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Writing blog for Danielle Ellis Writing blog for Danielle Ellis

Writing blog for Danielle Ellis
Writing blog for Danielle Ellis

Blemish

Posted on June 22, 2025October 14, 2025 By Danielle Ellis

The lady in the yellow summer dress or the gentleman in the V-neck. Both, ideally, but the train will soon leave. Don’t be foolish. Look at it differently. Move to the bar, watch their reflections from the glass behind the counter. Wait patiently for the right angle.

Stand casually. Walk slowly. Ask the bartender for a beer. Too expensive. Ask for water. Be casual. Glance at the TV.

Now wait.

Just a little longer.

Hands on the camera. Be ready. Focus.

Now! Turn around and press the button. Leave! Walk through the crowd. Ignore their grumble. Don’t shove the bouncer, that’s what went wrong last time.

Take a quick peek.

The man is grimacing, annoyed by the flash. Hasn’t noticed the weight gathering, around a chiseled jaw.

The woman is rolling her eyes. Assuming this is common attention. Hasn’t felt the growing nose.

Required blemishes.

Friends will abandon. Self-esteem will be lost. Then one step at a time, after chasing what has been lost, two selfish people will step off the pedestal beauty placed them on.

Go home. Drop the film in liquid. Pin them to a string. Watch the faces appear. Add them to the others on the wall.

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Publications

“The Supreme Law of Tory Martin” – The Applause Journal, Forthcoming (2026-2027)

“The Lady Working in a Grocery Store” – Third Wednesday Magazine (2026)

“The Script” – Cedar Valley Divide, Forthcoming (2026)

“The Wickie” – Still Here Magazine, Forthcoming (March 5, 2026) | Journal of the Westbrae Literary Group (2025) | Finalist, Fiction Potluck (Ocean Theme, 2025)

“Mental Houses and Cosmic Complications” – Penumbric Speculative Fiction Magazine, Forthcoming (2026-2027)

“For Allyce, and Maybe Jay Andrews” – For Page and Screen, (2026)

“Dolls and Action Figures” – Brilliant Flash Fiction, Forthcoming (March 2026)

“No Music Played” – Five Minutes Lit, (2026)

“Beneath the Yellow Streetlight” – Kings River Review, (2026)

“He Cried in a Hardware Store” – Still Here Magazine, Forthcoming (February 15, 2026) | Ink in Thirds Magazine, Fall Equinox, Vol 6, I.2 (2025)

“The Eleven Year Debt” – Neon & Smoke, Forthcoming (2026)

“Patchwork Reflection” – Story Sanctum, forthcoming (June 1, 2026)

“Popcorn” – 50 Give or Take and related anthology by Vine Leaves Press, forthcoming (2026)

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