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Chris Cancilla

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2024

Stories (22)

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52 Followers

132 Following

22 Stories

441 karma pts

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A Spec of Dirt

Submitted to Contest #324

It was dark. Thomas Augustine Marcell hoped to find a place to land and repair his ship, but the storm took that out of his mind. Now, all he wanted to do was not die. He set the automated signal, S-O-S, and landed safely on the shore of a speck of dirt on an ocean of black. That was six weeks ago, and each night, like tonight, he relives it in his dreams. He knew every movement he made, and that there was nothing else he could have done that would have avoided his being stranded on this small island. His ship was damaged, leaking, but he fo...

1 like

TINKO

Submitted to Contest #321

Tinko walked around downtown Cleveland in the middle of winter, looking at the people covered head to toe, and for her life, she had no clue why they were acting this way. She loves cold weather and especially enjoys the day when the snow gently falls and puts a hushed silence on the hustle and bustle of society. She walked over to where the number one bus would arrive and stood there, waiting. No one paid any attention to her – as it should be. As she approached the stop area, she had to quickly sidestep to avoid being run through by someon...

9 likes

Herman of the Forest

Submitted to Contest #320

The sun rose as it did each day, but this time it bothered him. That means he needs to fix the roof today, at least before it rains again. He rolled over and off the hay that he used as a bed. He pulled back the black blanket that covered the window and looked. He heard footfalls. Someone was out there. Someone was nearing his house. He stared out until he saw them. Three men, all armed with rifles, dressed in camouflage, and all wearing blaze orange hats. One man also had a vest that was a bit too big for him, which made him look like a wal...

8 likes

Temporal Displacement

Submitted to Contest #317

We have all heard the rumors that on the Island, people travel in time. They go back and do god knows what, playing with our history. If they made a change in some way, the biggest question is, would we even know it? Perhaps they’re making changes to what we know, as history is not all bad. Maybe they fixed things that happened and saved lives, or maybe entire cities. But then again, do they do this to play? If they have nothing better to do than make subtle changes and see what happens in the future, then they have way too much time on the...

2 likes

The Invisible Wilson Pitt

Submitted to Contest #316

[moderate violence] [mild language] Wilson Pitt walked into the bank. He was making a deposit like he did every Friday. This check was from the US Treasury. It was for $16,000, and when the teller was about to add it to his account, he realized he needed some cash, so he asked for $1,000 back in cash, and the cashier obliged because he had enough to cover it in this account. About that time, a man walked into the bank looking very nervous. Wilson saw it in the mirror wall behind the teller. Not only were his eyes darting left and right, up a...

3 likes

MYSTIC REALITY

Submitted to Contest #310

Willy hated this class. Creative writing 101. He had already published three novels, and they were gaining traction with the science fiction community. That’s how he looks at the sale of five books. Gaining traction. He is, however, pulling in a royalty that will allow him to go to Taco Bell after the next royalty check arrives. But he wants a degree, and this is a required course, so he sits, and the teacher teaches, the instructor instructs, and the professor professes. He smiled at that thought. The teacher is Miss Alicia Burnham, and she...

13 likes

THE MUSE

Submitted to Contest #304

The term muse is a term that implies someone, or something, acts upon a person to allow or aid them in creating something.Victoria is a muse.She resides at a small retreat for authors, artists, and poets located in Wyoming, making the rounds of the rooms and the inspirational locations around the property. As she approaches a living artist, she passes through them, giving a little of herself to the person. For her, it appears some of her energy is transferred to the artist, but to the artist, all they feel is inspiration.One artist, an autho...

7 likes

ISABELLA

Submitted to Contest #304

“ISABELLA!” Thomas shouted as he ran out of the house. Running after the taxi as it flew down the driveway. Before he could catch it and stop the love of his life, it went into the clouds and was gone.He stared at the taxi until it was indistinguishable in the sky. Maybe a little longer. He sighed, resigned to the fact she was gone. But she was so wrong. The entire situation was circumstantial.He walked into the house and walked into the kitchen. He wanted to get blitzed out of his gord but decided to let it all out. He grabbed a glass of wa...

5 likes

LimeLight

Submitted to Contest #299

[very mild cussing] We sat in a pub, not realizing it was open mic night. I already had three drinks, Macallan 18 on the rocks. My go-to because I liked the taste and knew I was not driving tonight. None of us were. We will call rideshare, most likely Lyft because I have credits!My three friends hammered at me to get onstage and make people laugh. That’s why I had three drinks, and Russ ordered the fourth. Don and Rick, well, they saw what Russ was doing and, being smaller bits of asses themselves, joined in. After that fourth, I was ready. ...

6 likes

Time is Relative

Submitted to Contest #297

Bret was in the middle of a training class, teaching the art of subtle existence. Temporal agents need to be invisible in plain sight, so how is that accomplished?Bret said, “Class Epsilon 9: Time and reality are illusions. What you perceive as the passage of time is nothing more than the organization of events in your mind. Consider this!”He took a step backward, and he appeared directly in front of himself. His new visitor handed him a cup of coffee and turned to the class. Offering a small salute, he vanished, leaving behind the coffee, t...

5 likes

The Wooden Door

Submitted to Contest #295

Rebeka walked into the living room and flipped on the TV. She sat on the sofa, an oversized, high-back, comfy couch. It took her a while to find it in 1962, but she did. Black and white material, she called it the Holstein. Within a few minutes, she became enthralled with the program she was watching. It was about the election of President Trump for the second time. She thought about the year 2024 and realized she was not born yet. The program ended, and she thought she needed to go to bed. She had work in the morning, but her shift started...

11 likes

My Friend, Matilda

Submitted to Contest #291

She did it!But I’m getting ahead of myself. This all started when Sadie moved into a new home. 25 years old, a nice car, a new house, and a cat. She liked cats. They are self-sufficient but, at the same time, loving balls of fluff and affection. Her cat was always with her and followed her from room to room. Her cat, Matilda, was also her best friend. Not just words, they really were friends. They talked to each other and slept together.Moving into the house and setting it up was seriously the first adult thing she ever did. She got the hous...

23 likes

New Friends, Old Problem!

Submitted to Contest #289

Ruby was scared and nervous. She entered the ladies’ room and had no idea what to do. This guy she met, the one that was so damn cute, started sending up red flags and flares. She needed to get out of there.She was standing at the sink, looking in a mirror at herself. Pretty upset at the fact she let it go this far. But he was just so cute!She did not notice someone come in and go into a stall. A minute or two later, the woman used the sink. They made eye contact.“What’s wrong, girl? You look scared to death and all mad at the same time.”&nb...

28 likes

Event of the Century

Submitted to Contest #288

Matilda Baker sat in her living room reading. She loved to read. But her eye started hurting a bit. She closed her book, marking it with the $20 she used to reward the completion of a book with dinner. Standing, she almost fell. She was a little off balance for some reason. She sat back on the comfy chair and closed her eyes momentarily. She had to be somewhere in a few hours, a charity event for the library. Thirty minutes later, she opened her eyes. She felt like she just jumped forward in time. Did she fall asleep? No, she does remember t...

19 likes

June and Matt

Submitted to Contest #287

“Hold me!” June said, sobbing, shaking.Matt opened his arms, and June entered the safe space. He wrapped his warm, loving arms around her like a heated, weighted blanket. She was still crying but felt better. He was taller than her and broader, so her arms would wrap around him, but not at the moment. June had her arms folded under her, and her head rested in the center of Matt’s chest as they stood on the side of the road. It was a well-known place of comfort. It has always been a place she has felt safe for as long as she can remember...

5 likes

Author bio

WEB: https://AuthorCancilla.com
BLOG: https://chriscancilla.substack.com/embed/
RADIO: https://W4CEC.com

My website is where I have more than 38 self-published books on topics ranging from camping to survival skills, scouting, business, the dearest to my soul, science fiction, and time travel. I sell through Amazon (KDP, to be exact).

My blog (Substack) is a weekly offering transmitted each Sunday morning at 5:12 AM Eastern. It is a chapter-by-chapter serialized installment of one of my books. Starting in January 2025 and for 22 Sundays, the book will be COLONY 3.

Also, every other Wednesday, odd-numbered weeks in 2025, will be a short something for you to read. I will choose the topic when I sit to write it. Let me know if you have any suggestions, and I may accommodate you and give you the credit!

The Wednesday post will be a unique collection of my thoughts and ideas, something to read in 10 or so minutes, depending on how many words fall out of my head. It's always interesting, though, and I promise you won't find this content anywhere else.

I have a seven-novel time-travel series that just recently became an eight-book series after adding book 6½ to the seven-book series. There is also a trilogy about a young woman who learns that the universe is not as she knows it to be and wants to live in that other reality.

There are guide to learn to camp, hike, survive in the woods. There are business books about EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange. My day job. I have been called an expert and I really hate that term.