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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2021
Dear reader, The last house on Adeline Lane was supposed to be a new beginning for us. What happened within those walls is something I have never spoken about. Until now. Clay, my younger brother, was at the center of it all. I wasn’t able to save him. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but for me, it’s the stuff monsters are made of. It’s ok if none of this makes sense right now. Soon it will. In time, you’ll know everything about the last house on Adeline La...
If we’re pulled apart, it’s because one of us let go. The will of waves reaching shoreline eclipses the cry of a seagull, and saltwater, carried by seabreeze, invites invigorating inhales. I breathe in. I release. I breathe in. I release. The whispers of passersby blend into muted murmurs and all I can hear are the crashing of waves and the crying of gulls. And so I breathe in. And then I release. I fiddle with a fis...
Dear reader, When you find this, call 911. It’ll be too late, I’m sure of it, but at least you’ll be able to give their families closure, or something like that. I know none of this makes sense to you, but that’s ok. We have time right now, you and me, to get to know each other just a little. I believe that by the time you finish reading this, you’ll know me quite well. Maybe, you’l...
The haunting melody begins at dusk each day, like clockwork. It is Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14, of that I am sure. I step aside from my usual perch behind the weathered gravestone and roll out my stiff shoulders. Tired from standing all day long, I kneel down and rest against the head of the gravestone. With slow swipes, I smooth out the ruffles in my pink skirt and finally begin to relax. <...
Can we ever really fuck up? I mean, to the point of no return. When the person you once loved couldn't give two shits about where you are, how you got here, or even who you are, as you write this.You hope that they'll stumble upon this note, “accidentally,” and that they will wish they could have done more.But we both know the truth; they left because there was no fixing us. We’re broken people, with broken hearts, and we’ve tried every which way to be better.I guess we could have tried a little b...
This Is Me Trying I remember this, I whisper to myself, as I hold the old, wooden, heart-shaped box in my hands. I brush the tip of my thumb over the engraving, written in a childish scrawl. Written by me, years ago. Misty-eyed, I read “To Mom, Love, Em.” The word “Mom” is much bigger, and slanted sideways. “Em” is extra small, and if you didn’t know this gift w...
“Sam! Did you pack the cooler already?” I yell. No response. Our little apartment sits quietly on this August evening, and our two cats, Beans and Rasha, stand like statues in the kitchen. I hear our clock tick, one second. Two seconds. I can’t stand the silence. It’s almost three in the afternoon, we should have left an hour ago. What the hell is Sam doing? I decide to go see for myself. I climb the ...
Be brave, Bright. Do your best. *** I consider me and Thomas artists. I like to draw, doodle, and paint. I love taking a moment, freezing it, rethinking it, and keeping it. It helps me explain the words I can’t say. Thomas, he’s a different type of artist. He’s a writer, plain and simple, and one of the best I ever knew. We used to have a little friendly competiti...
Kids, I hope you get to read this one day. I want you to know that your Mom knew your Dad was the one back in March 2021, a full year after the pandemic ended, and even back in 2016, when she left high school for college. *** She didn’t wait around for him when graduation day came in May of 2016. They had already discussed the possibility of him following her, but n...
12.12.2020 “And where’s there?” “Where’s what?” I answered. “Where does the road end? What are we driving to?” He inquired, curious, and reasonably so. I hadn’t told Ben anything yet. How strange it was, to have him here beside me, in the passenger seat of my small, dark blue honda civic. He looked so different from the 18-year-old boy who left me at Homecoming. But right now, ...
1.22.2020 Dear Diary, I think we all have something important to say. I haven’t found my story yet, but I intend to. I’ve always wanted to say something that was helpful to others. Or maybe helpful isn’t the right word. I want to say something that gets people thinking, and hopefully, talking to one another. I am only in 8th grade and don’t know much, but I do know...
Drinks by the dozen. And smoke. Lots of smoke. That’s what she remembers most from the night in June of ‘84. It takes the shrieks of a chainsaw to pull her from her thoughts. “What, Dad?” Gripping her coffee in one hand, she uses her other hand as a shield to block out the sun so she can see her Dad. And there he was, teetering on the top step of a ladder, chainsaw in hand, his floppy hat covering his eyes. He...
“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” - Stephen King
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