As Sarah drove along the A5 on her way home from work, she spotted another dead badger on the side of the road. It had to be the tenth one she’d seen, at least. What the hell is going on? she wondered. It was not unusual to see roadkill on roads as busy as this one, but this many badgers in a single stretch seemed curious. It was during this thought that it occurred to Sarah that the road was not busy at all.

She knew the road far too well; it had the sort of familiarity that enables a…

The first Dear Genie prompt has closed and what a wonderful selection of responses we had!

It has been our absolute pleasure to read each of the submissions exploring the topic of family — selecting the winners was not as enjoyable, for it proved to be a difficult task.

If you haven’t already read the responses, head over to the Dear Genie section of Genius in a Bottle and check them out.

Before announcing the winners, let me thank all the readers, writers, and editors for being part of the Genius in a Bottle family — one which continues to…

“A tot of whiskey in your tea,”
my grandma said to me
as she presented the cup and saucer
of warmth and love
and cold remedy.

“Mrs Timmis always has
a tot of whiskey in hers,
swears by it, er does.”
Grandma tells me
after handing me the cup.

“You get that down ya, gal,
and I’ll fill up a nice hot water bottle
for you to tek to bed,”
says Grandma,
“that whiskey’ll soothe your chest.”

I feel the warmth of the liquid soothing my throat and warming my chest as I listen to the soothing sounds of my…

Welcome to our pyrotechnic world,
where dreams sparkle so bright
we could write our words in light.

I’m surrounded by inspiration:
everywhere I look I see
bright sparks shining back at me.

Nature nourishes my soul,
feeding me visions every day,
inviting my senses out to play.

Enter the arts, full of sparks,
the works of others offer so much
the words of a poet or a painter’s touch.

Music lifts me, hear my soul soar;
I hear a song and float high on air
like sound waves, music takes me there.

And love: love moves me in many ways…

The obsession began when she first saw him in a late-night movie. It was instantaneous. His smile dazzled her, there was something about his eyes which captivated her, rendering her unable to see anything but him, and his voice was the sexiest thing she had ever heard. He filled her mind and caused a surge of sexual energy to rush through her body every time he was on screen.

She was hooked, and she knew it; it was an instant addiction and one she didn’t intend to beat — she gave herself to it like a sailor to a Siren’s…

The family tree:
branches in all directions,
I am but one leaf.

The first Dear Genie prompt is here!

Family: the word has so many different meanings to so many different people.

Some of us think about our position, status, and role within our families. How far our family extends and which people we consider to be our family can be of great importance to some, and genealogical research has become increasingly popular ever since the invention of the internet made it so much easier to do.

I have traced some of my family history with great interest, which inspired…

A cancer diagnosis hits like a violent storm washing over a ship at sea.

From the moment the diagnosis is made it takes over. Through it all, we have support: medical teams, loved ones, support workers … yes, the captain of the ship has a whole crew of people helping them to stay afloat.

But what happens after the storm has ended? What happens after cancer has been defeated and the person gets the long-awaited all-clear? Often, the person finds the aftermath of cancer to be just as challenging as the fight against cancer had been. …

Michael sat down in the middle of the road and began to cry. It had been months since he’d allowed himself to think of her, but there, in the middle of the street he had called home for over ten years, in the greyness of the early morning’s emerging daylight, he just about made out the figure at the entrance to the park.

She sat, unmoving, and held his gaze. …