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Kristi Gott

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2022

Stories (64)

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411 Followers

1168 Following

64 Stories

2980 karma pts

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Mysteries in Starry Skies Above the Ship Destiny's Dreams

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #267

The Querida, whose name meant “dear," struggled where she was caught on the ocean reef. Her square, clipper ship sails were ragged. Her three masts leaned to the side. Nearby, the jagged shore threatened her.A mile away, high above the sea. sixteen-year-old Maria Bibiana walked over the rocks near the rim of the dormant volcano in the brightening dawn.She turned her face toward the sea and their wrecked ship.The island exploration voyage and passage to Rio de Janeiro had ended with disaster. It was the late 1800s. They were stranded on a bar...

31 likes

The Phantom Storyteller of the Ship Destiny's Dreams

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #266

Below the clipper ship's deck, deep in the darkness of the steerage, Ana turned up the flame on the wick of her lantern.Light shined through the blue etched glass. In the indigo glow, Ana felt the ancient stories begin to awaken within her.Characters seemed to waver and dance in the shadows. Patterns flickered on the walls from the light of the blue lantern. The ship's passengers gathered there turned toward Ana and the source of the blue light.A girl named Liliana and her younger brother called Juan crawled closer to see Ana and her blue la...

29 likes

The Legendary Dancer of the Ship Destiny's Dreams

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #265

Under the blue summer sky, the sails of the clipper ship called the Destiny's Dreams glowed against the ocean like white clouds. The sleek design of the ship moved swiftly through the gentle waves of the sea.The sound of people singing on the ship floated over the waves."The sun shining on the ocean...The ship rolls with the motion..."The salt air carried the sounds of seagulls cawing, and also of music from a violin, a flute, and a guitar, along with the voices singing."Step and spin, twirl and sway..."Above the singers rose the squawk and ...

24 likes

Ceremonia de Amor and Destiny's Dreams

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #264

The bow of the clipper ship Destiny’s Dreams plunged, sliding down the towering wave while the boat's stern rose in the air.The stormy waters of Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America, surged and splashed over the bow and across the deck.Soaking wet sailors grasped the railings and riggings to avoid being swept away.Despite the struggle, they felt confident they would survive the gale force winds and wild seas.Passengers inside the ship held onto the hull structures while it tilted.Captain Alfonse turned the steering inside the whee...

31 likes

The Hidden Life of Captain Alfonse on the Ship Destiny's Dreams

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #263

The seafaring students in front of Captain Alfonse were not aware of the depths and layers, the secrets and hidden history inside of him.Contradictions had fought inside him on many sleepless nights. One side had won, with a little outside help.In 1898 Captain Alfonse stood smiling on the deck of the hybrid clipper ship and steamer Destiny’s Dreams. They were sailing off the coasts of Argentina and Brazil. He was so happy at the way things had turned out. Life was so full of unexpected twists.His was full of ocean waves, endless skies, ...

22 likes

Rio the Monkey Rescues the Ship Destiny's Dreams

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #262

No wind. Hot weather like a furnace. The ship running out of drinking water. The steam engine used as a backup in calm seas not working.Even Captain Alfonse of the ship Destiny’s Dreams looked like a wilted plant. Foresta the colorful parrot slouched where he sat on the captain's shoulder and Rio the rescued monkey clung to his back.He reached over and stroked the parrot's head, saying something softly. Jealously, Rio the monkey wiggled around to Alfonse's chest, chittering, then jumped to the ship's deck and scampered around, pic...

19 likes

Voyage of the Destiny's Dreams to the Mystery Islands

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #261

Captain Alfonse Belanger caught his breath. He felt the light morning breeze and smelled the salt air.His eyes scanned the vast ocean stretching to the west. The distant coastal mountains of South America rose in the east.It was the year 1898 on the ship called Destiny's Dreams. Soon they would reach the islands of unusual creatures, somewhere beyond the horizon.On the deck of the vessel, the sailors discussed him.“He’s an odd sort.”“Odd is fine with me.”“He performed the marriage for Isabella and me.”“Ever see how he goes into a trance...

23 likes

Stowaway on the Ship "Destiny's Dreams"

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #260

In the summer of 1898 the sleek vessel called Destiny's Dreams glided over the ocean waves off the western coast of South America.Deep in the shadows of the cargo area there was a secret passenger.A figure was curled up in a corner, rocking with the bobbing of the boat.The dark form began crawling across the bottom of the ship, swaying with the hull's movement over the waves.The stowaway began talking to herself to break up the silence and comfort herself.“We have chosen happiness,” Isabella whispered, while she moved across the ship's ribbe...

19 likes

Miracle for a Horse Named Ginger at the Mystical Coast

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #259

The ocean was flat and calm. The sun was down. The afterglow was orange. The air was still.It was a beautiful evening. It was a terrible evening. It was the day of the accident. It was the day of the miracles.The lighthouse beacon rotated across the shores and the sea, flashing on the scene at the lighthouse keeper's barn near the house. Twelve-year-old Elsie kneeled next to the little red filly, Ginger. Still only a five-month-old foal, Ginger was sprawled on the ground with her long legs folded, in the corral near the lighthouse....

29 likes

The Treehouse Family of the Mystical Coast

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #258

Sonya looked out from the porch of her family’s treehouse home. It rested high above the forest floor in a giant Douglas Fir.Then she nodded to her brother, Terence, who walked across the wooden bridge to the porch, from another treehouse in a neighboring tree."That smells delicious," she said to Ezra, her father, who was climbing the wooden steps that wound around the huge tree trunk. He carried hot coffee and cornmeal cakes, baked over the campfire on the ground.Today they would take more photos.It all began several years ago.*****On a sun...

28 likes

Dawn Treader of the Mystical Coast

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #257

Part I. The Dawn Treader Arrives at the Lighthouse in 1898Years later, on the other side of the world, Elsie stood on the deck of the ship, watching dawn rise over the waves. She pictured the woman traveler named Aurora, the dawn treader and time walker, who was surrounded by tiny winking lights. Elsie was twelve years old then, growing up at the remote lighthouse station, with her older brothers. It was 1898 on the Mystical Coast, during midsummer's eve solstice celebrations.The pleasant, mild weather, when spring meets summer, caressed th...

27 likes

Giggles the Heroic Donkey, Underdog of the Mystical Coast

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #256

Years later, Giggles the little donkey still remembered the first big challenge she won, against the coyotes stalking her friend, Huckleberry, the baby elk calf.In that contest between donkey and coyotes, the donkey's unexpected skills and natural gifts surprised the coyotes, who thought they were clever.It was 1898 in the rainforest wilderness of the Mystical Coast, where emerald mountains covered by towering fir trees met the vast ocean reaching to the horizons.Appearing to be an underdog, with her plain, grey hair, stubby legs, and tall, ...

28 likes

Rain Moon Dreamer Writes About Visitors from the Afterlife

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #255

Journal Entry -My growing puppy, Coos Bay Bear, smiles at me. His white teeth are gleaming and light shines from his eyes, framed by his midnight fur. His tail waves and I smile back at him. Coos makes every day playful and joyful.The air of a light breeze feels cool on my skin. We are hiking in the rainforest wilderness, next to a smooth lake, at the foot of the steep mountains.The light wind bears fragrances of salty sea air and fir boughs. A stream bubbles and laughs over smooth river rocks. The afternoon light is turning golden. This wee...

36 likes

Dancing from Winter into Spring on the Mystical Coast

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #254

Part I. Dance of the Mystical Coast He would always remember the week in 1898, when his whole world changed, and he felt as if the personality of the Mystical Coast, herself, reached out and flowed through him.“SSSShhh…” The late evening breeze rustled through the Douglas Fir boughs.In the river sleek seals glided and spun in the water near the boats at the rustic wharf.The whole world was dancing from Winter into Spring on the Mystical Coast. It was like poetry coming to life.These were the thoughts of the young man sitting high on a mounta...

28 likes

Survival and Grit at Forever Valley on the Mystical Coast

Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #253

After rising all day during steady rain the river had jumped the banks, flowed across the valley and was now coming into Adelia's house.Adelia's breath caught and her heart pounded when she felt the surge of cold water run over her feet. Her baby was swaddled in a blanket and rested against her chest. The water came through the cabin walls and then rose to knee deep.Her husband, Sean, was miles away in the village getting supplies. When Sean took the boat with goods to trade into town, or left for part-time fishing and lumbering work, Adelia...

31 likes

Author bio

https://kristigott.com

kristigott@gmail.com

Hello writers, I am from the wilderness, mountains, and Siuslaw National Forest on the Oregon Central Coast, Pacific Northwest, U.S.A.

Below are some links where you can visit me online or contact me.

kristigott.com - my website and blog with all my reedsy stories and their illustrations (includes the required link backs to reedsy)

facebook - let's be friends - https://www.facebook.com/kristi.m.gott/

email: kristigott@gmail.com - contact me with your additional comments, suggestions, and thoughts about writing

I am writing light, whimsical, historical fiction with hints of fantasy for kids through adults.

I hope kids and adults have fun reading the stories and also get spurred to have an interest in the history and other information that inspires these tales.

The individual stories share themes of coastal living, historic fiction, ships, and animals and nature along ocean coastal areas.

For decades I have been a scenic photographer and fortunate to have won awards sometimes. I try to paint pictures with words in my writing.

I call these stories "Mystical Coast Stories" and they have hints of fantasy mixed with eras that may be in ancient times, or the 1800s, or modern day with flashbacks to hundreds or thousands of years ago.

website: https://kristigott.com -- (You'll need to copy that address and paste it into a search box.)

I try to integrate my studies in anthropology with creativity to create these historical fiction stories.

One of my college degrees is in Social Science and my anthropology, archeology, ancient history, and paleontology were my favorite classes, although I also took a lot of political science.

(My other college degree is in Computer Technology, but I also have education in healthcare. I worked in healthcare and technology most of my life.)

I always loved to read and to scribble down stories. My first story was in the third grade and it was about Autumn Leaves, written with a big, thick pencil on the large lines of the paper with about a dozen papers taped together. The teacher waved the long story on the taped papers around in the air like a kite tail.

In the fourth grade I wrote my first play for puppets and it was about a female astronet (not astronaut but the feminine) who goes to outer space to the Milky Way. We made puppets from toilet paper rolls and the class had a puppet stage where we crouched underneath. For the rocket explosion when she launched we threw flour through the air.

I used to race sailboats and have lived on large lakes and/or on the west coast of the United States.

Many of my stories are inspired by a love for being on the water or the beach, and by my love for nature and animals.

These days I roam the Oregon coast of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is a wilderness with a temperate rainforest, small isolated villages, ocean ports, the second tallest trees in America (fir trees hundreds of feet tall) and lots of wild animals.

We are neighbors with black bears, cougars, whales migrating along the coast, and many other animals of the wilderness and sea.