tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post4332681179773282379..comments2023-10-31T04:53:09.902-04:00Comments on Cold Lake Cathy: #friday flash - For BellaCathy Olliffe-Websterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12729578896443750402noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-29271317073946233732013-03-28T21:16:02.943-04:002013-03-28T21:16:02.943-04:00xfk8j012e
Here is my website ... halogen oven rev...xfk8j012e<br /><br />Here is my website ... <a href="http://www.halogenoventips.co.uk" rel="nofollow">halogen oven review</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-50083307769859168392010-05-25T23:41:33.417-04:002010-05-25T23:41:33.417-04:00Hey, Cathy, I was intrigued to read the other winn...Hey, Cathy, I was intrigued to read the other winning stories for the Muskoka short story contest, and found this link through your tweet. Yay! A fellow weblit writer! A fellow *Muskoka* weblit writer! But holy crap, you don't go light on the subject matter, do you? Man alive.<br /><br />Fave line: "They were laid there by their father, as neat as cutlery in the kitchen drawer." That says it all.<br /><br />The thing that these male familial suicide/murder cases seem to have in common, in my observation, is that the man seems to think that the children are his possessions, so that he has as much right to end their lives as his own. Eradicate that sense of ownership and these horrors would cease, I think.<br /><br />Anyway, well done. And congratulations. Hope to meet you at one event or another.Karen Wehrsteinhttp://www.chevenga.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-67215834675485164942010-05-12T10:44:25.653-04:002010-05-12T10:44:25.653-04:00Cathy, this was difficult to finish which means yo...Cathy, this was difficult to finish which means you were doing your job as a storyteller. I really respect the way you stayed committed to the end as opposed to letting the reader off the hook. Sometimes there is no escape, and boy did you ever show us that with this story. Also, the cutlery description is one of those I read and immediately wished I had written it. Well done, my friend.Lou Freshwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08849342766852653969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-6114816421019615262010-05-10T17:01:45.401-04:002010-05-10T17:01:45.401-04:00Thanks, Liz ... ask Mom about the rain barrel... a...Thanks, Liz ... ask Mom about the rain barrel... and thanks to everybody who commented this week. I really appreciate everyone's comments. Like Jon Strother says, they're better than chocolate.Cathy Olliffe-Websterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12729578896443750402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-62211863174318331272010-05-10T13:06:26.317-04:002010-05-10T13:06:26.317-04:00Just for those who are interested, I've never ...Just for those who are interested, I've never heard about this part of my family history, obviously Cathy has. I would have chose not to know actually! But like the rest of you I love reading Cathy's blogs, happy or sad. You obviously didn't read the line I wrote stating: "GREAT WRITING!" She has a true gift and I think she should quit blogging and write a book cuz I know she'd make a rainbarrel of money out of it!!! Sorry, couldn't resist!Liz Griffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15692897861750525400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-14191150433849011452010-05-08T09:21:03.289-04:002010-05-08T09:21:03.289-04:00Holy hell, powerful punch from a mother's wors...Holy hell, powerful punch from a mother's worst nightmare. This story chose you and chewed ME up. Intense and tragic, but somehow.. uplifting? That the mother went on - tough. I like her. I love you.CJ Hodges MacFarlanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16833789408143274185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-64826537301388202582010-05-08T07:53:27.778-04:002010-05-08T07:53:27.778-04:00Sad. Raw. A solid punch in the stomach. And the e...Sad. Raw. A solid punch in the stomach. And the end? What a coward...Aaron Polsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15173267932358617304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-22628193712216315342010-05-08T07:17:05.011-04:002010-05-08T07:17:05.011-04:00Not to start a family feud, but I beg to differ......Not to start a family feud, but I beg to differ...<br />This was exquisite. Raw emotion is a powerful force in writing, more often it is the darkness in humanity that motivates it.<br />As you stated, Cathy, the subjects pick us - not the other way around.Laura Enohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09982794146667832204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-1261506805597543932010-05-08T05:33:17.660-04:002010-05-08T05:33:17.660-04:00Great stuff, Cathy and very true. Love the fact th...Great stuff, Cathy and very true. Love the fact there is a family connection and the choice the mother makes, not to kill, but to bring new life and make sure something good comes out of it is a wonderful one.<br /><br />Strangely enough, this is the topic of my second novel - if I ever finish the first. I found the way the dad laid the corpses out very believable, I've sort of got that idea in my head too.<br /><br />Great stuff.Virginia Moffatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12071059148315715405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-26441053986678929152010-05-08T00:21:14.978-04:002010-05-08T00:21:14.978-04:00Man... I almost couldn't finish it, Cathy... N...Man... I almost couldn't finish it, Cathy... Not because it was bad but so damn powerful. Shivers...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11413377601369107260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-4929246531980666332010-05-07T23:56:01.081-04:002010-05-07T23:56:01.081-04:00He didn't get enough of what was coming to him...He didn't get enough of what was coming to him. Wow, this was powerful writing. Well done!Eric J. Krausehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05774468607814244185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-63750738514814229852010-05-07T23:44:40.771-04:002010-05-07T23:44:40.771-04:00Bella is my late grandmother on my father's si...Bella is my late grandmother on my father's side. <br />She was the baby her mother was carrying.<br />It's a true story... sort of... a story nobody in my family talked about very much, for obvious reasons. I have no details: i don't know how many children were actually drowned in the rain barrel, or what happened to the father. But Bella's mother did go into town, only to come back to discover her husband had drowned all the children in a rain barrel.<br />If it's any solace to people who are thinking I am the spawn of a killer, let me just clarify something: my father was adopted!<br />Bella was already an old woman when I was born but I am told she was tall and dignified, a good wife and a fine mother.<br />Her story fascinates me. I wish I had known her.<br />To my sister, Liz, who chides me for my story choice, I have only this to say: I don't choose stories as much as they choose me.Cathy Olliffe-Websterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12729578896443750402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-9923813411851308902010-05-07T20:25:46.521-04:002010-05-07T20:25:46.521-04:00Who is Bella?Who is Bella?Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14013998783032868744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-53349602771609524412010-05-07T19:40:55.339-04:002010-05-07T19:40:55.339-04:00I think you captured his character very well -- ho...I think you captured his character very well -- how he's confused and repeating himself -- everything about him just feels so raw and real. Very well done.Joanie Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09923353641823849082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-5243090064475060572010-05-07T19:18:25.003-04:002010-05-07T19:18:25.003-04:00Excellent. So well done. Thank you.Excellent. So well done. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-11738139313514299432010-05-07T18:26:08.636-04:002010-05-07T18:26:08.636-04:00Yeah, I'm with Mark on this one. I wanted so b...Yeah, I'm with Mark on this one. I wanted so badly for it not to be true, that he hadn't killed them, but then the descriptions. Truly heartbreaking!<br /><br />CDCecilia Dominichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12799727636246434837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-87182772298067536212010-05-07T18:12:47.185-04:002010-05-07T18:12:47.185-04:00I stopped breathing, too. And what Mark said.
Tha...I stopped breathing, too. And what Mark said.<br /><br />That's some gift with words you have there. This story is completely stunning, and the end was perfect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-72636797681480194712010-05-07T18:00:26.521-04:002010-05-07T18:00:26.521-04:00Holy. Freaking. Christ.Holy. Freaking. Christ.Mark Kerstetterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13307987573435067415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-66734129595977477192010-05-07T17:44:51.955-04:002010-05-07T17:44:51.955-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Liz Griffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15692897861750525400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-38223837904067462922010-05-07T12:21:59.210-04:002010-05-07T12:21:59.210-04:00There are some very good turns of phrase in here, ...There are some very good turns of phrase in here, like "crying wordless tears."John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-86119839352582744842010-05-07T11:26:29.993-04:002010-05-07T11:26:29.993-04:00Fantastically chilling. I cannot conceive what it ...Fantastically chilling. I cannot conceive what it must be like to hold your child down below water, seeing them struggle and holding that grip in place. And not once, but seven times. A real pathology. You could if you wanted to, really expand this.<br /><br />Fantastic. Best I've read this week.<br /><br />Marc NashSulci Collectivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03293833259808943096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-30990998967502158292010-05-07T10:32:12.172-04:002010-05-07T10:32:12.172-04:00What a wonderful, terrible story!
"They wer...What a wonderful, terrible story! <br /><br />"They were so good, Esther, so good." So simple, yet so haunting. <br /><br />I kept hoping there was going to be a twist. I thought maybe the children were not children at all, but, rather, herbs. <br /><br />No, really. I actually thought, "Oooh, maybe the children are herbs!"<br /><br />So, thanks for making me go into complete denial...Nataliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06568293443100201235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-75997942054178673952010-05-07T08:09:14.276-04:002010-05-07T08:09:14.276-04:00Wow. That was intense and awful and...wow. Speechl...Wow. That was intense and awful and...wow. Speechless.Kathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11410730283603224430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-8569324711676642242010-05-07T07:22:04.822-04:002010-05-07T07:22:04.822-04:00"as neat as cutlery in the kitchen drawer...&..."as neat as cutlery in the kitchen drawer..."<br /><br />You have a way with description that makes this heartbreaking piece even more powerful. I held my breath, too.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01425418200940737247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8260274117021957060.post-78035942239027354762010-05-07T07:10:59.361-04:002010-05-07T07:10:59.361-04:00I shudder to think where this came from with your ...I shudder to think where this came from with your dedication. Powerful emotions here.Laura Enohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09982794146667832204noreply@blogger.com