Hot off the Pen

Posted in Fairy Tale, Poetry

When My Love Was Elfshot (a Sonnet)

Posted on by C.M. Wellsmore

He was pierced through the heart by my long held foe
He fell to the floor in a twilight haze
From and elf was the arrow, the enchanted bow
Did make him descend to a horrid craze
Wrent was the night by my anguished cries
The moon shivered to see my condition
But tears, pain and tormented sighs
Could not save him from his affliction

I left him then, to forge a medicine
Some nettle, some plantain and sweet feverfew
Some wine and he’ll come back to me
Though while I went a gaze looked in
And pulled him neath the eldest yew
Now my love is nowhere to see.

Posted in Writer's Prompts

Cozy Monstober: Monthly Artist Challenge

Posted on by C.M. Wellsmore

Use these prompts as inspiration and motivation to get your creativity flowing! Whether its painting, sketching, writing, or crafting, let this be your nudge to indulge in your form of expression daily.

Hot Chocolate Monster

Coffee Monster

Black Tea Monster

Green Tea Monster

Camomile Monster

Garden Gremlins

Orchard Trolls

Haunted Acre Woods

Monsters in Costumes

Apothecary Guardians

Backpack Monsters

Laptop Monsters

Bathroom Monsters

Reading Nook Companions

Sock Eating Monster

Mobile Phone Gremlin

Lampshade Gremlins

Autumn Leaf Imps

Cookie Hoarder Monster

Home Brew Monster

Refrigerator Monster

Wardrobe Monsters

Spring Flower Monsters

Christmas Monster

Halloween Monsters

Fan Mushroom Monsters

Button Mushroom Monsters

Swamp Monsters

Monsters in the Park

School Yard Gnomes

Rainy Season

Posted in Super Short Stories

Writer’s Exercise: Extracting Water Spirits

Posted on by C.M. Wellsmore

Describe a process: write a description of a process in the manner of an instructor to a student.

While it is a time-consuming process, the hands-on part of the work is minimal. You will want your environment as dark as possible, preferably with no more light than the Alembic flame. While the process is not labour intensive, you do need to maintain a vigil. The spirits will try to escape if given the chance. 

Place the Water housing the spirit in the alembic. The spirit’s essence is bound to the water until it reaches a simmer. The heat forces the spirit to break the bond to its habitat.

As the steam rises both the now spiritless water as well as the now angry spirit will come out together. You’ll need a deft hand and a gossamer net to catch the spirit. Once the spirit is in the net transfer it to a crystal jar large enough to hold it. The spirit can now be kept until needed.

Posted in Poetry

The Last Heat of Autumn

Posted on by C.M. Wellsmore

Autumn arrives slow
The rain is barely noticed
The heat is still too strong

But darkness will come
The light dims on the landscape
As the sun grows week

On the wings of wind
The winter herald arrive
The cold ones gain rule

The dark season starts
With the loss of the Sun’s might
Then winter begins.

Posted in Writer's Prompts

Artist Prompts: Shiptember

Posted on by C.M. Wellsmore

For September, I thought we could go with the theme of Shiptember! The following are all from a fantasy genre perspective.

Leak in the Hull

Stow Away

Loyal Crew

The Mutiny

From the Crow’s Nest

The Cook

The Ship Mascot

The Cursed Ship

Lost a Ship in a Bet

Ship in a Storm

Hot Pursuit

Lost at Sea

Thrown off Course

Beneficial Wind

Dockside Bar

Sea Shanty

The Plank

Ocean Warfare

Captain’s Hat

Ghost Ship

Precious Cargo

Faulty Cannons

The Last Cannon Ball

Captain’s Quarters

Research Vessel

Long-haul Trip

No Entry

Message in a Bottle

Lurking in the Depth

Sail Through the Stars

Posted in Poetry

Bring in the Dark Season

Posted on by C.M. Wellsmore

With the hanging of the autumnal wreath
The light begins to fade away
Summer calms and sheathes its teeth

The season is in the air we breathe
A faint whiff can be smelled of decay
With the hanging of the autumnal wreath

The wind is so supple and lithe
Stalking warmth as though it is prey
Summer calms and sheathes its teeth

The leaves fall and cover the heathe
Red and gold glamorous fill the shortening days
With the hanging of the autumnal wreath

The lengthening nights do bequeathe
Wisdom for those who will pray
Summer calms and sheathes its teeth

The wild host starts to fidget and seethe
The map of the stars shows the way
With the hanging of the autumnal wreath
Summer calms and sheathes its teeth.

Posted in Super Short Stories

Writer’s Exercise: She lost the Mountain

Posted on by C.M. Wellsmore

How? Of all the weird, bizarre things that had plagued her life, this was going to be the most memorable. It wasn’t every day that a whole mountain vanished.


She was going to be blamed, she knew that. Most of the town wouldn’t understand why or what was really happening, but all would agree it was her fault.


The man did warn her after all. Mess with the hill tribes, they mess with you. But by moving? She knew they were powerful but not in her wildest dreams did she think they would pick up the whole mountain and go. Where they hell did they put it? Was it gone or just invisible. She sighed as she realized there was only one way to find out.

Posted in Writer's Prompts

Smaugust: Monthly Art Challenge

Posted on by C.M. Wellsmore

I thought I would begin challenging myself to some of these monthly art challenges that float around on the internet. I decided to try to stick to an open fantasy theme. These are the prompts I’ll be using for August, or better still, Smaugust:

The dragon is stuck in a teapot.

Which is the best dragon of them all?

The dragon rider

The dragon hunter

Dragon scale armor

The great dragon war

I found a dragon egg

The dragon that guards parliament house

My pet dragon

The dragon chef

The dragon ate the princess

Dragon bait

Dragon’s icy breath

The dragon’s lair

The dragon is out of patience

A dragon’s blessing

A dragon’s curse

A clutch of baby dragons

The farmer and the dragon.

The dragon took pity on the poor knight

A sickly dragon

A dragon as big as the world

My teacher is a dragon

Is a dragon faster than a…

Dragon anatomy

Mating/courting season

A dragon’s favourite food

The dragon horde

A dragon’s best friend

The dragon who lost his fire.

A dragon as small as a mouse

Posted in Fairy Tale, Poetry

When the Door Disappeared

Posted on by C.M. Wellsmore

The Door
I know I left it somewhere
It was here a moment ago

Trapped
There is no point in a flare
If I die here no one will know

Foiled
Someone pretending to care
A barbed hand and eyes all aglow

Destined
It is the song in the air
It is the river’s current flow

Joyful
Do the sweet lambs ever care
Of their death, are they in the know

Resigned
I meet the fairy’s hard stare
He smiles cause he knows I can’t go

Rejected
The forest folk stop all the glare
They all see me as a foe

Forlorn
I couldn’t not bear to leave there
He dragged me wailing with woe

Finished
I will feed the nightmare
The dirt is my final pillow.