JL Anderson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2021

Stories (30)

30 Stories

4 karma pts

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“The Wind in the Willows” by JL Anderson

The sun shone bright and warm over a lush green meadow studded with yellow and white wildflowers. A crystalline pond sparkled in the sunlight while willow trees dipped their long tendrils into its water. Around the meadow, all manner of trees rustled in a stiff, erratic breeze that seemed to originate from a single teenage girl standing near the pond. Her grandparents’ farm would have been the perfect place to spend spring break–if only Samira had wanted to be there. “It isn’t fair!” Samira wailed, and a gust of wind whipped from her stamped...

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“True Colors” by JL Anderson

Sereia has never enjoyed spending time in the dressing rooms of the dormitories she shares with the other young mermaids of the royal compound. The mirrors there, all salvaged from shipwrecks and in varying condition, remind her that she is no different from the rest of the parrlings around her. Her tail and armfins are the same dull silver-blue stippling as theirs, her eyes the same pale flickering rainbow color. No one can tell by looking at her that her mother is the Great Sorceress Marilla, Chief Advisor to the Rulers of the Seven Seas. ...

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“Remember When” by JL Anderson

Merriweather Park is always the most beautiful place in Johnstown, but on days like today it’s particularly glorious. The sun beams bright over the lush grassy expanses where children kick a black-and-white checkered ball around. More children laugh and clamber over the plastic and metal jungle gym, which is partially shaded by the oak and maple trees towering overhead. A light spring breeze blows through the park, ruffling the gray hair of George and Melanie Dennison as they sit on a shaded bench near the swingset. “A shame no one’s enjoyin...

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“The Eternal Chase” by JL Anderson

As the sun sets over the village of Searajel, Chief Xbalanque and his astronomers climb the narrow, winding paths leading up the side of Mount Alsano to their observatory at the peak. They want to check their calculations one last time before the solar eclipse they believe will happen the next day. Below them, the rest of the village bustles with activity; adults clean up after the evening meal while children run and play on dirt paths between stone houses built into the mountainside. The tension of anticipation hangs thick over Searajel. It...

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“FantaFlash” by JL Anderson

“This is it! The perfect look!” Katryn beams at her phone and presses the button to take a selfie. A blinding flash fills her studio apartment as her phone clicks, imitating a camera shutter. The phone screen reveals Katryn’s face featuring a sharp graphic eyeliner that blends through the rainbow from red at the inner corners of her eyes to violet at the tip of the wings near the ends of her eyebrows. Long black lashes, impossible to achieve without falsies, frame her hazel eyes. “Ooooo, this one’s going to get so many likes! This new FantaF...

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“A Raven's Musings on a Princess” by JL Anderson

There comes a time in ev’ry raven’s life(At least, that’s what the crows of old have said)In which he meets a cybrinn yet unmade.Such was the case when I the princess met.She was a lass still young and wild and free,Brown hair full wild despite her coronet,A child who yet ten summers had not seen.And I was new-fledged, searching for myselfAnd hoping for my purpose soon to find.What contrast she with all around her made,When she with sister, staff, and soldiers cameInto the shady glen where I then dwelt!A gangly thing, all limbs and skirts aw...

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“The Shadow Verve Gallery” by JL Anderson

At first glance, the city of Westhampton looks like any other mid-sized midwestern American city. Farmland is no further than 20 minutes’ drive in any direction. The landscape is flat with trees interspersed amongst the buildings. There are wealthy neighborhoods and middle class neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods, and the people of Westhampton are generally friendly. However, Westhampton has a “secret ingredient” that makes it stand out: the Sable Street Arts District, which rumors say is a place where magic happens. The Sable Street Arts ...

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“Freedom to Choose” by JL Anderson

The last thing Josef expected to find anywhere in Kaansikka was friends, especially during a war that engulfed the continent. But what else could he call the people he found through a catastrophic tunnel collapse digging between trenches? He had traveled with them through landscapes deep underground that should have been impossible–jungles sweltering in the heat of an subterranean sun, abandoned cities colonized by spiders, a temple to a long-forgotten deity. Most of the soldiers he met down there, he survived with down there, weren’t even f...

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“Trespassing” by JL Anderson

The icy breeze brushes Chloe’s cheek, leaving stinging frosty tearstreaks from her watering gray eyes in its wake. Around her, snowflakes dance through jagged branches that cage her in from the cloudy sky overhead. She shivers and pulls her light windbreaker more tightly around her body. An errant gust of wind sweeps her hood off her head and tangles her blonde hair around her face. She curses and pulls the hood back up, stuffing her hair back inside it. “Just my dumb luck,” she grumbles as she continues trudging along the snowy trail. When ...

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“Heroes of Hyrule” by JL Anderson

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the content I have borrowed from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This story is written as fanfiction and I do not intend to profit in any way from this work. From the Private Writings of Beedle the Merchant It is a truth universally acknowledged that a hero adventuring through a land so vast as Hyrule will often be in need of su...

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“The Time of Our Glory” by JL Anderson

Vibrant green ferns tickle Kari’s khaki-clad legs as she treks behind Commander Rutherford and her mentor Dr. Lewis through the forest of Oichrean. Fallen leaves and pine needles muffle their steps. All around them, straight coniferous trees with trunks thicker than steam engines seem to scrape the sky with their uppermost branches. The forest absorbs the sounds of their group as they trek from the dilapidated dock where they left their ship to some ruins recently discovered by fishermen in the area. Those fishermen subsequently died of an i...

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“Perfect” by JL Anderson

Josh pats his pocket for the eight hundred and seventy-ninth time since leaving his car in the parking garage, making sure that the velvety ring box is still safe inside. His heart hammers in his chest and sweat trickles down the back of his neck under his button-down shirt as he approaches the Cheesecake Factory from one of Easton’s fountain plazas. He can’t think of a more romantic place to propose to Hannah than in the restaurant where their relationship began sixteen months ago. Of course, they’ve had many better dates since that fateful...

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“New Life” by JL Anderson

Fangs and scales flash in the light. Swords and screams slice stale cavern air beneath a glowing rocky ceiling. Tentacles whip towards Rhogar from an angry stalagmite with a gaping mouth. He jerks his scaly arm out of the tentacles’ reach. His greataxe slams down, severing them. Even as they disintegrate in the dirt, the stalagmite is sprouting new ones. “That’ll be enough of that!” Darrak bellows. His warhammer...

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“No Going Back” by JL Anderson

A pleasant, salt-tinged breeze stirs Naida’s high ponytail as she runs along the boardwalk. Music, chatter, and the scent of fried food waft through the air from the direction of the Saturday craft fair, which is up ahead of Naida on the left. Golden sunlight bathes the world in a warm glow, but the breeze keeps her from overheating; it’s a beautiful day for running. As she gets closer, some children chase each other ar...

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“Snakes” by JL Anderson

Although the prisons of Thradnyss are tucked safely underground, Prince Narkykos has authorized a more imaginative location for interrogations of prisoners: an enclosure made of vines woven between three baobab trees, high above the ground. Soundproofing spells keep the enclosure safe from eavesdroppers, but many gaps between the vines allow a dizzying view to the streets below. Three humanoids sit at the center of the ...

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Author bio

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