Phillip Thompson in a Flash

Phillip Thompson at Amazon

Up next in our Flash Fiction Challenge is best-selling author Phillip Thompson. Phillip hails from rural East Mississippi, while there he received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ole Miss. A Marine Corps combat veteran, he’s worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in both Mississippi and Virginia. He has also worked as a defense analyst, media spokesman, consultant, speechwriter, and Senate aide.

Dedicated to his craft, Thompson has authored five novels. His most recent is OLD ANGER, the Amazon Best Seller OUTSIDE the LAW, DEEP BLOOD, A SIMPLE MURDER, and ENEMY WITHIN. His short fiction has appeared in O-Dark-Thirty; The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature; Out of the Gutter Online; Thrills, Kills 'N' Chaos; Near to the Knuckle; Yellow Mama; and The Shamus Sampler II.

If you are looking for more information on Phillip and his writing, you can find him on Twitter at @olemissgrad38 and online at phillipthompsonbooks.com. We are excited to have Phillip join us in this challenge.

What is the challenge?

Write a fifty-word flash. That’s it. However, the story must incorporate three randomly selected words and revolve around a single, overall theme. The words have been drawn and shared; letter, afford, and yard. The theme is despair.

ONE BULLET

I sit alone on the front porch, running a cleaning rag through the barrel of my Ruger. I’ve already wiped down the only bullet I’ll need. My last whiskey bottle lies empty in the yard where I threw it, and I can’t afford another one.

The letter never came.