Selina De Luca

I couldn't come up with a title for this story! For the longest time I couldn't come up with any story at all for this challenge. The parameters were that the story must include barbed wire, a piece of blue fabric, and howling winds. I felt this called for something bleak: the barbed wire made me think of imprisonment or oppression, the blue fabric perhaps a torn bit of clothing from someone who tried to escape over the fence. Instead, the story that came out of me was of a rather different flavour, an absurd little children's storybook style piece. I find it a bit silly but it's an opportunity to practice the craft and network with other writers on Instagram.  You can read it on Instagram at @selinawriting as well as other stories from the challenge, including Liahona West's winning story from the last challenge, or you can read it here below.  Perhaps you have heard the story of the king whose magicians plucked stars from the night sky to weave into a crown for hi...

This is the only creative non-fiction piece I've ever written. I was thinking about this event the other day and went digging for the story. It took place while visiting my friend in her hometown during a parish mission project she organized at her church that summer. With two other of our friends, she led faith studies, youth group, and prayer events. I joined them for a week, not only to help with their mission but also to enjoy the lake, the hiking trails, and the summer sun! Here is a comical moment that happened during my stay with this friend in her hometown.  Names have been changed for privacy.  July 2013 When the Phone Rang Forks halt mid-air, halfway to the mouth; fingers stand still above a laptop keyboard; conversations pause abruptly, half-formed words left hanging… time itself seems to stop when the ring of a telephone slices through the air. Such is the case when the phone rings anywhere, but it was especially noticeable at the Murphys’, because the phone just r...

 For an Instagram writing challenge called the #WriterstoWritersChallenge, we had to write a 500 word story ending with "Kings and gods have bowed to me. What makes you think you can refuse me?" My original draft was over 1700 words, so I had to pare it down quite a bit to enter it in the Instagram challenge! This story is set in the same world as one of my novels, using the same characters but with names changed.  You can read both the challenge submission and the original draft here.  Kings and Gods Nimiar was looking out at the moon setting over the mountains when the door startled her. Hands that once wielded bows and daggers now shook with fear.  “Why are you up?” “I just wanted to see the moonset,” she said, pulling her skirt up higher to hide her growing middle. He smelled of strong drink and ladies’ perfumes. She thought of the mountain lions and dangerous conditions her father had taught her to hunt and overcome. She did not fear what others feared in the mo...