easytopia!

In case you’re not aware, this is day 1, of Flash August Fiction . 29 brand-new stories and podcasts in 29 days. Check in for a new story every day, and thanks for reading, for listening, for sharing, restacking, and for your interest. Colin was in a panic. He did that a lot, though. He tends toward persnickety. It was a day that he had come to visit his friend, Marvin, to pick up an old PC Monito...

Here is today’s live reading from my discord channel, the Easytopian Thanks for sharing and restacking. If you’d like to read with me live sometime, DM me. 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

Warming up for my Flash Fiction marathon, called Flash August Fiction . I hope if you are kind enough to come to this page and like this post, you might also take a second or two to share, or restack it. Thanks. Join me on my Discord Channel for live readings every Sunday at noon Pacific Time. I’d love to have you read a story of yours in that story circle. DM me. This is not a Flash Fiction Story...

Three stories this week. Storytelling circles should be a thing. Go do that. DM me to collaborate, or through Discord 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

Today I read three stories with Rotund Ronald and Hungry Henry. Two tiny mice who get themselves into little adventures. These are from my Flash Fiction efforts and I read every Sunday in my discord server. https://discord.gg/v98qAzjKTK . Also, I’ll be co-hosting a show on the Numerology and the mathematical ramifications of baseball on Tuesday Night, after the All-Star Game. Here is a write-up on...

Today I read my pandemic rivalry series at my Discord Channel. I invite one and all to join me there on Sundays. If you want to read, just raise your hand. I want to encourage human creativity in this time when there are lunatics trying to convince you that their tech is superior to you. No, it is not. Your mind is a treasure of wisdom and knowledge, and I hope you can go to the well and share wit...

Mentioned in today’s episode, SALSIDO PARANORMAL and Michael Strange . Today was the first podcast of Storytime Sunday . I read 4 stories and a guest also read a story and there was some good discussion. I will return to my favorite podcast format, but I’m also learning how to use Discord, which is where this is recorded. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribe...

David’s hand went up when the teacher asked the class who could tell her about different beverages. David loved the kitchen. He would watch his parents cook whenever he could. So when the teacher wanted to talk about kitchen subjects, he was all in. The teacher recognizes David. “What are your favorite beverages, David?” “I like so many things, I don’t know about favorites, but sometimes my dad an...

The fire pit wasn’t the best, but the guys carried buckets of sand mixed with dirt and piled it up around the old rocks as a buttress. The men’s group was just being formed. This was the second meeting and some decisions had to be made. Join My Discord: https://discord.gg/eBQ4PEYk *** Every morning I wake up and write the first thing that comes to mind, then write a story around it. This type of w...

Always remember to look back when you’re on a switchback. You want to see where you’ve been. Join my discord to discuss nerdy writing s**t, and have fun. easytopian ! The massive Eagle circled above a swatch of trees. Greg sat on a flat at the top of a mountain. At eleven thousand feet, he could see worlds. He could see the Eagle, below him, flying over some woods as it hunted. On his way up the s...

It’s more like Flash Theory today. I write a lot of stories with these themes, and today it’s just more like wanting to hash that out. It’s still a story. Theory is not non-fiction. It’s not the same thing as fiction, but it’s not non-fiction. I’ll allow it. You’re welcome. I’m Commercial Herschel, and I’m here to help. Concepts that I have imagined and developed as stories are turning up in real...

Skitter is Benny’s cat. He’s a fun cat. Very loving, he seems to always be very happy when Benny gets home from school. They usually wind up playing for a while before Benny settles in to his homework. This was the case today. ***Every morning I wake up and write the first thing that comes to mind, then write a story around it. This type of writing is sometimes called ’flash fiction’. This is Flas...

The Farmer’s Market in Buckway was incredible every weekend. It was hard to believe how far it had come along in such a short time. Buckway has its share of culinary contributors. That’s for sure. Way out, almost all the way to Whisper Pass, is the Whisper Valley Orchard. They don’t tend to come to every Market Weekend. Only when they feel it’s worth the drive, they know that if they miss a week,...

You might remember Mitchell’s Mission from last year, it is in my top five favorites, for sure. Mitchell is grown a little now, and as a probationary employee of the Federal Govt, he just lost his job. It’s a beautiful thing for Americans on the one hand. On the other hand, he’s nonetheless, unleashed upon the population. Will he learn a valid skill and become potentially valuable, or just use his...

“There has never been so much mashed potatoes in one place.” Jean says. She stares at a pile of mashed potatoes that is piled on the table in front of her. It towers at least two feet over her head. “Yes Ma’am, we have been up all night preparing for the Smorgasbord.” Jeffrey says, the man hired to get this done. She then walks over to the gigantic vat of gravy. This massive dome shaped stainless...

Things That Are Not Happening Are the Things We Don’t Write About This is the text of the framed sign hanging on the wall of the Editor-in-Chief of the Buckway Journal. *** Every morning I wake up and write the first thing that comes to mind, then write a story around it. This type of writing is sometimes called ’flash fiction’. This is Flash Fiction February. Get a book and have a complimentary p...

The reel to reel audio recorder Hank found in the attic of the old firehouse was pretty cool. When the town had the new firehouse built, it was apparently the case that no one swept through the attic. Hank bought the building from the city to convert it into a restaurant and brewery. As the contract states, he owns the building and the contents. *** Every morning I wake up and write the first thin...

“Look at all the flowers on that monument.” Gloria said as she and her husband Clayton passed by. This was the only monument of its type. The Gaslight Monument memorialized the end of propaganda media. ***Every morning I wake up and write the first thing I think of. Then I write a story about it. This type of writing is sometimes called ‘flash fiction’. This is Flash Fiction February. Get a book a...

I will have some fun today with the recent thing I wrote about a Wizard staff called Cloven . There are several worlds to create in this saga. That’s a lot of material to mine. That is an awesome thing about writing short form. New ideas happen and it’s loads of new material. Duurwe was an old Wizard. He advised and guarded his people from a lofty vantage. Loved by his people, he wanted for nothin...

If you were with me for Flash Fiction February, 2024, and Flash August Fiction last year as well, you might remember Hungry Henry and Rotund Ronald. Two stories. The Cheeseguard and The Stoics . Here they are again. Hungry Henry and Rotund Ronald were skittering through a field. They heard about a pile of refuse at an abandoned campsite. They had to see if there was anything left for them to forag...

“Do you think the ghouls who own the processed food companies laugh when they use the word ‘cuisine’ on the packages of toxins they sell?” Matty asks Susan, as they hang out together at the homeless shelter. “I think that’s not all they laugh over.” She answers. “I had a weird dream last night.” He continues. “It’s not related to the food, but in a way it is, I guess.” There is a pause. “Are you...

Slim had a pretty good trailer. He hadn’t rolled it in years, he kept it up on blocks to save the tires. The edge of the woods suited him well. He came home, after getting a week’s groceries and supplies, and laid his assorted bags onto the little trailer table. Then he reached outside onto the window sill and picked up a little chess piece that was laid in the window frame, and places it on the l...

It is told that the head of the staff is the knuckle to a long talon of an ancient dragon. The length is 6 feet. It once rose to from the ground to rest beneath the eye of a Wizard who protected a realm. He named his staff, Cloven , due to the appearance of the gnarly knuckle. It was of three, as a hoof. After a great war, when the Wizard gave his life in victory, in defense of his people, the gre...

Last year there were two nice ladies, Marla and Kasey, in a story called The Resident . Here they are again. You’re welcome. I’m Commercial Herschel, and I’m here to help. Marla was mixing the dough for the cookies she was preparing for the block party that would start at 1 PM. These were her well known almond meltaways. Several of her neighbors had mentioned them to her when the block party was a...

The Chair calls the meeting to order. The banter and catching up by the members subsides, and the mostly symbolic gavel is lightly struck on the block. Items brought to the table are a short list of the usual sort. * New member candidates * Hosting for guest presenters * Budget priorities * Surplus allocation * New Business First orders are handled, then, per usual, the members recess briefly to r...