Iona Cottle

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (97)

97 Stories

3033 karma pts

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“A Family of Suspects” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #34

“I accuse… Miss Scarlet, in the ballroom with the lead pipe.” “Ah, sorry. Here, look at this.” Lucy was still frowning as her mother showed Uncle Keith a card. He gave his usual hum of consideration as he studied the evidence, then he did his over the top secret note taking. Across the table Dad made a note as well, but Lucy was still busy glaring at all of them with her arms folded. One of them committed the heinous crime, and she was going to find out who. So, what did she have so far? Miss Scarlett and Reverend Green (Mum and Dad) had bee...

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“A Tablet For Adulthood” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #33

When she was younger, the sight of a pile of presents would fill Esme with joy. Now, at only nineteen, it filled her with dread. “I didn’t ask for anything though,” she said with a fake laugh to her parents, praying that they wouldn’t see through it. “What’s all this?” “Well you can’t not have presents on your birthday,” her mother replied. “But what are they-” “There’s no point in us telling you is there? Go on, open them up.” The first one was a box of chocolates, which gave her hope for the rest of them. That hope was shattered when she g...

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“Rose-Tinted” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #32

The clock on the wall chimed three o’clock. The perfect time for afternoon tea. As always Sheila was already there when Billie arrived. One day, Billie thought, one day I’ll be the first one here. May that be a long way off though. The cafe was dark, nestled underground and completely void of windows as it was. Each table had a cluster of candles, in part to add to the eerie atmosphere, but mostly because a flickering light source showed up the ghosts best. The spooky ambience was generally shattered by the sounds of jovial laughter and shar...

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“One More Snack” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #31

It’s been a lazy day. It has been a long week, and I was completely done with everything, but I don’t think that’s really an excuse. I know I had a whole list of chores to do, but I honestly couldn’t be bothered. I spent the day curled up on the sofa binging Netflix, and am feeling better and worse for it. Zara calls them ‘self-care days’, but then Zara actually has a clinically diagnosed mental illness. She needs self-care days; I’m just lazy and really bad at being a grown-up. So far I’ve managed to get away without leaving the flat all da...

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“A Dream Heist” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #30

The jewellers lay dark and quiet, as sound asleep as the people in the buildings all around. Gone midnight in the middle of the week; hardly the time for party animals to be abroad. It was however the perfect time for Lisa to be about. In her all black outfit with her oversized hood pulled low she was little more than a deeper shadow moving in the darkness. This was always the bit that gave her the biggest thrill. The start, when anything was possible. Maybe, just maybe, this time she’d be caught, but that wasn’t likely. It certainly wasn’t ...

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“Not Dependant” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #29

The doctors reception was cold, and that did nothing to help the ache in her hands. In the quiet room Lisa was painfully aware of the noise she made as she rubbed them together, but it was either that or she feared her fingers would fall off. Damn it, didn’t this place have heating at all? A working coffee machine would be a start, but the large ‘Out Of Order’ sign that was plastered across it when she came in for her blood test was still there. As ever the doctor was behind with his appointments. While she had a book in her bag Lisa didn’t ...

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“Our Secret Engagement” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #28

My unique experience started the day before a friend’s wedding, in fact. It was my birthday and my then-boyfriend was taking me out for a meal in Cardiff. That was unusual enough in itself (the years before I’d had to put my own birthday banner up), so even if he hadn’t slipped up months earlier and told me he was going to propose then, I probably would’ve guessed anyway. We get to Cardiff and to the restaurant no problems, but while we were waiting outside another friend, Sarah, walked up. It turned out her work was doing their Christmas me...

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“A Faithful Bet” by Iona Cottle

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #27

Another Sunday, and a beautiful one at that. It was one of those days that made believing in God so very easy. When the wind was warm and soft, and the sun was high and there was nothing urgent that needed doing that day. A pleasant hush lay over the village like a favourite blanket. It was only the start of summer, so the trees were still a vibrant green from the spring rains and the children hadn’t worn out their parents’ nerves yet. A Sunday that people dreamed off, the Sunday that everyone imagined when they were asked ‘What’s your perfe...

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“A Sweeter Song” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #26

The wedding was a small affair, at least by the standards of their families. Only thirty people had been invited, although plenty more had threatened to turn up anyway. As it was, one of the uninvited aunts- who was always one to take everything personally- had organised a separate gathering in a nearby function room, so the rest of the extended family could get together. This had been mentioned to the bride and groom, and it was the groom Marcus who immediately decided that they should stop in there after the church. “That’s a little mean, ...

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“Forced Resolutions” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #25

Anna was the first to arrive at the restaurant, which of course had been her plan. It meant she could take her seat and gather herself, without having to worry about being late and flustered. She’d hope that by being there, the same place they always met, she’d be able to absorb the atmosphere. She’d hoped she could find the person that she once was, if only for an evening of normality. It wasn’t going well- not drinking made it particularly hard- until Lucy turned up and started yammering away. Listening was easy. All Anna needed to do was ...

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“The Magic of Logic” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #24

“Another mage corpse. Give it to the priests and get on with guard duty.” Bellus’ ears pricked up. Was that another one? With a quick check to make sure that the quarter-master wasn’t watching he slipped out the armoury line and made his way across the room to the captain. “Another one captain?” “What- Oh gods no. No Bellus. Don’t you have other work to do?” “But sir-” It wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation, but that was never going to put Bellus off. He pulled out the sketch that he had on him. “I can figure it out. Look- all...

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“We like you” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #23

The wind is whistling through the trees overhead- no, it’s screaming. Screaming through the trees overhead, and I can’t feel my feet any more. My cheeks went numb within seconds of leaving the hut, and I wish I’d taken that as a hint to stay behind. “Regretting you came now?” Lucas bellows in my ear, reading my mind as he so often seems to do. If he wasn’t so scary it’d be kinda funny. “I’m fine.” I’m not, but I ain’t gonna let this lot see that. I chose to come with them, and I’ll deal with it like a man. “Hah! Hear that everyone? Thinks co...

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“That Happy Smile” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #22

“You know, I’m sure it’s bad luck to be grumpy at a party.” Lisa looked up from her drink to the person who’d just spoken to her, but there was something about his smile that stopped her from just biting his head off. “Sorry. Not really in the party mood.” “Then why are you here?” Unlike most men he hadn’t taken the opportunity to sit down and slide close to her yet, and his respectful distance only endeared him more to her. “It’s New Year’s Eve. You’ve got to be at a party, haven’t you.” “You think? I mean, it happens every year.” “I know b...

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“Some Publicity” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #14

It was a sunny day, and sunny days were not good for photography. Well, of course, they were pretty ideal for taking photos, but the problem that Mattie was having was that sunny days brought everyone else out as well, which made it hard to get any shots that didn’t have people lurking in the background. That, and they had a habit of scaring the birds away, which made it fairly pointless for him to even be here. It was almost midday, and he’d gotten maybe a dozen decent pictures of the ducks and swans, but now the crowds were out in full, al...

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“The News With Lost Time” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #12

It never takes long for anything to make its way around the town. Even the little things- especially the little things, I guess. If someone has a new haircut, they’d need only walk down one street before someone else had spotted them, and through phone calls and social media, it would be old news before they hit the next street. That was part of why I love living here. True I don’t live here full time, but with the current job market you have to go where the money is. But I come back more weekends than not, and my folks have said they’ll alw...

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Author bio

My debut novel, 'Death Was Its Name', is out now! https://tinyurl.com/y46ymq94 I've been putting pen to paper longer than I've been able to write, and my first story – written age five – was about dinosaurs that lived hidden under a city. It’s an idea I'm going to come back to one day, because dinosaurs are cool. I'm keen to improve my skills as a writer, and would grately appreciate feedback on any of my stories. Leave a constructive comment on one of mine and I'll leave a comment on one of yours! Writers in this together :) www.ionawrites.co.uk https://www.amazon.com/author/ionacottle

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #57

Et Tu? – read story

Shortlisted 3 stories ⭐️

Contest #86

The Eyes In The Forest – read story

Contest #74

250 Days – read story

Contest #27

A Faithful Bet – read story