Kathleen March

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2020

Stories (234)

234 Stories

7190 karma pts

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“Home Cooking” by Kathleen March

She ripped out the last few pages of the book of her life. It might even have been a few chapters, or a lot of chapters. That didn’t matter, because the pages were gone, for reasons only she knew, and she needed a new book anyway. Obviously she wasn’t going to find what she needed, what she was looking for, in any of the usual places - a bookstore, a library, a used book shop. The next pages, if they were to contain any ...

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“Up Close” by Kathleen March

It was over, finally over. She could hardly believe it, but her slicked-back thoughts and her sliding pulse assured her it was. There was no way back, not running, not crawling, not even begging and pleading. And the truth be told, she was not going to try. Nor cry. She had no more rivers and clouds to give, no more decency and obedience, no inner shifting to offer. Done, finished, everything out and gone. ...

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“Bleeding Heart” by Kathleen March

She still hadn’t recovered from her father’s death thirty-four years earlier when her mother passed away as well. The years in between had been but a flash, a once-around-the-clock and over sort of experience. Here, then gone. In a way, despite having been her parents, they had been her only loves. Nobody else had been able to fill their places. No man could hold a candle to her father; no daughter could reach as high as...

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“Definitions” by Kathleen March

A rose is a rose is a rose.~ Gertrude SteinMaría Balteira really existed; she wasn’t just a figment of numerous writers’ imaginations. Writers who were mean and had their ideas about what women should be like, what they should and shouldn’t do. Men who never thought much about women as human beings with desires, needs, interests - and talents. She lived in the 1200s, which means a long time ago, and she wasn’t your everyday woman.Balteira was a courtesan, and with...

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“Judge Not, Lest…” by Kathleen March

Author’s Note: This story is part of the Lavinia series. Apologies for not supplying all the stories that shed light on some of the details here. Someday soon, everything should be tucked into a single package which might be a novel. This story reveals how Lavinia and Dany met, but didn’t. How they were worlds apart. What happened to those worlds is part of another story.

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“The Three” by Kathleen March

There were three of us. Three Sisters. Not such an extravagant idea, after all. There are many families that have three female siblings. Not so many nowadays, because families are smaller, but still. I suspect we thought it cool that we were three sisters, all girls. We might have shared sisterly secrets and clothes. Maybe we would have gotten into a lot of mischief. Except none of that was possible for ...

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“L Finds R (aka The Haunted Journal)” by Kathleen March

Author’s Note:This story should be read after the previous one, “The L Word.” If possible. Please.*******First there was that cloth square with her name embroidered on it. It had been among the contents of the box that was getting mysteriouser and mysteriouser, as Lewis Carroll might say. That had been such a coincidence that she thought it had been planned. She couldn’t prove it, however, and for that reason wasn’t...

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“The L Word” by Kathleen March

Author’s Note:This story should be read before reading “L meets R,” if at all possible and if you decide to read both stories. It might make more sense that way. Also, both this story and the next are incomplete. It is not easy to disentangle what has lain quietly for far too long.******There it was, lying on the table, only her eyes on it. A simple square of linen (or some hand-crafted fabric) with one word - La...

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“But Words Will Never Hurt Me” by Kathleen March

Narrator’s Note: I think a lot of people have extreme hobbies, and more people are drawn to them than we realize. I also think the reasons people choose these activities vary. Probably a lot of psychologists have looked into this. I also think what gets defined as ‘extreme’ could also vary. My personal opinion is that ‘extreme’ includes spending an extreme amount of time, effort, or money on ...

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“Tea and Time” by Kathleen March

I was standing in the kitchen by myself when I found that self, me, in the process of making cup of tea. Why in the world had it occurred to me to do that? Yes, in part it was true that I seriously needed to use up some of what was in the house. By 'what was in the house' I am referring to my tea collection. I had a lot of tea that needed drinking.As I was engaged in getting cup and contents ready, I thought to myself, me:Tea is a lonely drink.L...

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“Morsels” by Kathleen March

Happy New Year! They were all shouting. Everybody was shouting, sticking their hands in the air, jumping up and down. It was like they all believed that the incoming year just had to be better than the one that was ending. Well, we certainly would be better off being optimistic, one could argue. The revelers in Times Square were simply demonstrating the advantages of optimism...Lavinia turned away from the screen on the computer that rested on the table before her, but she could not escape the scree...

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“Better Late than Forever” by Kathleen March

Reflecting on relatives and other things that are not just sitting somewhere by themselves but rather are woven into a memory sheet which is faded now. It has faded either over generations - perhaps two hundred years of them - or it has slipped away during my lifetime, the years of which do not matter. That thinking about pasts has become my main activity, my only purpose in life now. But don’t get me wr...

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“Biliabial Fricatives” by Kathleen March

Lavinia found herself thinking about the city where she had come to live for several months, her purpose clear and her enthusiasm high. Santiago de Compostela had not disappointed her as can happen when one returns to a place after a hiatus of several years and a lot of important events. She had feared it would let her down, that she had turned the memories into a college student's adventure. She should have known better...

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“Mask Me” by Kathleen March

It was a bit odd, but Dr. Lavinia Rivers was searching for the references Ruth Matilda Anderson had made to the famous and culturally significant Galician carnival celebrations. It was hard to be in the area without hearing references to the celebrations that had little to do with Carnaval (em português) in Rio de Janeiro or Carnival (en français) in New Orleans. No, here it was something completely different. Harder to get one's head around, but the heart knew that in Galicia it had deeper roots.As demanded ...

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“Backstage?” by Kathleen March

Lavinia had agreed to help out backstage for Graystocking play on María Balteira. It was being staged in San Domingos de Bonaval. Built on Mount Almáciga in the early 1200s, the former Dominican convent houses the Museo do Pobo Galego, whose library she had used several times and loved for its vast, high-ceilinged airiness. Patrons were always looking upward, toward the windows designed to draw the human gaze in that direction.The church itself, however, was not large and was now the site of political and cultural events...

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Author bio

Kathleen March Educator and reader. Lover of words, animals, nature. Artist and translator. I am not on Reedsy to collect points. I am here to read and be read. Sorry I haven’t been as communicative lately. Life is complex. I will try to catch up. If you want me to comment on your work, I am happy to do so. I will be honest! After all, I taught literature forever. Please don't turn this into a numbers game. Write your heart out.