Episode 11: A Brief (Fictional) History of Communication (with Fratricide) and Finger Paint

Welcome to Story Time with Darcie!
In every episode, you hear a piece (or two) of my own short fiction. I’m an eclectic writer, so you may be surprised by the genres and situations, but what these stories have in common is their exploration of big ideas. 

Please join me in welcome Hayley Scanlan as a new voice on the pod! Hayley is no stranger to the stage, having danced and acted since childhood, but this is her first foray into voice acting. 

Today’s story, A Brief (Fictional) History of Communication (with Fratricide), is quite a departure from my usual (if you can find anything usual about my eclectic stories). In fact, it’s not really a narrative at all. Yes, I recall I said the same thing about Godly Musings over Triple Espresso in a recent episode, but I think you’ll find this one has a completely different feel yet again. 

I should also mention that the inclusion of Brief in the title is literal. And because the story is so short, I’m adding some bonus content. But we’ll get to that after the story. 

As also hinted at in the title, today we have Content Warning for Murder and Killing (Fratricide to be precise), though I’m not sure if it really needs a warning as it’s purely metaphoric murder. But, we’ll let Hayley tell us more about that …

Yup. Definitely a departure for me. A little testing of some different waters. 

A Brief (Fictional) History of Communication (with Fratricide) was written for the Australian Writer’s Centre’s December 2019 Furious Fiction Challenge. I write for challenges quite often. The creative prompts push me to think and create outside my box. I can’t remember exactly what the prompts for this story were, but I’ll never forget the challenge that prompted us with emojiis. (I’ll have to look up that story and share it with you sometime.) 

But, back to the present. I promised you some bonus content! 

In addition to the challenges, I often (though not recently) as my facebook followers to send me writing prompts. We call it “Inspire Me Sunday” and it even has a jingle! I mention this not only to encourage you to join my facebook group (@DarcieTKelly) to participate in upcoming Inspire Me Sundays (and yes, if you’ve been missing them I do plan to bring them back soon), but also because Finger Paint, our bonus content, was created as a response to Inspire Me Sunday prompts. 

In early November, 2018, I was given a fantastic image by friend of the pod Pamela (check out her work on facebook at @LightGraph) and a write up about fall leaves and finger painting. That same week, Gen sent me the poem In Flanders Field as a prompt. I combined the two to create this piece, a tribute to Remembrance Day and all who have sacrificed for the safety of all people. 

Well, that’s it for today’s episode of Story Time With Darcie. 

Once again, thank you, Hayley, for sharing your talents for this story. I’m excited you’ve joined the Story Time with Darcie family! 

If you would like to become a voice on Story Time with Darcie, please, reach out! My eclectic stories need a variety of voices, and yours will be a welcome addition! 

Thank you for listening. To read more of my stories and perhaps inspire my next one, check out my new website: www.darcietkelly.me and join me on facebook @DarcieTKelly. If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of Musings: A Collection of Short Stories, get in touch through the facebook page or email me (email4darciekelly(at)gmail.com). And please, subscribe on your podcatcher of choice for future episodes of Story Time With Darcie. 

Until next month, stay well, and keep smiling.

Direct Link to text version of A Brief (Fictional) History of Communication (with Fratricide)