September 2021 – Elaina Roberts

Trope Tuesdays

Let’s take another look at the various tropes found in romance and/or urban fantasy. Some are beloved standards in the industry. Others are, for me, a hard line drawn in the sand. All generate different reactions from different readers (and sometimes from the same reader at different times in their lives). I’ll give one I love, and provide links in case they appeal to anyone else, and one I’d rather leave behind.

Standard disclaimer! I’m not saying these tropes are bad (okay, one or two kinda are), these are just my personal preferences. If you like something I dislike, and a lot of folks do, that’s okay! If you dislike something I love, again a lot of folks do, that’s also okay! If we all read/liked the same books, libraries would be small and boring.

So, with that out of the way, let’s dive right in.

(Micro)Flash Fiction Friday – The Path

Another bit of flash fiction today on the micro level – this one came in at 276 words. The featured image was posted in a Facebook group with the prompt of “Where do you suppose this trail leads?” I’ve been eyeing the image for several days. I knew I wanted to do something, but I didn’t want it to resemble the last one too closely. The Path is a very tiny portal fantasy or a cautionary tale. It all depends on how you look at it.

(Micro)Flash Fiction Friday – The Wood

Doing a bit of flash fiction today on the micro level – only 237 words. The featured image was posted in a Facebook group with the prompt of “Who do you suppose lives here?” I’d been wanting to write something, specifically something short that would fit in a Facebook post but hadn’t actually sat down to do so. Now that I have, I present to you: The Wood.