Flash tale coming this Thursday! ⭐🎈📝
sebtomato posts
"Potty-training" ideas needed
Hello, special helpers! With June's "exam" tales already in the works, I would love to see your AR ideas around the theme of:
potty training
Please comment here with your one-line story ideas (as many as you like, but each idea can only be one line - this Is high-concept time, like "man gets dream job, only to find that..." or "woman wins lottery and decides to show off her wealth but ends up..." - you get the idea.
Ideas deadline: Sunday, June 13...
2021-06-04 13:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostSummer commissions 👶🌞 | Open now 🧸🍼
We're still social distancing here in Parkdale, but enjoying the light at the end of the covid tunnel, and I'm happy to open back up for commissions.
Email commissions@sebtomato.com with your story idea, whether it’s just a few lines or something more detailed, and I will let you know (a) if that’s something I can write for you and (b) timing and pricing.
Thanks for reading – here's to a happy and healthy summer!<...
2021-06-01 13:54:15 +0000 UTC View PostExclusive tale - "Favorite Aunt" - Part 4
“One little bunny, two little bunnies,
Two little bunnies, in the bath!”
Auntie Sarah bends down to put her face next to Lucy and says, “How many bunnies in the bath? Two little bunnies in the bath! Two!”
Lucy doesn’t have anything to say about the numbers, she’s too silly to know anything about counting, but she babbles right back at Auntie Sarah, splashing her little hands into the bubbles. Her hands are so...
2021-05-31 15:19:24 +0000 UTC View PostExclusive tale - "Favorite Aunt" - Part 3
I look over at Lucy. She's wearing a blue dress with a bunny on it.
I’m Lucy’s big brother. But I don’t feel very big. And whenever I try to sort things out in my head, Auntie Sarah confuses me again.
“What happened?” I ask. I’m sitting in the nursery with no idea what to do with myself. I glance with a strange sense of envy at Lucy; she knows exactly what to do, crawling over her activity mat, perfectly happy to play with the shapes and nose-makers. Of course she’s happy; this is all normal...
2021-05-30 12:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostExclusive tale - "Favorite Aunt" - Part 2
I finish my essay and upload it to OneDrive. Is it any good? Good enough.
Mum gives me back my phone and I get ready to go out. I put on my Ben Sherman shirt and smooth out the wrinkles in my jeans.
As I’m deciding on which trainers to wear, the doorbell rings.
“That’s the babysitter,” calls Mum. “Be a honey and answer the door for me.”
I’m pretty sure that the ‘honey’ is me and not Lucy, ha-ha.
I pick up my pair of Adidas, the white ones with the blue stripes, and go to Mum’s be...
2021-05-29 11:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostExclusive tale - "Favorite Aunt" - Part 1
One
“You’re like this every time,” says Mum.
I keep my eyes on the laptop screen. There’s an essay I haven’t finished. There’s also an open chat with Joe. Best thing I ever did was add the mobile app to my computer so I can use my phone without Mum twigging.
No mobile until you’ve done your homework.
Sure thing, Mum.
She’s not exactly tech smart.
She stands in the doorway of my ...
2021-05-28 16:27:50 +0000 UTC View PostMay Exclusive tale - Favorite Aunt - starting Thursday... 👶🍼
May Flash⚡Tale #2 - Being Good 🧀 👦
When Angie gets home, she puts her keys on the kitchen counter, kisses Steve on the cheek, “Were you a good boy?” Playful, flirtatious. Funny how being away from Steve makes his girlfriend like him more.
Steve answers the question the same way he always does. “Of course.”
Except this time, it’s true.
👦 💻 👧 🌯 🧀
<... 2021-05-23 17:54:41 +0000 UTC View PostJune tales - time to vote!
Time to vote for your favorite 'exam' ideas, and help me pick our flash and exclusive tales for June.
Patrons, you can vote for as many stories as you like.
2021-05-21 12:28:44 +0000 UTC View Post
May Flash⚡Tale #1 - Kitty Ears 🐱
Couldn't resist playing around with the flash tale format this month... 😊
“Be good”, Angie always says, every Wednesday night when she goes out with the girls.
And when she comes back home, putting her keys on the kitchen counter, kissing Steve on the cheek, “Were you a good boy?” Playful, flirtatious. Funny how being away from Steve makes his girlfriend like him more.
Steve answers both questions the same way. “Of cou...
2021-05-15 19:47:51 +0000 UTC View Post
"Exam" ideas needed
Hello, special helpers! With May's "babysitting" tales already in the works, I would love to see your AR ideas around the theme of:
exam | test | quiz | qualifying
Please comment here with your one-line story ideas (as many as you like, but each idea can only be one line - this Is high-concept time, like "man gets dream job, only to find that..." or "woman wins lottery and decides to show off her wealth but ends up..." - you get the idea.
Ideas deadline: &nbs...
2021-05-07 12:13:24 +0000 UTC View PostApril Exclusive - "Hidden" - Part 3
“Why are you hiding my husband?” It’s a question I never thought I’d have to ask.
“I’m not hiding him, Claire. And you’re not worried.” Susan smiles at me. “We’re just two sisters, enjoying a cold drink, sharing stories on the deck.” She tilts her cocktail glass at me.
As soon as she says it, I know it’s true. And that’s a funny thing about how this conversation has gone in the last few minutes. I find myself thinking one thing – something bad, something uncertain – and then Susan opens her mouth, an...
2021-05-01 00:03:09 +0000 UTC View PostApril Exclusive - "Hidden" - Part 2
They could be brothers.
Not twins. Steven…Stevie looks older, is older.
For now. Until it’s time for medicine again.
I find both boys in the bathroom. Danny is gazing at his uncle, goggle-eyed. He’s got that same expression he had when I took him to visit Santa Claus at Midtown East.
He pulls on my wrist. “Look, Mommy!” As if I’m not, like perhaps I hadn’t noticed that my brother-in-law was now a child.
“I know, honey,” I reply. “I can see.”
I take in the sight of Steven, folded up on...
2021-04-30 00:53:19 +0000 UTC View PostApril Exclusive - "Hidden" - Part 1
My eyes itch. My nose twitches. When I’m not coughing, I’m clearing my throat. Truly, I shouldn’t be outside. But I said yes to Susan, and now I’m stuck finding places to hide pieces of plastic around her property. Under the rose bush beside the garage doors, nestled between the rocks by the lake front. I’ve hidden plastic in tree branches, on top of car tires. I’ve even hidden some in the mailbox by the road.
All of this for a lit...
2021-04-28 22:21:08 +0000 UTC View PostExclusive Easter story - coming soon!
our last Easter tale... :)
2021-04-22 13:26:51 +0000 UTC View PostMay tales - time to vote!
Time to vote for your favorite 'babysitting' ideas, and help me pick our flash and exclusive tales for May.
Patrons, you can vote for as many stories as you like.
2021-04-18 19:32:10 +0000 UTC View PostApril Flash tale #2 - "Repeat"
“Do we have to?”
It’s the same question they asked last year. And the year before that. Wynona and Whitney (not names I would have chosen for them) look at each other and then back at me. They think hunting for Easter eggs is childish. They think I’m overly sentimental, that I want to treat them like they’re still kids, as if they weren’t all grown up.
Right on all counts.
“Sooner you’re dressed up, sooner you can h...
2021-04-17 20:33:13 +0000 UTC View PostReminder - "Babysitting" Ideas needed!
A reminder that I'm inviting your AR ideas around the theme of:
babysitting
Deadline is this Monday, April 19, and usual rules apply.
After the deadline, everyone will get the chance to vote for their favorites :)
You can find ideas the ideas submitted so far here.
2021-04-15 12:09:26 +0000 UTC View PostApril flash tale #2 coming this week!
More Easter-themed fun coming soon :)
2021-04-12 15:14:55 +0000 UTC View PostApril flash tale #1 - "Whisk"
Little Ducklings Preschool
Five years at Little Ducklings. My class of eight kids come and go, as have some of my fellow teachers. I stick around because I love the kids. Steve says that I’m really just a big kid myself, and it’s true, I like to play games, I like to use my imagination. Isn’t it a pity, how so many people stop doing eit...
2021-04-09 12:10:50 +0000 UTC View Post
"Babysitting" ideas needed!
Hello, special little helpers! With April's "Easter" tales already in the works, I would love to see your AR ideas around the theme of:
babysitting
Please comment here with your one-line story ideas (as many as you like, but each idea can only be one line - this Is high-concept time, like "man gets dream job, only to find that..." or "woman wins lottery and decides to show off her wealth but ends up..." - you get the idea.
Ideas deadline: Monda...
2021-04-06 13:12:36 +0000 UTC View Post"Lockdown" - New commission out now
Here it is! A brand new commission, and the continuing story set in the APP virus universe....
With thanks to Fossil for support and inspiration, I’m proud to publish Lockdown in full today. If you like this story and want more about the APP virus, let me know!
Ready to play - Part 4
It’s just like Teddy says. Kinsey looks pretty as a peach in her new dress. Her old clothes, the ones that weren’t right, lie in a pile by the bed.
The blue knit dress fits her perfectly, or is it just a little snug? A little tight across the chest? Maybe just a little. But the blue will match Momma’s dress, and the pink trim makes it extra special.
“Don’t forget your socks,” the bear says.
“I’m not.” Kinsey...
2021-03-31 23:09:13 +0000 UTC View PostReady to play - Part 3
Kinsey picks up the bear. Really, was there a plan B?
She holds it up, stares into the glassy eyes.
It is heavy.
“Hi, Kinsey!” the bear says in a light tone that belies its weight. “I’m so glad you came home.”
Kinsey looks towards the bedroom door. It’s wide open, and surely her parents are lurking in the hallway. She investigates, peering around the doorframe.
Empty.
She shuts the door.
“Are you ready to get dressed?” says the bear. “Are you ready to put on a show?” The ...
2021-03-30 23:09:50 +0000 UTC View PostReady to Play - Part 2
“Did you bring something to wear? For the shoot? Because we need to look right.”
In the guestroom, Kinsey looks herself up and down in the mirror. Her long, strawberry-blond hair tied back in a ponytail. White t-shirt, denim shorts. What’s the problem? It’s not as though she’s got #BLM on her chest. She doesn’t even have tattoos, which couldn’t be said for most of her high school class.
“We need to look like a family that voters can trust.”
There it is. She needs to look like her mother, in other ...
2021-03-29 22:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostReady to Play - Part 1
Auburn, KY
Kinsey upsets her mother seventeen seconds after arriving.
Naomi manages to look flustered and furious at the same time. “Why wouldn’t you want to stay in your old room?”
Kinsey puts down her backpack. The porch looks the same. The house looks the same. But she’s not. “Just seems a little childish, that’s all. You’ve got the space; I figure I’d be in the guestroom. Besides...
2021-03-29 16:32:02 +0000 UTC View Post
