Craig Westmore

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2021

Stories (5)

5 Stories

727 karma pts

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“Shadow Muse” by Craig Westmore

Submitted to Contest #149

The only car they saw this far up the mountain skidded around the curve, drove directly at them, and lurched back into its lane. Its left headlight flickered like the twitchy eye of a madman. Adam held his foot over the brake in case it swerved again. As it gunned past them, little Lucy waved from the backseat of the van. The car’s taillights blinked back at her and disappeared around the bend. Adam cursed the driver under his breath and sat up. The drive had taken longer than usual. His wife had told him to stop for snack breaks every hour ...

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“Ohi’a Lehua” by Craig Westmore

Submitted to Contest #144

According to Hawaiian legend, the Volcano goddess, Pele, fell in love with a young man named Ohi’a. She tried to flirt with the handsome man but he rejected her. He was already in love with a young woman named Lehua. No one ever refused Pele and in a fit of jealousy, she turned Ohi’a into a tree. Lehua was devastated by the transformation and remained inconsolable. The other gods took pity on Lehua. They turned her into a flower and placed her on the tree of her lover. Hawaiians believe when someone plucks a flower from the Ohi’a Lehua tree,...

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“The Number One Fear” by Craig Westmore

Submitted to Contest #141

Does the thought of speaking in front of a large group make you nauseous? Do you stay awake the night before a speech? Do your hands shake? Does your mind go blank? To achieve success in the world today, people need to present their ideas with force and impact. Don’t let life pass you by! Speaking worries are a treatable problem. In this class you will learn to overcome your discomfort. With the help of a licensed expert and a proven method, you can begin living free of fear! Change is just around the corner, but you must sign up! Saturdays...

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“Mosquito Men of the Mata Atlântica” by Craig Westmore

Submitted to Contest #134

Okay, so there wasn’t actually an astronomy salesman at the store peddling telescopes and promising me a wonderful evening on my balcony watching celestial objects like the moons of Jupiter. I dished out two thousand reais–roughly three hundred and sixty dollars–for a StarBlast refractor telescope because the picture on the box showed a father hovering over his son who looked through the telescope with his lips pursed in a ‘Wow’ moment and the father pointing up to the Milky Way galaxy at the other end of the glossy box, which, probably glow...

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“A Walk in the Park” by Craig Westmore

Submitted to Contest #131

The morning gloom had lifted and the day turned a shade of blue that made me want to run and play. The breeze smelled of hay from the stables, lilacs from the botanical gardens and the sweet grass that lay before me. Blankets stretched out on the lawn with picnic baskets and coolers and more food than anyone could possibly eat. Two guys tossed around a frisbee but one of them should really throw it out so the other could chase after it and impress the people sitting on blankets. A hint of cologne wafted by from an old man who sat on a bench...

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Author bio

I grew up in northern California and now reside in the southern interior of Brazil with my wife and son. I kick-started my writing career after taking on the challenge of disconnecting the TV and internet for one month. When I’m not writing fiction, I teach English and translate medical research articles. The weekly prompts have been a great way to come up with ideas. I would love to trade feedback on stories.