John Lente

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2023

Stories (7)

7 Stories

145 karma pts

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“Charitable Donations” by John Lente

Submitted to Contest #195

Romie’s parents didn't talk about where the money had come from. Her parents were arguing and fighting over bills for months, and there was talk of selling the house. Then her father went away for a weekend. Romie’s mother said he was offered a job out of town, but he’d be back soon. “Soon” was apparently sometime in the middle of Monday night. Romie arose for school Tuesday morning and found him sitting at the kitchen table. His skin was clammy and grey, and he stared across the room, not even acknowledgi...

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“Do Me No Favors” by John Lente

Submitted to Contest #193

“ru sure u dont mind?” Chele felt a little manipulative letting David take her to the airport. She and Jake had been dating for a while and it was going well. She always suspected that David liked her with the way he was always so helpful, a little too attentive to how she was doing behind the counter. But when Jake left for a two-week construction job and her best friend and fellow barista, Annette, got called in to cover an early shift, Chele casually dropped her lament into the shared barista group chat and waited ...

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“Never Forget Your First” by John Lente

Submitted to Contest #192

Magdelena Brumhauer’s weathered hiking boots crunched through the twigs, undergrowth, and detritus of the forest floor. The incline was steep enough to take her breath away and slow her pace, and she leaned against a tree near the summit of the hill to rest. A large swig of water from her blue plastic bottle cooled and rejuvenated her as she looked to the treetops, searching for the birds that chirped and tweeted invisibly above her. None of the trees looked familiar, and she shook her head in a silent argument with herself...

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“An Issue of Blood” by John Lente

Submitted to Contest #191

Jacob Fielder stamped his foot. When that seemed insufficient to express his frustration, he kicked the tire of his old Chevy pickup truck, splitting the toe of his worn out boot, scraping his big toe, and making his sad life even worse.“Dadgummit!” He swore like a man thrice his age and brought his wounded foot up to his waist, hopping about like a cartoon character until he lost his balance and fell against his disabled vehicle. The awkward angle of the truck bed pushed him off, and he fell onto the broken wheel that had com...

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“Prometheus Slept” by John Lente

Submitted to Contest #190

March 12th, 1952 I have not kept a journal before. Journals, diaries, and daily logs are for the preservation of days. In my lengthy time on this Earth, I have not wanted to preserve my days. Thousands of days and nights have all blurred together, one as forgettable as the other. The moments worth remembering are few enough that I can recount them easily enough. Each time I tried to end my life failed, but I am hopeful that I have made a breakthrough. With the understanding that eventually someone will fi...

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“No Good Deed” by John Lente

Submitted to Contest #189

Bernadette Peters was nice. Beyond sharing her name with the talented star of stage and screen, Bernadette had little in common with the celebrity. Her complexion was clear, but not fair. She was a brunette, but didn’t have the ember-like red highlights the star did. She also couldn’t sing, dance, or tell a joke with effective timing. But she was nice. Bernadette held the door open for people and let people with only a few items cut ahead of her in the grocery store checkout lane. She returned library boo...

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“Bearing Gifts” by John Lente

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch?” “No catch, sir! Just fill out this contest entry form for your chance to win our very finest hardwood gazebo kit and free professional installation! But today is the last day to enter, so it’s a good thing you came in today!” Sunny proffered her cheap blue pen to Frank to go with the index card entry form and tiny clipboard already in his hands. He looked from the pen to her red and white nametag to her puffy, smiling face before taking the pen and filling in the usual blanks. “Why the hell not...

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Author bio

John Lente is a husband, father, and aspiring author and screenwriter. He retired from the US Air Force in 2014 and is now an instructional designer and educator in California. He enjoys writing horror and tragedy because it eases the cognitive dissonance in his mind, helping him deal with his persistent belief that, despite his genuinely good and comfortable life, everything somehow is not okay. When he's not dealing with that or working, he's making instructional videos for Malifaux University on YouTube, teaching people how to play with scary little toy soldiers.