Menu

Prompts

Directory Contests Magazine FAQ

Apps

reedsymarketplace

Hire professionals for your project

reedsyblog

Advice, insights and news

reedsylearning

Online publishing courses

reedsylive

Free publishing webinars

reedsydiscovery

Launch your book in style

Bestseller Podcast Book Cover Art Success Stories

Tools

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Directory

Contests

Magazine

FAQ

Marc Rothstein

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2022

Stories (14)

Comments

Library

7 Followers

7 Following

14 Stories

216 karma pts

?

Which Tree is This?

Submitted to Contest #305

Preface: due to recent shoulder replacement surgery this story was produced using Dragon dictation software as a training exercise. Since I don’t know enough of the editing commands yet, the types of mistakes that exist might be a typical of impromptu drafts. Which tree is this? I asked myself why am I in the Arctic Circle? My idea of a vacation is always been laying out on a beach chair on a tropical island. But now in retirement there’s nothing exciting about sunbathing and I gave into my wife’s desire to see the northern lights. We picked...

2 likes

The Brain Trust

Submitted to Contest #301

I'm standing next to my wife, Kim, on the deck of our new Florida beach house. As the sun peeped over the horizon, I relived our exhilarating four-year rollercoaster climb from struggling post-docs to crazy rich bastards. I never thought I’d own a place like this.Of course, every roller coaster has its downsides. Tomorrow we'll be jetting to Washington, DC for a congressional hearing to see how hard our fall will be.See, we didn't just invent a new bouncy putty or a way to make a potato grow hair; we discovered a revolutionary source of gree...

4 likes

The Accidental Alchemist

Submitted to Contest #300

"You'd think we were lepers," I said as we weaved through the noisy lobby of Trump Plaza. I pointed at the casino, where two blackjack dealers rolled their eyes at the long check-in lines.My boss, Pete, laughed. "Yeah, well, our crowd's not exactly known as high rollers."I agreed. Chemists are generally double-checkers, not risk-takers.The excitement of this place was contagious, and this year, I'd be presenting my work for the first time. It was a nice piece of research and a potential money-maker for my company.Twenty thousand chemists des...

4 likes

It'll Go Viral

Submitted to Contest #299

You hear that? "NASA detected otters on Mars!"My wife, Dianne, rolls her eyes. "WATER. They detected water on Mars. Either turn the TV up or put in your hearing aids."I love our pillow talk, the first hour of our day, sipping coffee, watching the news in bed, and discussing our goals. Retirement is good.Hmm. "Like they say, "Where there's water, there's otters."Dianne retrieves the remote from under the blanket and raises the volume. "Shush. I want to hear this."While the Good Morning Show prattles on about some British royalty crap, I resea...

5 likes

Whispers of Abuelo

Submitted to Contest #298

"What do you want to see most during this tour?" I asked my new flock of eighteen adventurers, most old enough to be my parents."The Pheasant cuckoo," came from Al at the back of the room."A live volcano," yelled Gregory, wearing a jungle hat."The cloud forest," whispered Alice, reminding me of an ex-librarian.As I went around the room, my phone recorded it all in preparation for the week. I've been a Costa Rican tour guide for twenty years and thought I'd seen it all. But this time, I discovered a secret that few have lived to talk about.Th...

6 likes

My Recital

Submitted to Contest #291

The walls of the Unitarian Universalist Church closed in on me as I squirmed on the cold, hard, pew. Trying to ignore the grand piano glaring at me from its spot by the pulpit, I scanned the recital program for my name. My nerves knotted while the place filled with the chatter of fellow students, their families, and friends. My wife, Dianne, squeezed my hand to ease my apprehension.You'd think I'd be more relaxed after six recitals in the five years since I started lessons. Still, I asked, At the age of seventy-six, do I need this shit?My in...

8 likes

Earl's Christmas

Submitted to Contest #281

Slouched in my ragged, uneasy chair, I gazed out the picture window at the falling snow, wondering how I'd become such a miserable prick. The stroke was just my latest excuse. I was no charmer before that. I was lucky to get away with a numb left side and a slur that sounds like the Novocain hasn't worn off. That ended my construction career, so I felt less than useless long before this virus lockdown.The TV blasted my favorite news channel, pissing me off at the many ways this country was now less American. And this Covid-19 crap... it's ju...

6 likes

My Christmas Miracle

Submitted to Contest #230

My wife, Dianne, and I sat shivering in Knishes and Dishes, wondering why the heat was off. Every new customer brought a blast of December air through the deli door. We put our coats back on and waited for my daughter, Jamie, and five-year-old granddaughter, Emma, to join us for dinner—the only ones who could make it just two days before Christmas. Emma had picked the place for its chocolate chip pancakes. She was my princess, and her wish was my command. I was the Jewish-light dad. Thanksgiving was mine to enjoy with the kids. Christmas bel...

5 likes

The Sixth Swamper

Submitted to Contest #218

We sat at a tiny table for two, too close to the front door, at a trendy French café in Florence, Alabama. Every few minutes, the door opened, inviting a dank breeze to our table. The clanking of glasses and din of conversation from the bar behind us was distracting. But we were under a heat vent, by the window, and were chilled to the bone.Outside, a torrent of rain scattered the colorful mix of artsy types, rednecks, students, and professionals—all millennials and younger. The late September wind off the Tennessee River hastened their retr...

3 likes

Redemption Paradise

Submitted to Contest #217

I leaned over the ferry's railing, captivated by the deep turquoise waters of Lake Huron, as a foghorn's blast signaled our departure from the Tobermory terminal. This was the final leg of my escape from chaotic Chicago. I'd just spent the last ten hours driving the winding roads, trying to unwind how I'd messed up my life. A complete break from my toxic environment made sense. Maybe the island's tranquility would be a balm for my soul and finally silence those fanged voices of self-talk. The last crossing to Manitoulin Island was nearly emp...

8 likes

Uncle Meats

Submitted to Contest #214

Shit, an accident. Of all places, why here? Morning rush hour traffic slowed to a crawl, and my anxiety rocketed. A poor section of suburban Philadelphia displayed a rundown corner bar, pawn shop, and vintage mom-and-pop grocery store to the disgust of angry commuters. Nicknamed West Conshy because Conshohocken was a mouthful, it glared at me through my driver-side window as my car came to a halt. This was precisely where my life took a detour almost two decades ago. Now, as I sat helplessly in traffic, the hazy details of my past re-crystal...

6 likes

Eric's Gift

Submitted to Contest #213

"People with developmental disabilities are only handicapped by how much we underestimate them." — D. Kirk Eric Lungrun stood near the top of the world in the center of a concrete rocket landing pad. As a cold wind blew through the tangles of his curly blonde hair, he inhaled deeply, and his chest swelled with pride. Never mind that his task for today was to sweep bits of gravel and leaves from the pad; he was, in fact, on the Esrange Space Center team, the pride of the European Union. Just three years ago, like many other locals, he'd l...

5 likes

The Disappearing Beach Guy

Submitted to Contest #211

It's been decided that I'll be separated from Dianne, my wife of forty-five years. She'll still be just one floor below me in the independent living section of Horizons, our retirement community, but I'm moving to the Memory Lane section. They said I'm beginning to wander the halls at night, something I'm not sure I do. But Dianne told me they're right, so I'll give it a try. Andrea, my favorite nurse's aide, walked me to my new room. On the outside of my door hung this cool diorama introducing me to my new neighbors. Dianne's impressive han...

8 likes

The Command Performance

Submitted to Contest #207

The Command Performance "Cut!" The gargoyle director swung his megaphone in my face when he yelled. He stood two heads taller than me when he wasn't on all fours. His fanged smile was both warm and menacing. With a wincing smile, I took a defensive step back and bumped into a set of golden elevator doors. As they slowly opened, I realized how I got here. Bladder cancer had ended twenty-seven seasons and 5000 episodes of my TV show. After tearful goodbyes to my family and friends, I took my last breath. My hospital room flashed blindingly wh...

10 likes

Author bio

I’m a chemist who, after working for several large corporations, founded and recently sold a bio-tech company. I’ve always enjoyed technical and marketing writing and decided that in retirement I’d try my hand at creative fiction.

Five years ago, I drafted my first Novel, Sarah Smiled. It was an intensely satisfying but challenging learning experience. I then joined Critique Circle, and over the next year, submitted chapters for review. The wide range of expertise in this group helped me hone my writing technique. I passed the edited version through five beta readers and revised based on those comments. I think the book is getting closer to publication quality and am ready for some professional feedback.

To continue developing as a creative writer, I’ve submitted over a dozen short stories, of several genres, to critique circle. I’m now submitting some of them to competitions.
My long-range goal is to leave behind a trail of work that will be enjoyed by future readers.