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This week’s Fiction Friday prompt:
A Coming of Age Tale

Marty lounged in front of the crackling fire in his new folding fabric and aluminum chair; a plate in his lap; his legs crossed before him with his boots propped up on the rocks of the fire ring. Enjoying the warmth in his toes while the rest of his body bathed comfortably in the cool night air, he failed to notice the soles of his brand new boots beginning to melt.

This week’s Fiction Friday prompt:
A writer’s computer begins to flash messages on its screen, as if trying to communicate.

As Allen McCann – yes, Allen McCann the famous author – sat in the plush high-back chair in front of his antique roll-top desk staring blankly into the screen of his notebook computer, a trail of smoke from the Camel in the marble ashtray next to his mouse wisped up and caught him in the eye. Although a seasoned smoker, the smoke still stung his eyes and he avoided it at all costs. This night his mind was on other things; the deadline for his fourth novel Erotic Demons was coming up and he was only thirty thousand words in – the contract called for a minimum of fifty. The sudden pain snapped him out of his trance – he winced, leaned back in his chair, and threw his head back with his hands over his face.

This week’s challenge:
A boy and his father awaken early to watch the sunrise from their mountain campsite, but they begin to panic when the sky remains dark long into the afternoon.

“Kyle” he whispered as he nudged his son in the dark tent under the soft glow of the battery powered lantern hanging from the roof of the tent. It was 5:00 a.m. by the tattered old Seiko – damn watch had been through hell and back, but no matter how much abuse he gave it, it kept right on ticking – on Mark’s wrist and they had planned to wake early to catch breakfast and watch the sun rise before they spent the day fishing for trout in the remote mountain lake.

After a long hiatus from participating in Fiction Fridays, I’ve decided to start playing again. I didn’t quit for any reason in particular; just been busy and a lot of the topics really didn’t interest me. At any rate, this week’s Fiction Friday challenge is to include the phrase “I knew it was a mistake the moment it was over.” somewhere in the story. And this is what I came up with!

This week’s Fiction Friday assignment was to “Pick a book of fiction you’d never read (e.g., if you read sci-fi, pick a romance). Open to a random page and read the last couple paragraphs of the page. DO NOT TURN THE PAGE. Now continue writing the story. Feel free to change the genre as you write. “
The story I have chosen is Zeke and Ned by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, a small, yellowed paperback I found in a dust-covered old metal desk at my previous place of employ when we took over another warehouse and used it for our new offices. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for nearly a decade now – I’ve never even opened it.
I find myself opening this musty old book for the first time, to page 277, to which I find: