A New Woman

by Jenny Sanders

Trevor was not a curious man but the thought flickered across his mind they might yet be what his mother called, ‘a proper family’.

Laura reappeared somewhat abashed, her long hair betraying her inaccurate aim. Trevor merely kissed his wife strategically on the cheek and headed for the train station, while she rinsed the vomit and sighed heavily before leaving for town herself.

Her stomach continued to twist, but sheer force of will drove her onwards. This was an appointment she both dreaded and welcomed. It was

The welcome was warm as she stepped inside. Summoning a watery smile, she took a deep breath, a comfortable seat, and closed her eyes. The tension in her shoulders was as obvious as the furrow in her brow.

Undeterred, a lady of similar age touched her shoulder reassuringly and led her to a row of sinks. The combination of warm water and methodical massage began to relax Laura. By the time she was reseated, eyes closed and breathing regulated, the hairdresser, with scissors, was doing skillful work. Soon Laura was confronted with her own altered reflection; she was surprised by what she saw.

Gone were the tresses of childhood. Before her, a poised woman exuding competence and confidence. Laura knew she’d been there all along. Wreathed in smiles, she strode home looking the world in the eye, her expectations high, the blue line pregnancy test still safe in her bag.

Transforming from Dirt to Diamond

by Wendy H. Jones

When thinking of transformation, we often think of the ubiquitous ugly duckling to swan. Whilst I love that story, especially the song from the movie about Hans Christian Anderson, I believe one of the greatest stories of transformation is that of carbon to diamonds.

The story is oft told diamond comes from coal but that is not the case. The beginnings of diamonds predate even coal and are formed from carbon deposits deep in the earth’s crust – 90125 miles deep to be precise.

The actual stone can form in anything from a few months (yes, that surprised me too) to millions of years. If you set your expectation at the millions of years end of the scale, you are more likely to be right.

Diamonds can form in many different ways, but pressure and heat are two things needed to help diamonds form. As an aside, there are also diamonds floating around in space. I kid you not. As you gaze in wonder at your next diamond, reflect on the transformation it went through from a speck of dirt to a thing of beauty. Now that is what I call transformation.

Allison Symes, who loves reading and writing quirky fiction, is published by Chapeltown Books, CafeLit, and Bridge House Publishing. Her flash fiction collections, Tripping The Flash Fantastic and From Light to Dark and Back Again are out in Kindle and paperback. She has been a winner of the Waterloo Arts Festival writing competition three years in a row where the brief was to write to a set theme to a 1000 words maximum.

Website: and story videos, is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCPCiePD4p_vWp4bz2d80SJA/

With her non-fiction hat on, Allison blogs for online magazine, Chandler’s Ford Today, often on topics of interest to writers. Her weekly column can be found at http:// chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/author/allison-symes/

Allison also blogs for Authors Electric and More Than Writers, the blog spot for the Association of Christian Writers

by Wendy H. Jones