M.A. Grace

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Oct, 2023

Stories (4)

4 Stories

131 karma pts

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“Sleep Tight, Woman” by M.A. Grace

Submitted to Contest #222

The Orion-X, powered by the latest advances in helium-3 nuclear fusion technology, is the fastest spacecraft ever made in its class. At a maximum velocity of 31,000 miles per hour, our journey to the Moon will last just eighteen hours and six minutes from launch to landing. Even so, we’re each scheduled to grab six hours of sleep at various times. It’s my turn now.Weightlessness takes some getting use to, and we only had four months of astronaut training. So I’ll be learning some things the hard way. I waste fifteen minutes trying to secure ...

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“Greedy Gary's Ghosts” by M.A. Grace

Submitted to Contest #221

Content warning: Depictions of animal suffering. Might put you off your next meal.***********It was pitch black when Greedy Gary shuffled out of his house at 6 am one freezing January morning. Everyone knew him as Greedy Gary because he loved his grub and ate massive portions of meat for every meal. Whether it was bacon butties, burgers, fried chicken, or his personal favourite, lamb doner kebab no salad — Greedy Gary lived for meat. Gary didn’t love his nickname, but he’d grown tired of telling people off for using it. And deep down, Gary k...

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“Dreamtime” by M.A. Grace

Submitted to Contest #220

The barren charcoal seas of Mare Crisium span the horizon in all directions. The vast Picard crater is the only natural feature of this desolate landscape. Its high outer ridges cast a long shadow across the crash site, as our white hot star races towards sunset and lunar night approaches.“Harper, put your jumper on,” says Mama’s voice. “It’s getting cold.”The Earth looms large in the sky, about 20 times more massive than it should be. I take small, slow steps towards it, transfixed. That shouldn’t be there, it’s too close.Our planet is spin...

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“The Mockingbird” by M.A. Grace

Submitted to Contest #218

The scuffing, thudding boots echo up the corridor, then stop at my cell door. That sound is the only sense of time I have in solitary. 15 days down, 350 more to go. With a creaking clank, the rusty serving hatch is forced open, and the breakfast tray is slapped down with even more gusto and disdain than usual.Patting rough hemp blankets and the cold metal bed frame, I feel my way into position before the cell door, then reach out with my good arm and find the little shelf. I whip the tray away as best I can one-handed. Then the hatch is shut...

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Author bio

I'm writing sci-fi stories with environmental themes. It's a learning process! I'm a data architect in my day job. So plenty of that nerdiness creeps into my fiction. I also have plans to publish non-fiction in my field under my full name. But stories are my passion!