What are Ozlandish Writings?

From July 2010 to December 2014 we ran OZLAND PICTURE STORIES as described below. Sadly though the number of writers reduced over the years and we decided to call it a day. We leave these as a record of the good times we had.

Are "You" ready to challenge your writing skills? Then participate in our OZLAND Picture Stories writing series at The Ozland Art Gallery.

Each month a new picture will be picked, from our OZLAND Artist of the Month collection, with different themes. Your goal is to write a 500-1000 word... poem... essay... or story about the picture picked. This is a chance for you to challenge your writing skills each month. Story can be written in ANY genre... sci fi... romance... ghost... fantasy... fiction... non-fiction... biography... mystery... historical... whatever your writing genre... feel free to experiment. Send your writing inworld to Sven Pertelson as a notecard to have it included on the web site. We meet at the The Ozland Art Gallery each Wednesday at Noon and 6pm SLT to read the latest submissions on voice. More Information


Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Your Inspiration for August 2011


Metaverse 101 - © Karalee Larsson and Zhu Juran

Mapping the Terrain from the Inside Out - by Karalee Larsson

The landscape quilt remains as the only tangible reminder
of the places where we once explored.
Traversing the newly discovered terrain we climbed
hilltops bathed in light from the unnamed planet’s moons
and forged cool sandy streams. We found our way to the trees
with silvery branches with hanging stars and
to the huge flower petals that we used for our beds.

Distant Vistas - Part 5 by Sven Pertelson

EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! ERROR! SYSTEM MALFUNCTION! The robotic voice of the MSV pounded at my ears. I half expected it to shout 'Danger, Will Robinson'. I had only unhooked the suit and left the MSV 15 minutes ago. What mess had it gotten itself into this time. It was supposed to support me. Not the other way round.

Blended Part 4 by Zhu Juran

Blended Part 4 by Zhu Juran

Hours later, she hugged her friend goodbye, promising to keep in touch. She turned to her dog, still a little miffed at the wild goose chase he’d led them on. “You were here the whole time, weren’t you? Well you missed a good walk!” She checked her phone which she’d left behind in her worry about the dog, and found a text from her sweetheart, “Hey babe where ru?” Only 15 minutes ago, that was good. She texted back, “U on? brt :)”, and went to feed Charlie first - “not that you deserve it,” she said to him sternly.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Jason's Odyssey - part 3 Lillian Morpork

Jason's Odyssey - part 3 Lillian Morpork

Jason woke to the pre-dawn chorus of the birds, and sat up in his sleeping bag. There was a soft breeze blowing, and the sky in the east was aglow with gold and deep pink, presaging the rising of the sun. For a few minutes, he sat there, gathering his wits, and his courage. Finally, giving himself a shake, and running his hands over his face and hair, he crawled out of the bag and stood up. From this vantage point, he could see the skyline of the city against the glowing sky. Slowly, as the sun rose, the colours of the buildings appeared. “I have to get there today,” he thought. “I don’t even know if I have enough food and water for that long. After that…..well, I just have to hope I have enough money on me. Not only for food, but for bus fare. If I can find a bus there that goes close to home.” He sighed, picked up his backpack, and sat down again.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Vixen by Tami

Vixen by Tami

Trish grunted. It was not a lady-like grunt, nor was it one caused by physical exertion. It was an honest to goodness, completely frustrated, had enough, grunt. She turned to her team-mate, a frown on her face. "It's not going to fit. No matter what we do, we're not going to get the advanced program code with all its new modules and components into the storage unit. It's simply too big!"

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Distant Vistas - Part 4 by Sven Pertelson

Mission Control finally got back to me about my request to leave the lake area and head for the big dish and the terraced hillsides. No go ! The radar maps we have from orbit show the terrain between my current position and there is too extreme for the MSV and I could not cover the distance on foot without it to recharge my suit. [expletive deleted]. That area will have to wait for another lander and MSV to be deployed.

Blended Part 3 by Zhu Juran

Blended Part 3 by Zhu Juran

Aaaaaaaand she was back at that same place, even tho she’d logged in to home! She circled around to make sure - yes, the same place, surrounded by colors, and that silver disk was there in the eastern sky. (She checked her map quickly - yes, eastern.) Well at least she wasn’t a cloud! Opening up her friends list, she saw her sweetheart was still offline. Might as well explore then, she thought.

Couture by Tami

Couture by Tami

Arnaz was flustered to say the least. In two hours he would either be a rising star or another failed disciple at the altar of fine couture; another "never was." His debut on the world stage was but 90 minutes from commencing and when it did, everyone that mattered would be viewing his collection. The fashion writers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, and L'Officiel, among others, would be touting his genius or advertising his imminent departure from relevance. He had but one chance to begin ascendency in the world of high fashion, and that chance was almost upon him.

Jason's Odyssey - part 2 lillian Morpork

Jason's Odyssey - part 2 lillian Morpork

‘NO000oooooo…’the sound echoed and re-echoed, in total darkness. The stiff figure in the stern of the little boat heard it, but the terror was too great for him to react at all. But still, there was no crash, no sudden, painful death. Then the boat shot ahead, like a stone from a sling, and hit the water again with a huge splash, soaking him, and he was in bright, very bright, light. Slowly, painfully, he forced his fingers to relax their death grip, as the fear ebbed away. Looking around, Jason found that he was in a lake, with forest to the north and west, and meadows to the east. The boat drifted slowly across the lake, and he was finally able to take in what he was seeing.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A Mermaid's Morning Tale by Justine Rhapsody

A Mermaid's Morning Tale by Justine Rhapsody

I wake
and watch your sleeping face bathed in refracted light
breath moving in and out,
your life here a gift of my magic.

Distant Vistas (Part Three) by Sven Pertelson

Another morning, but the boots still do not fit. As I detached the suit from the umbilical tethering me to the MSV I looked up at the sky. Through a gap in the pink clouds I could see the group of small moons that hung circling each other above this strange place. The yellow sun was lighting the peaks of distant mountains while some nearer ones were in deep shadow. Soon the clouds would thicken, as they always seemed to, and the landscape would be uniformly lit again.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Blended Part 2 by Zhu Juran

Blended Part 2 by Zhu Juran

Sighing, she clicked on her mouse, exited the program, stood up, and walked away from her computer. Drastic measures indeed she thought to herself, smiling. Time to spend time in the real world - how long had it been anyway? She rubbed her eyes, far too long she realized. The sun was even shining! What was wrong with her anyway? Sitting in front of a computer when she could be walking the dog, working on her latest watercolor, even reading an actual book!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Jason’s Odyssey – part 1 - by lillian Morpork

A tale of not so long ago, but very far away.

Jason Moriarty had a dream, and it was partly because of his surname. In Irish, it means expert navigator. He never told anyone about it, but he worked hard whenever he had free time from chores and school to make it real. He spent hours down in a secret cove by the river building a small sailboat that he could handle alone – his dream was to go on an Odyssey, like his hero Odysseus. At last, just after his fourteenth birthday, all was ready. His ship was finished; he had stored plenty of food and water, as well as all-weather clothing, and now it was summer, and school was out.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

A Quilt's Eye View by Tami

A Quilt's Eye View by Tami

The world when seen from the perspective of a quilt is a very different place. Though a quilt may last for many generations, it is incredibly rare for one to survive that long since most simply disintegrate as ultra violet rays slowly, but surely, break down the molecular bonds of their fibres. As sunlight patiently eats away at their strength, they start to rip and tear, needing patches and repair, until one day their owner decides that it is time for a replacement. What follows for the quilt would cause the quilt to tremble, if it was able to tremble, and can include burial alive within a landfill, burning on a rubbish heap, or shredding to produce recycled fibres -- none of which is pleasant for the quilt.

Sweet Petals by Artexia Jun

Sweet Petals by Artexia Jun

The first thing to catch
my eye, was your pastel fragility,
The sight of fearful little
petals bracing up
for a withering destiny.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Distant Vistas (Part 2) by Sven Pertelson

In the corner of my vision I saw two notifications pop up. A couple of reminders. It was local solar noon and I should take 'sustenance' soon and a reminder that it was time to contact my mobile support vehicle and instruct it as to where I wanted it to meet me before nightfall. I'd get the tedious duty over first, lunch.


The Crystal Journey - Lagu Indigo


Two mermaids swam in the deep lapis seas.  Their journey was a special journey to the land of crystal dreams. They had swam many oceans in search of this beautiful tale of wonder and myth.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Spock's Trybil by Tami

Spock's Trybil by Tami

Disclaimer: This story is not based on a true story. Only the names have been retained to protect the guilty.

Friday, August 5, 2011

"What do YOU see???" by Llola Lane

"What do YOU see???" by Llola Lane

Have you ever looked at something and seen something else? Like clouds in the sky... How they sometimes look like an animal... or some other strange thing... but NOT a cloud. I... even find faces in the tile on our bathroom floor.

Reflections by Suta Northman

Sitting alone in a house weathered by time, the woman looks out over the meadow over grown with time, while thinking of times gone by. As she finishes the last stitch, she looks down at her work, a quilt of memories of time and places of long ago.

Quilted Memories by Stardove Spirt

Quilted Memories by Stardove Spirt

Quilted memories on cloth of the past
Woven with love each stitch meant to last
My distant memories of time and of faith
Are sewn in this quilt my beautiful place

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Dreamscape - by lillian Morpork

I slept, and seemed to float, bodiless.
At first, I seemed to be floating in a void
With nothing around me, nothing to see.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Out of The Boxes - by lillian Morpork

Junjie was a young panda, healthy and active. His fur was smooth and glossy, his body round, and his eyes bright with curiosity. Everyone said he was handsome, and when he grew up, he would be the centre of attention of all the young females in the bamboo grove. In time, he did mature, and was as handsome as they had said he would be. But of all the young females who made eyes at him, hoping to attract his attention, only Meirong caught his eye.

Blended Part 1 by Zhu Juran

Blended Part 1 by Zhu Juran

Her frustration was increasing at a dangerous rate. No matter how many steps she took, the mountains were no closer! That little silver disk in the western sky, however, was another story. Was it getting bigger or nearer? She really couldn’t tell. Sighing, she took a few more steps.

"The Quilt Is" by Llola Lane

"The Quilt Is" by Llola Lane

The quilt is designed...
with paper and pen
it tells a story
from beginning to end!

Distant Vistas - Part 1 - by Sven Pertelson

I looked around for somewhere to sit. It was time to check the reserves in my environment suit and while the ground was green it most decidedly was not grass. The texture and colour was like astroturf, but the way it sucked at my feet and the incessant movement of the club ended tendrils made me loathe to sit on it.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Wanna Go Get Some Breakfast? by Tami

Wanna Go Get Some Breakfast? by Tami

The sun slipped from below the horizon, peeking between the trees that festooned the hilltops. From the surface of the river, in their boat bobbing amidst the cool, foggy, morning air, Tanya and Michelle sat in silence, enjoying the warm golden rays of the new day. They rose early each morning, and together welcomed the day, hand in hand, rain or shine, summer or winter. Their private ritual had been going on for over half a century and they had yet to miss a sunrise together.