Delbert Griffith

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2021

Stories (79)

79 Stories

4649 karma pts

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“Hello, Venus!” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #237

Author’s note: the word “love” doesn’t appear in this tale, but there are several instances of the letters l-o-v-e in the tale, either within a word or within a combination of two words. The day began normally, but ended with three deaths, a minor rant, and a married couple reposing in a field of clover.Here’s how it all happened. ...

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“Thursday's Child” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #228

Thursday's child has far to go. &n...

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“A Dangerous Year in Purgatory” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #227

June 3, 1987 The drive back to Ft. Worth was surreal. I had made this drive many times, but in the company of my wife. She was no longer my wife. The divorce was in the works, and I...

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“The Occasional Assassin” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #226

Author’s note: all quotes are from Voltaire. 1945 Lizzie’s blunt pencil scratched across the surface of the foolscap paper. She wrote slowly, carefully, pensively. The light...

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“Love Songs for the Deaf” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #225

Monday I can paint anyone and make them look good. Except myself. Why this is the case remains a mystery to me. Right now, for example, I’m studying my jawl...

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“All the Angels, Singing to Me” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #224

I stare at the alarm clock. It’s a superfluous thing in my life. I never use it as an alarm clock because I’m always awake before it activates. 3:27 am. I wait and watch. The minutes feel like decades. I wonder – and I do this every morning – why a minute feels like an eon. I won’t get out of bed until it reads 3:30. For some reason, it feels like a sin to be up before 3:30. The clock hits the magical moment and I get out of bed. Sometimes I have an adrenalin rush when I do this, and no coffee is needed, though I still drink unbelievable amo...

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“Pegasus Sky” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #219

The Pegasus sky is the color of Tim Burton dreams, the texture of crunchy nightmares. This makes me happy. A trio of dragons fly by, and I stare at the girl astride the smallest of the three. She doesn’t acknowledge me. This also makes me happy. The two angels that accompany me are snorting cocaine and imploring me to “do my duty.” This makes me unhappy. I stare at the computer screen, unsure of where to go next. I have a main theme: redemption. Which may or may not be the right theme. The angels symbolize something or other. Maybe I need so...

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“White” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #218

“…no man can ever feel his own identity aright except his eyes be closed; as if darkness were indeed the proper element of our essences…” ...

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“The Sugar Thief” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #216

Things I don’t like about Ina:1. She’s old.2. She smiles too much.3. She always tries to use coupons that have expired.4. She wears cheap, ugly clothes.5. She calls me “dearie.”Things I like about Ina:1. She’s a sugar thief. ...

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“Microscope, Telescope, Mirror” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #215

This wasn’t the sort of place one came to for fun, unless shooting up and dying a semi-slow death was one’s idea of a good time. Ellie peered at the addicts through the gloom of the abandoned hotel foyer, certain that every flight in this three-story ode to misery contained similar specimens.She moved slowly, cautiously, pistol still in her holster, wending her way through tweaking zombies, trying to ignore the stench of unwashed bodies and fetid standing water. Ellie was not to be dissuaded from her task, however. She was here to catch a mo...

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“The Rules for Crying” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #214

She walks through the room in silence, yet she’s never silent. There is a liveliness to her, a lightening of the room, a lifting of the spirit that stays long after she’s gone. Madison is almost perfect. Unfortunately, she has bad taste in men; she married me. She likes that joke less than I do but she smiles and kisses me anyway. “Why is there a bottle of champagne on the table?” I ask this merely for information. I admit that Maddie sees more than I do. Always has. The champagne on the table is evidence that whatever is going to happen to...

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“The Letter Whisperer” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #212

September 21, 2015 Martin Schuler read the letter. He then re-read the letter. Miriam waited patiently as the new dean of mathematics stared at the words on the paper. Schuler tossed the letter on his desk and toward Miriam. “What doe...

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“The Miracle of the Damaged Jesus” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #211

Marilyn and Beatrice arrived at work early, as usual. Beatrice opened the door and held it open for Marilyn, as usual. The ladies took off their coats and put on their sweaters, as usual. They started re-stocking the books that had been checked in the evening before, as usual.The body of the head librarian lay in the Historical Fiction aisle, her lifeless eyes and bluish tint signifying that she was well and truly dead.Marilyn wiped her glasses, the grim expression on her face softened somewhat by the absence of eyewear. When she spoke, the ...

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“Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters” by Delbert Griffith

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #208

Raise high the roofbeams, carpenters. ...

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“The Millicent Boone Method for Ending a Bad Romance” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #207

Millicent sat across from the interviewer, relaxed and confident. A man pointed a finger at the interviewer. Five cameras softly whirred into action. “We’re here today with Millicent Boone, best-selling author of the self-help book, Ending a Bad Romance. In this book, Millicent takes us, step by step, through the process of getting out of a bad relationship. So, Millicent, can you expand on this a little more?” “Certainly. But we have to understand where we’re going before we know how to begin. That is, we must consider the endgame. To achie...

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Author bio

Currently engaged in writing a cozy mystery. Wondering how many "cozy" deaths would be acceptable. I'll get back to you when I have an answer. Cheers!

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #196

The Bullet that Esther Stopped – read story

Shortlisted 5 stories ⭐️

Contest #208

Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters – read story

Contest #204

Gordita – read story

Contest #191

The Girl Who Played the Giuoco Pianissimo – read story

Contest #171

The Rules of Arithmetic – read story

Contest #165

It's Murder, Sir – read story