Welcome to Tuesday Tales, powered by a small group of authors, where word prompts inspire passages in the books we’re writing. The word of the day is candy. For Halloween I created a story based on a scary fable called “Yam Potatoes” that my Granny Pate told me many times, to my shivery delight. (Maybe it’s why I adore the movie Pumpkinhead.) Today we read Part 1, and Part 2 next week. When you finish the passage, make sure to visit all the talented authors of Tuesday Tales.
The tall grasses tickled Juniper Duncan’s cheeks as she trooped away from Granny McGlennon’s cottage. A sprig of goldenrod adorned one ear and a tassel of purple muhly grass the other. Her tummy was satisfactorily full of breakfast. Granny made the absolute best golden pancakes onto which she spooned a slurry of soft butter and warm syrup. They ate at a little sun-glinted table by the window and afterward washed the dishes, standing them up in an old wire rack to dry. Then Granny began the production of readying the material, pins, and pattern for today’s sewing. Bright blue thread wound through the sewing machine from the day before, but Granny always made sure to put away the remainder of her tools every night before bed. “Keep your work neat as a pin,” she would tell Juniper, laughing at what she called her “pin pun.” “I learned that from my mama, and you from me.”
Juniper always nodded agreeably but, truth was, she wasn’t nearly as neat as Granny, though she tried. Often her books and pencils and crayons somehow scattered themselves over her little work table, or even clear across the room. One time she found her favorite violet red color on the floor beneath the knick-knack hutch. Today, rather than read or color or watch Granny sew, she had permission to go out for a walk and get some sunshine with her pretend dog, a Dandie Dinmont named Taffy. She had found Taffy in the glossy dog breed pages of Granny’s enormous dictionary. Taffy loved to scamper and dream and explore as much as she did.
“Stay away from the swamp, child!” Granny warned, for the umpteenth time, leaning over and looking her dead in the eye to make sure she heard. “It’s said the Yam Potato Man lives out there.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Juniper declared, nodding earnestly, before skipping out the back door. The Yam Potato Man sounded scary and was obviously someone to be avoided.
She had meant to mind, really meant to, and for a while she and Taffy had a fine time eating cinnamon candy drops and pretending they were exploring the land of Og. Then she started thinking about the colorful leaves she had glimpsed one time when she had ventured near the darkened edge of the swamp.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the piece inspired by the word candy. Stay tuned for next week’s Halloween Tale: Part 2. If you haven’t done so already, check out the other excerpts at Tuesday Tales.
Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories
All rights reserved, copyright @ 2025 Flossie Benton Rogers
An intriguing tale. Leaves wondering what happens next.
Well done.