is a...

Three stories and some thoughts about titles and their relationship to story endings. This is a live Discord reading to an audience. I like to have guests read with me, in case you’re interested. There will be no reading today, but at least you can hear last week’s content. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit commerc...

Here is the live reading from Sunday, Sep.14. Three stories. * Crazy, Out to Lunch Satanic Hillbillies * The Birthday Gun * Miracle Motor If you have stories or poetry you would like to read, contact me any time. We can read on a Sunday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe

Listen for the introductions and descriptions, etc. Three poems I wrote in the Gila Mountains. That was a long year of travel. The final poem in this series was from when I had deconstructed and decompressed from all the travel. Undulation Gila – 5-7-13 The Universe is a mind of minds. Every cell in your body is communicating right now, and you have no idea what they are saying. Your mind is capab...

Here is the live reading from Sunday, Sep. 7. I’m apologizing in advance for the learning curve echo during the guest reading. When one is building something, there are hiccups. This will not happen again. This is a milestone episode, regardless. J. Lashley is a champion for tolerating this. A Prince among men. discord.gg/eQ9HKzgvus This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with othe...

From 2010. Also became a movie pitch, as it has a whole thing to it that this story teases. . Still unhit. I have a 1000% movie pitch no-hit record. This is one of the flash stories I’ve written that has evolved into a whole other thing. I have a complete comedy suspense caper script for this story. It’s good for that. If you’re a writer, you should experiment with this method. This is my favorite...

This was the first Flash Fiction I wrote for my podcast. It is based on a dream I had. I woke up right away and wrote this story at around 3:30 - 4 AM. It was this one that got my wheels turning about doing this every day for a while. I wrote it in roughly 25 minutes, and it has gone through a few brief edits. I had not developed the routine yet. It’s written in first person. I don’t do that very...

Here are five Stories from a live Discord reading from Sunday, Aug. 31. Clancy’s Cubicle, Uncle Plasma Part 3: The Ride, Gladsome Hill, The Apes, and Visualize Effing Off. Join my Discord channel and read your stories, or just share your passion for storytelling and reading. https://discord.gg/eQ9HKzgvus It was an eventful Flash August Fiction. Some growth and connections made. I do these live rea...

Preston is assigned to paint a location overnight. It might be two nights, but probably one. He has a cool gig with a company that scales as a national painting company. He hits the road all over the place and paints salons, phone stores, and all kinds of franchise offices. Tonight he was at a News Station. His company had landed a deal for the real estate of a major media operation. He’s in a uti...

The recording of the live Discord reading from Sunday, August 17, 2025 I read three of my Flash August Fiction Stories from earlier in the month. Uncle Plasma: Part 2, Ballcannons, Mess Free Zone, and The Torrent. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit commercialherschel.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the finale of Flash August Fiction . This is actually observational prose, but I make the rules around here. Thanks for reading, listening, sharing, liking, and sharing. 31 brand-new stories and podcasts in 31 days . Later today there will be a live reading in my Discord Channel . In the next few days I’ll be recording new intros and send-offs, uploading live reads from my Sunday Discor...

This is so corny that it’s corny. It’s OK, sometimes absurd is absurd. And short is short. ONE DAY LEFT OF 31 STORIES AND PODCASTS IN 31 DAYS. What I like to call Flash August Fiction . Here is a link for my discord if you would like to attend a live reading on any Sunday: https://discord.gg/eQ9HKzgvus . Thanks for sharing and liking and the nice conversations. This little storytelling podcast has...

2 Days Left in Flash August Fiction | Ease Into the Week, Live Longer | It’s Friday, but this is a Monday story. The simple pleasures on the way to work at 5AM is what makes it bearable. Thanks for reading, listening, sharing, liking, and sharing. I’m glad you are here, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. The simple pleasures on the way to work at 5AM is what makes it bearable, especially Mon...

Counting down to the last day of the marathon. 3 After today. Thanks for your participation in sharing, restacking and liking. There are people who will do anything for money, and there are people who hire them. They really do believe in their own self-aggrandizement and presumption of authority to violate you. It’s mental illness, and it comes up in some of my other stories, like Mitchell’s Missi...

It’s another Chronicle of the Last Gas Station today. Some thinking about meditation, and otherwise energy related things. Thanks for the sharing and the liking. I wish I could turn the likes I’m getting on Substack into shares. Hint hint. It wouldn’t bother me at all if you see my posts on X and Substack and not only liked them, but also shared them. That would be OK with me. You have my permissi...

In this Flash Fiction Story, I use the circumstance and character from another story to continue the narrative and the business related conversation. 5 More days of Flash August Fiction. Harry feels like the breaking weather has saved his life. There has been excessive heat for a week, and it’s really killing his chances to stay on top of his work. On the one hand, the grass and all the plants he...