Selina De Luca

 Recently in a Facebook group I'm in for writing moms, someone posted a challenge to write a 100 word piece about the thing to your left and the colour of your shirt. I was sitting on the toilet (yup) so the thing to my left was the sink, and my shirt was blue. A blue sink. A story immediately unfolded, but it was 280 words, so I didn't post it in the comments. But I can post it here! Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash When people ask me about my grandma, I always think of three things: - the smell of stale coffee - the caramel candies she'd slip me - and the blue sink. I used to lean up against that sink and watch her squint into the mirror as she layered on her foundation and mascara. We used to brush our teeth together too, and spit at the same time. We would blow bubbles with our hands while we sang the hand-washing song. The water would drain so slowly and I would balance over the edge and spend several minutes just poking the bubbles as they lowered into the drain. ...

This is my third submission for the Writers to Writers Challenge on Instagram. To see my original submission, visit my Instagram page at @selinawriting. The prompt for this round was to include a "key", literally or figuratively. Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash Just Like Momma Danielle smiled. She liked her bow and the spunky nose Momma called a cute little button.  "I look pretty!" she chirped, and skipped downstairs for supper. She wanted to ask Momma what to bring for Show-and-Tell, but Momma looked busy. Danielle sat on the piano bench and watched Momma in the kitchen. Then she turned to admire the ebony wood and the shiny white keys, a long row of grinning teeth. She danced her fingers a hair above the keys and imagined music soaring like a bird over the sea. She plinked a little on the keys.  Suddenly, caught between her fingers sat the top of a key that had come loose. The piano's smile had a gap now, like hers did. Inspiration lifted Danielle's ...

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...

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash CLOCKWORK By Selina De Luca An original piece of short fiction written for the Literary Taxidermy 2020 writing competition by Regulus Press and shortlisted as a runner-up. The story uses the first and last line from the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley but otherwise has nothing to do with Huxley's work. (Trigger warning: infant loss/miscarriage)      A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories and beshadowed beneath surrounding high-rises, 801 Perry Street was effectively invisible. Passing drivers sprayed puddles across its front steps, which did little to wash away the pigeon defecation and cigarette butts. A spray-painted expletive above the doorway, faded from the rain, provided the only colour in sight.      Brooke was also effectively invisible with her grey skirt, brown coat, and umbrella as she splashed her way up the steps of 801 Perry Street for another day of work. If you looked closely you would s...

(These stories are fairly cheesy but they fit into the typical genre of Christmas romance stories since Hallmark, Netflix etc Christmas stories are also cheesy ;) These were written about ten years ago.) Lily’s Love Story By Selina De Luca Written between 2009-2013           “It’s quite something, Lily.  I think you’d like it.” I took another bite of Elly’s lemon meringue pie. “I’m sure I would, Pete,” I replied.  “Tell me more about it.” It was Saturday.  I was at the Kowdies’ home, like every Saturday night.  Pete and Elly and their daughter Carly had become, in a very short time, as dear to me as my own family. But Carly and Elly had more interesting things to talk about than the books, plays, and musicals Pete and I raved over. “You are coming to the barbecue party tomorrow, Liliana, eh?” “I wouldn’t miss it for anything, Elly,” I assured her. “My cousin will be there,” Carly drawled with a teasing smile.  I grinne...