Karen McDermott

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Oct, 2019

Stories (73)

73 Stories

2192 karma pts

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“Between Subtle Shading and the Absence of Light” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #33

Most people didn’t react to the three inch scar on her arm; the little white smile. They knew better not to ask, or found sufficient distraction in Edie’s other features – the spiked blonde hair, hazel eyes that shone yellow in the sun, the dimples piercing her cheeks, her throaty laugh. One day, however, a family member in possession of a good many things but tact not being one of them, asked outright during a family dinner.<...

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“Takeaway” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #32

“Milo! Have you seen my handbag?”The deep rumbling that came from Irene’s teenage son’s bedroom seemed to indicate not.Irene did not want to ask her husband, who had disappeared into the downstairs loo ten minutes ago, despite her continued pleas for him to use the upstairs facilities if it was a job that was going to take more than fiv...

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“The Chocolate March” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #31

Chocolate. The ‘ch’ sound for ‘cheap’. The heady sigh of ‘co’. Finally the tongue tripping at the back of the teeth on ‘late’. Cho-co-late. It was the soothing mantra Gemma concentrated on repeating to herself, timing her footsteps to. Her mouth watered as she rounded a corner and saw the store. ‘EZ HOURS’ said the dusty looking sign. Known with a touch...

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“The Penny Whistle” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #30

Mel took in her surroundings as she shrugged off her coat. Horse brass on the walls, selection of ales and another selection of more ales, a gaggle of 60-something males taking up all the bar stools, their flab rolling over the seats, reminding her of a slaughterhouse with a more pungent smell. Goddammit, another waste of a good dress. Was it too much t...

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“The Sacrifice” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #28

“Let me be the sacrifice!” I held out my hands imploringly to Ruth and she gave me the church altar candle she had found. Her husband, Tom, was trying on a garland made of autumnal foliage, while Lucy and Seth inspected the photos pinned to one of the hut’s walls. “Hey, have you guys seen

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“This Book Will Save Your Life” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #25

I felt conspicuous about the Tesco carrier bag I was holding. Not so much for the logo or material. Everyone was broke and my eco anxiety had taken a backseat lately. But I was aware of the contents as though I were wearing them. The bookshop’s staff and the customers browsing the January sales…I was sure they all had x-ray vision and were judging me fo...

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“The Lake of the Lost” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #24

Detective Farmer had finally thought of a suitable sacrifice. Nobody would miss Will Sloane. No registered address, history of drug dealing and abuse, shoplifter, pimp. A forgettable face she thought, as she studied his details she’d pulled up from the database, office finally to herself at 9pm. Yes. They’d welcome him into their world and ours wo...

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“What Goes Around” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #22

I lost a shoe that night. Run twelve times around the roundabout, that’s what he said. Before I could respond, he grabbed my hand and dashed us over the road, where we vaulted over the muddy incline and collapsed on top. Midnight had passed hours ago. Two house parties. Three, if you included pre-drinks at his with Steph and Ben beforehand. We lost track of them before we’d even got to the second party.

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“Cobwebs” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #20

Number 43. I’d finally found it. A weather beaten brown door. A cheerful duck egg blue terraced house. I knocked on the outskirts of the knocker, fashioned as a cool iron hand. It felt rude to put it to use somehow without shaking it first. Once I got ideas like that in my head, they were difficult to dislodge.

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“Fetch” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #16

Someone had nailed a sign to a tree at the entrance of the path into the woods. A scrappy bit of lined notepaper, torn from some schoolkid’s notebook, I figured. ‘WORNING – TURN BAK’. Guess whoever left it wasn’t acing their English homework. Last night’s drizzle had impregnated the ink and patches of blue stains had blossomed. I heard a noise behind me, a whine, and looked over my shoulder, the curled piece of paper forgotten.

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“Mrs Magpie” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #15

Tom says I’m a magpie. Looking around our bedroom, I’m inclined to believe him. 19 years we’ve been together. 19 Christmases, 19 birthdays. The results are coiled in dishes, hung from hooks, strewn on ornaments glittering with jewels themselves. I just need a beak and feathers. My daughter Andrea says it’s like entering Aladdin’s cave. As these things tend to go, Andrea’s look is the opposite of mine. She likes minimalism and block colors. Sharp tailoring. Natural make-u...

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“The Dream Catcher” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #13

“What did I say about slowing down?” Todd panted as he caught up with his sister. Her little 8-year-old legs concealed a turbo speed that belied their length. He was momentarily troubled by how his choice of words was taken straight out of his mother’s phrasebook, but he quickly pushed her memory aside. He didn’t like to think of the article he’d read earlier that day online had said Halloween sees a blurring of the boundaries between the living and the dead.“I’m sorry Todd,” she turned a chocola...

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“Shorn” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #11

Dear diary,This morning Mummy took me to the hairdressers with her. I was to sit quietly with my book and behave, Mummy said. I didn’t think her hair needed cutting but she said it was starting to look like a bird’s nest. I asked if that might mean birds might come and lay eggs in it and then we could eat them for tea, which Daddy found very funny.I don’t get my hair cut when I go...

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Author bio

Caution: stories may contain swear words and scenes of an upsetting nature. But also jokes. Raised by diplomats, currently living in Hove, England, Karen is a former copywriter now turning her hand to creative writing. Published in Viva Brighton, Borderline Stories, Sensorially Challenged and shortlisted on Reedsy. Currently working on her second novel (the first was just for practice, and to see if she could). She is aware of the meme. Stalk what she's been reading: https://www.instagram.com/midgebird/

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #78

Betty – read story