B. D. Bradshaw

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2023

Stories (22)

22 Stories

51 karma pts

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“The Wind in the Willows” by B. D. Bradshaw

Submitted to Contest #248

'The Wind in the Willows.' I never actually read the book but I remember the puppet series from when I was a kid. It used to terrify me - something about the stop motion was too uncanny for my eight-year-old brain. There were only a couple of episodes that followed the plot of the book, the rest I assumed were original stories written with the same characters, or parts of the book padded out for runtime.Although that one show scared the heck out of me as a kid, I remember the main story and the characters themselves fondly. What was it reall...

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“Smoulder” by B. D. Bradshaw

Haven was a realm divided in two. There was Verdant - a flourishing land of green, home to humans, creatures and flora, all unique though each tailored to the same fundamental design. And then there was Smoulder, a primordial ecosystem of chaos. To the inhabitants of Verdant, its fundamentals of function were unknown - incomprehensible, intangible, untameable. The plants and animals knew to stay away on instinct, but man's curiosity meant that laws had to be enforced to discourage traversal and exploration.The divide between the lands was a ...

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“Escape Room 4” by B. D. Bradshaw

The escape room was Jackie's idea. 'You love puzzles, don't you Grace? Let's do an escape room for your birthday!' I mean, Sudoku and crosswords were more the types of puzzles I was actually into, but sure, why wouldn't I want to try it? From what I've seen about escape rooms, they're just warehouses split up like office cubicles with drama school students fake crying about fake apocalypses or zombie virus outbreaks. What I really wanted for my twenty-first birthday was a night on the town, not a day of playing pretend in some disused parkin...

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“The Tides Above - The Eirai Myth Behind Meteor Showers” by B. D. Bradshaw

Submitted to Contest #245

In the days of oblivion, the Tides Above over the realm of mortals were rich and plentiful. It was a vast ocean - not of water, but of aetherium - the cosmic lifeblood from which all existence began. And within the depths of this ethereal sea swam great schools of fish - shoals that would undertake grand journeys across the tides that would last centuries. And such majestic creatures glimmered like the starlight as they caught the gemstones that drifted in the swell, and carried them to the western and eastern shores - their crossing a testa...

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“The Album” by B. D. Bradshaw

I'd been going through Granny's old things. Clearing her house had taken three months, that's something you don't really think about when someone says the word 'hoarder.' I used to love visiting, it was like a dragon's lair, piled floor to ceiling with treasures from across the ages. Any time I went around, I'd ask about something from decades ago."Granny, do you still have that blue tea set with the owls?"And she'd say - "Second bedroom on the right, north-west corner, in the red box on top of the breadmaker."And like magic, it would be the...

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“That Day We Saved The Universe With Coffee” by B. D. Bradshaw

Lottie stirred from an uneasy sleep, her head heavy and numb. The lights around the floor of her cabin illuminated in response to her movement, as she shifted her legs off the bunk, and perched herself on the edge, curled over her knees. She rubbed at her eyes, stretching with a yawn. The computer's automated broadcast only mocked her discomfort."GOOD MORNING, OFFICER MCMAHON!""What's so good about it, DATA?" She sneered."ALL SYSTEMS ARE OPERATIONAL. SCANS SHOW THE PALADIN'S ROUTE IS CLEAR, AND YOUR LIFESCAN RESULTS DEMONSTRATE A SIGNIFICANT...

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“A lovely day for hunting” by B. D. Bradshaw

Back up on the hill, the wind picked up again. It scrambled my fur - the specks of grit and dust whipped up in it scratching at the skin left unarmoured. Another settlement conquered, another thousand humans executed.It was my fourth clearance of the week. They were few and far between for a time - as they spread out for safety, but with the seasons changing and their fuel running out I guess they decided to move closer together so they could share resources. Even at the end of their civilization, they refused to go without the modern conven...

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“Countdown to Contact” by B. D. Bradshaw

"Can anyone else hear that?" I asked, as we sat at the table for dinner. The rest of my family - my sister, mum, and dad shrugged, apparently ignorant. It sounded like a heavy droning, perhaps a huge plane flying miles away, on its way overhead.I stood, put on my shoes and opened the patio door, stepping out into the chill winter night. They followed, curious to see what I had heard. Staring up towards the sky, the sound grew closer and louder. On my right - a blinding orb of light and fire shot across the sky, sparking ...

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“Cupid” by B. D. Bradshaw

I'm a cupid. Yes, you definitely read that right. A. Cupid. One of thousands. We have existed since ancient times for one specific purpose - to unite mortals under the bonds of 'love.' So you've probably heard the tale of the 'original Cupid,' but not many people know that there were actually three. Mercury and Diana's kid came first, then Mercury had another with Venus, and Venus had a third with Mars. They were meant to represent three different types of 'love,' and they played a more active role than other gods when it came to messing wit...

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“Mortal Reigns” by B. D. Bradshaw

"SARAH!""Yep, that's my cue.""You got this babe."Allie kissed my head as I stood, unraveling myself from the heated blanket and once more abandoning my 'Chillachino' mug on a coaster. You know, since having kids, I can't remember the last time I had a hot cup of tea, or got through a full episode of 'Comedy Clubhouse' without some crisis.I crept upstairs, following the sounds of cries and screams so high pitched that only dogs should be able to hear them. A deep breath first, an...

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“The Darkness Inside Me” by B. D. Bradshaw

I couldn't understand why I had such trouble keeping a job. I'd never do anything wrong - I did the work well, and got my tasks done on time. Yet as soon as I settled into a new role, I would be taken aside by management and told that I had to go. They offered me similar excuses; 'you're not what we're looking for', 'we've changed our minds, we're overstaffed', or 'there's no room for you to advance here...

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“My Princess” by B. D. Bradshaw

"Kirin?" Faela muttered my name with great urgency, twisting her neck to find my eyes, though I remained frozen - lost in the chaos of my mind.... A princess? The word had danced off her tongue and into my heart, shaking me to the core. Of course she'd always been a princess to me - those sea green eyes of hers, and the waves of silvery hair pouring down her back like a waterfall could only compose the visage of royalty or divinity. Then she would decorate herself in pearls and silk flowers... I don't know why I...

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“The Incident at the Black Dog's Crossroads” by B. D. Bradshaw

Have you ever wondered what became of those fantastical beasts of folklore? Because I certainly had.It was easy to accept ideas like dragons being hunted to extinction, but what about smaller critters and creeps? Were fairies just really good at hiding, or were they all gone? Had deforestation led to their demise?I'm sure you probably think I'm crazy talking about this, and you wouldn't be the first. 'It's only nonsense, Keira.' 'Grow up, you big baby.' 'Don't be such a weirdo.' - and that's the PG vers...

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“Self Portrait of a True Artist” by B. D. Bradshaw

Submitted to Contest #225

Brush on canvas, draft pencil and paint strokes to define shape and tone... A piece of artwork certainly. Disgustingly, not art. I wasn't an art college undergraduate anymore. Back then I was young, naïve, ignorant and pathetic - a life yet to be lived and a person still to be defined. She had been moulded by societal indoctrination, and an education system contrived by a patriarchal government determined to keep her sick and stupid. I was not that woman, for years of misery and kindness had crafted within my f...

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“A Perfect Night For Necromancy” by B. D. Bradshaw

The first snow of the year. A great storm lashed against the fort shutters. The northerly winds met the squall with an unseasonal chill, freezing the downpour to hail. After the first few waves, the eye coiled overhead, and the raining ice calmed to delicate stars, settling upon the frigid stone.A perfect night for necromancy.Little Solikha hid beneath her covers, straining to withhold her giddiness. She'd waited to make sure everyone else was fast asleep, listening out for the distinctive patter of foo...

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Author bio

Heyo, thanks for stopping by! My name is Beth, I'm from the UK, and I'm a self-published author in the fantasy genre. I have about eleven years of writing experience, but as I've found, I've still got lots to learn about the industry. My aim is to be formally published eventually, though in the meantime, I'm happy to continue honing my craft. I have three novels on Amazon, one of which is published in paperback (the others I am currently in the process of editing before releasing paperback editions, saving paper and all that). As my fellow authors will (hopefully) relate, I have a habit of procrastinating on my main WIPs. Even so, I'm still trying to be productive - using the time to explore other genres and writing styles by drafting short stories for you to enjoy. I've made it my goal to have written fifty by the end of 2024. I hope you like them! My books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/bdbradshaw Have a question? Ask me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19184208.B_D_Bradshaw