KA James

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2024

Stories (5)

5 Stories

113 karma pts

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“careful what You wish for” by KA James

Submitted to Contest #266

You, yes you, the supposed writer, illustrious creator of thrilling adventures as well as chronicler of romantic dalliances, equally capable at short story or novel length, you who are the magnanimous master of intrigue and the veritable reincarnated Vonnegut of satire; or perhaps, are you the imposter extraordinaire, lucky if you can manage to string two coherent sentences together, create a believable character who, when they speak, doesn’t sound like their dialogue came straight out of a ‘60’s TV melodrama, or even pen a decent adjec...

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“The Crafting of a Prophet” by KA James

Submitted to Contest #264

The rains came often enough in the spring, always in mid-afternoon, but lasted not long enough and were usually too violent to be of any real benefit. Full of wind, lightning and loud with booming thunder, the brief but torrential downpours often managed to wash away soil more than provide any real saturation to the fields. The blistering sun always followed the storm, drying and cracking the now muddy top layer of claylike earth.The village had been in slow decline now for years, weather patterns changing as is their ilk. The previous winte...

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“Luxuriating in the Cool Dark Night” by KA James

Submitted to Contest #262

Midsummer, and we’ve left the longest day behind, the dreaded solstice interminable, but still we must contend with day after day of the warmth. Twilight, the heat lingers well past the setting of the sun, radiating leisurely back to the ether from those objects, from the very land itself, that sat baked in light in the hours from dawn ‘til dusk. Even the clouds, when present, cannot completely repel the illumination and thermal rise of the daytime. On this evening, not a puff of a breeze as the daylight succumbs, the air stagnant, providing...

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“A New Friend?” by KA James

Submitted to Contest #260

Claudia and her mother and father lived in an old house, in a normal neighborhood, on a nondescript street, Meadowburne Lane to be exact, in a small midwestern town so ordinary that most people driving through immediately forget the name of it before they have passed the town limit sign on the way out. At least, that’s the way it had been on Meadowburne Lane before the accident. Since then, life on the lane has occasionally become a little less mundane.Claudia and her mother both remember the night of the accident well. They remember it, but...

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“A Midsummer Night's Delusion ” by KA James

Submitted to Contest #257

Gretchen, student, understudy for Hermia, no second job other than to look pretty, – known to friends as ‘The Fair’ GretchenHeath, student, understudy for Random Cast Member, plays Bottom the weaver but only when he has the ass’s head, stagehand – secretly in love with Gretchen, even though everybody knows itWolfgang, a wanderlust actor from Munich, understudy for Lysander, swordplay choreographerAisha, student, understudy for Helena, special assistant to set designer - bitchHal, student, understudy for Oberon, stagehandBrittany, local waitr...

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Author bio

KA James (my friends call me Jimmy), I am a near retirement age chemical engineer, living in the PNW. Writing has been a hobby of sorts, an escape as well, and possibly even a kind of self-therapy for many years now, but mostly just for my family. I started with sci-fi, YA style that my kids would like. Somewhere along the line I switched to primarily horror stories though. The kids are older, and they seem to enjoy them as well. My spouse claims I get a little too gruesome at times, that I need to write a story once in awhile where nobody dies. The few half-serious attempts at sharing my work over the years have essentially lead nowhere, and that was always fine and mostly expected. Here's hoping that, along with a good deal of effort and constructive feedback (always welcome), my fortunes improve. If not, I'm still having a good time doing this.