Michael Pierre – Analog Artist Digital World

On March 12th, There Will Be Words hosted its second annual Flash fiction Slam, in honor of March Madness.

How does a Flash Fiction Slam work? Well, competitors faced each other in a head-to-head format. Two authors read. The audience decides which story was better with applause One author moves on to the next round, the other cries in their drink.

There were three rounds, with eight authors competing. There were word limits for each round.

Round 1 – 250 words max

Round 2 – 500 words max

Final Round – 1000 words max

Flirt with the competitors at six, watch them beat each other to death at seven, take home the champion at eight. Seriously, these authors had been drinking so they might have needed a ride.

The first round featured Matt Pierce versus Trevor Frasier with Matt winning the audience roar. Raphael lost to Phil in the second round. Hannah Miller and Michael Pierre faced off with a fast paced “Rock, Paper, Scissors” match to see who would read first. It was at this point that I decided to add Hannah to my sketch. She was a strong contender and if she won, I would have two other chances to add detail to her in my sketch. I was pleased that she was indeed the evening’s champion, beating Matt Pierce in the final round by a narrow margin.

After the competition I joined Hannah and her entourage for a victory beer at The Falcon Bar. Multiple conversations crossed the outdoor table ranging from Stanley Kubrick films to art supplies. A high school friend of Hannah’s had just returned to Orlando and she was dipping her toe in the arts scene to try and rebuild her Orlando roots. I seldom hang out after an event so I was very happy to have lingered on this occasion.

Tod Caviness hosts the Speakeasy every second Tuesday of the month at Will’s Pub (1042 N. Mills Avenue, Orlando, Florida). The theme for February was: The Secret Crush.Tod is engaged to be married to Yow dancer, Christin Marie. When I arrived, Tod and Christin were at the bar. Christin told me a bit about Yow Dances upcoming Fringe show. Apparently this year there will be magic as well as dance. I’m curious to see what that involves.

I decided to sketch Michael Pierre as he read on the stage. He look good in a black jacket and black shirt, which separated him from the rest of the authors in jeans and T shirts. His girlfriend, Amanda Millar got on stage right after him. She reminded me before the show that I had sketched her as she was being converted into a sexy zombie nurse. She read about a crush she had on a collage professor. She outlined the intricate planning that went into her always being at the same place at the same time as the professor. All her plans paid off when the professor gave her his card.

The funniest reading came from “Reverend” Trevor Frasier warned Todd and Christin about the perils of getting married. “Let me outline the good points should you decide to have children…” He stood silent for the longest time until everyone in the room was laughing. He obviously couldn’t think of any good points. He warned that they never again could look at someone of the opposite sex and think, “Damn they look hot!” He also warned that marriage would be the end to any hot sex they might be having now. He had a slide show to go along with his presentation but unfortunately I couldn’t see the screen.

Curtis Meyer read a lust filled poem about a sexy pop star. He just wanted her to write songs about him. It seemed only fair since he had written a sweltering poem about her. I slipped out after my sketch was done. This evening was certainly a fine warm up for Valentines day. I had to take a shower when I got home to get the smell of second hand cigarette smoke off of my skin. The sketch itself is like a scratch and sniff reminder of the evening.