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Rachel Abbey McCafferty

@ramccafferty.bsky.social

1.5K followers 2.2K following 670 posts

Writer. Reader. Reporter. Editor. https://rachelabbeymccafferty.com/

rachelabbeymccafferty.com

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · Oct 31

“… when you were young, you were just always bumping up against all the ghosts of people you used to be, and the ghosts of people you wished you were, and what no one tells you is that life is about figuring out just how to live with all those different ghosts.” www.havehashad.com/hadposts/gho...

Ghosts of the Mundane by Rachel Abbey McCafferty

The office bathroom Picture this: you’re in the bathroom, trying to rinse off your hands, but the automatic faucet won’t acknowledge your existence. Can you imagine being stuck in a public bathr...

www.havehashad.com

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 10h

YES. Exactly lol

Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 19h

Man, as soon as the leaves and temperature start dropping, my brain just starts whispering “go ahead, it’s time for soft vocals and delicate guitar and the most gorgeously heartbreaking lyrics: It’s Elliott Smith time.”

Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 19h

I think the true generational divide is what you consider classic Green Day.

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Reposted by Rachel Abbey McCafferty

HAD @havehashad.com · 3d

Upcoming submission call!

Theme "LUCK"

In honor of the lucky number SEVEN, the call opens at 7pm EDT on October 7th.

Submissions capped at 154 total works: 77 works of "prose" and 77 works of "poetry"

guest eds: @tanyazilinskas.com will curate "prose" & @jlyocum.com willcurate the "poetry"

The theme is "LUCK".

In honor of the lucky number SEVEN, the call opens at 7pm EDT on October 7th.

Submissions capped at 154 total works: 77 works of "prose" and 77 works of "poetry".

POETRY GUIDELINES: Up to 500 words in 77 lines total (titles not included); submit any number of poems as long as totals don't go over this cap.
PROSE GUIDELINES: No more than 500 words per piece.
Form is an illusion, so if the form is strange or some hybrid of prose and poetry, we especially want to see it! We encourage writers with such work to flip a coin to decide which category to submit under.
Tanya Žilinskas will curate the "prose" submissions, J. L. Yocum will curate the "poetry".
All submissions will receive a response within 24 hours

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 4d

Oof. I missed this @molotovlitzine.bsky.social Flash Monster winner from @abbywilliams.bsky.social last year. Heartbreaking and gorgeous. themolotovcocktail.com/vol-15/flash...

The Molotov Cocktail

Her Name Was Laika by Abigail Williams The hand that touched my nose smelt of cat and biscuits and a little of the ducks who had surrendered their feathers to its glove. It touched my nose softly. …

themolotovcocktail.com

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 5d

I’ve done it* again.

*Started a new Flash Monster draft for @molotovlitzine.bsky.social’s contest close to the deadline after working on a completely different story for a few weeks.

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 7d

Any Halloween flash calls this month?

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 7d

Yet another Monday that should be a Friday, but still not.

Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 8d

Today feels like a Monday that should be a Friday but alas, it’s Tuesday.

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 7d

I mean, horror *is* my go-to genre, but I’m always looking for books to add to the TBR list.

Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 7d

Such a fun list to kick off October from @sadiehartmann.bsky.social. www.goodreads.com/blog/show/30...

Horror for Beginners: A Guide to Horror Reading Based on Your Go-To Genre

Sadie Hartmann (known as Mother Horror on social media) is the co-owner of the monthly, curated, horror fiction subscription company Night Worms and...

www.goodreads.com

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 8d

Today feels like a Monday that should be a Friday but alas, it’s Tuesday.

Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 13d

Sometimes, the internet is terrible. Other times, it invites you along on an exciting adventure.

👻madeline boOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 13d

approximately three hundred of you have sent me this and you know what? Sure. I’ve got time today. Put 40 bulbs of garlic in my pasta, coming right up

recipe for pasta with 40 cloves of garlic

Reposted by Rachel Abbey McCafferty

Avitus B. Carle @avitusbcarle.bsky.social · 16d

“Is this you?

I suppose it is, but not the same me from this time last year. I feel more like a tree that’s dropped all its leaves, branches mostly unchanged, new growth just beginning to flush.”

@jadjosey.bsky.social | @havehashad.com

www.havehashad.com/hadposts/rep...

Replying to Spam Texts by Jad Josey

Hi, what are you doing? I’ve been mostly watching the ocean, counting the messengers of light that descend through the clouds, thinking about time, how there’s never enough of it when you love som...

www.havehashad.com

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 13d

It’s fine that I am in a write-for-five-minutes-at-a-time phase of life. I just want to finish my Flash Monster piece, figure out this ska kid flash, put together a tiny apocalypse chap, complete the second draft of my eco-horror novel and and and

Reposted by Rachel Abbey McCafferty

Wigleaf @wigleaf.bsky.social · 14d

September sub window: OPEN 🪟

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 16d

Today’s writing assignment:

Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 16d

Do you know how hard it is to write an earnest flash about being a ska kid in the early 2000s? Do you?

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 16d

I love that description. Nostalgia’s the best.

Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 16d

This was my immediate guess when I saw the first post (I haven’t seen the movie and I’m not sure if I should, considering how much I loved the book)!

Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 16d

Do you know how hard it is to write an earnest flash about being a ska kid in the early 2000s? Do you?

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 16d

People really should be careful about the music they listen to as a kid because now nasally vocals and horn sections make me intensely nostalgic.

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 17d

Happy birthday! Thank you for all the stories and the scares and the hope and the joy you’ve given us Constant Readers over the years.

Reposted by Rachel Abbey McCafferty

Anna Vangala Jones @anniejowrites.bsky.social · 20d

maybe the real novel is all the short stories we wrote along the way

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Reposted by Rachel Abbey McCafferty

Amber Sparks @ambersparks.bsky.social · 20d

ICYMI: I wrote a story about nostalgia and parties and the gorgeous wild unseriousness of this life and how sad and good it all is, and it has (almost) nothing to do with politics at all and I do really hope you read it because I wrote it for you ashortstorylong.substack.com/p/your-life-...

The further back you go, the people are less people and more ghosts, just smudges of smoke in the corners. This is what it's like to be haunted, you think. This is what it's like: everyone you loved a long time ago, gathered in your childhood basement forever.

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Reposted by Rachel Abbey McCafferty

Casey Stegman @caseystegman.com · 22d

It’s true. Join us.

Taco Bell Quarterly @tacobellquarterly.org · 22d

Absolutely none of us know what we're doing. Become a writer

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Rachel Abbey McCafferty @ramccafferty.bsky.social · 22d

I can already tell this is one of those stories that worked its way into my heart and brain. It’s so good.

Aaron Burch @aaronburch.bsky.social · 22d

New Short Story, Long Day! New Amber Sparks Day!

It's @ambersparks.bsky.social on SSL day!
(w/ some new fave story art from @philmcandrew.bsky.social!)

"Your Life in Parties" by Amber Sparks

"...your retirement party, the one they threw for you at the atrocious Italian restaurant. Surprise!, they all yell, which is so awkward because this isn’t a surprise party...."

ashortstorylong.substack.com

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