Martin Ross

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2021

Stories (104)

104 Stories

4122 karma pts

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“The Carpenter Piece: A Tale of the Arts Department” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #286

“The ‘beast’ secession, offspring of the ‘dragon' Slavery, drawing in his train a third part of our national stars, was pierced with the deadly wound which could not be healed. It was the combat between Michael and Satan of Apocalyptic vision, re-enacted before the eyes of the nineteenth century…”Francis Bicknell CarpenterProfessor Thomas Skillruud was vaguely aware of the concept of Yelp, and, like so many conventions of the Information Age, he regarded it with the same disdain as Twitting and TickTock dancing. He could not and, if pressed,...

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“The Bedevilment of Danny Webster: A Tale of the Arts Department” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #284

NOTE: Mature subject matter“I should have known better.”Melissa was sorry she’d brought the whole thing up.“Yeah, probably,” Professor Urquardt uttered. She should have let Zinna Garver slide until Monday. What should have been a simple “What the fuck is the matter with you, and how can we fix it quick?” pep talk had turned into a Sarah Jessica Parker therapy session, and Melissa blamed the Big V. Valentine’s Day, and, she guessed, the other one, too.“So, you’re done with him, right?” Melissa nonetheless persisted when Garver failed to slink...

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“The Serpent We Know: A Holiday Tale of the Arts Department ” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #284

“Could I get mansions covering ten thousand miles, I’d house all the poor scholars…”Du Fu “By the way, we’ve got New Year’s plans,” Wei Zhao announced as she pulled into the long drive in the campus fringe of Mulberry. Wei heard the entomologist sink into the upholstery.“I thought we were doing a peaceful evening of Huluween horror, Sichuan Palace and Papa John’s, and bringing 2025 in with a bang or maybe three,” Will sulked.“Now, that’s a Hallmark movie I’d watch,” the University’s youngest tenured prof mulled, waiting out the ailing garage...

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“Claus and Effect: A Holiday Tale of the Arts Department” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #282

To the real Merlin Kennedy, who brought Black Santa to town…December 17, 1966Adams ParkMillington, Illinois“Why are you stopping me?” Santa asked calmly as the officer pulled him none too gently from the “sleigh.” If there were to be one cool head this frosty Saturday morning, it would be his.The boy was blonde and blue-eyed, like Officer Friendly in a Norman Rockwell painting or the fellows used to goose-step Jews off to the livestock cars.“No way in hell you’re gonna be in this parade today,” the cop stated, leaning in. “There’s only one S...

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“Onset” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #281

“Creepy.” EmilieCoggins’ tone was flat, which means little in isolation. But as our “eyes” met, I registered an incongruity. I was new at this, indeed new at everything, and I logged it for further consideration as I developed a viable baseline. Incongruities may signal systemic anomalies, anomalies systemic dysfunction, and dysfunction the potential for systemwide malfunction and, without intervention, eventual breakdown.Until you factor in adolescence. Or onset adolescence.“I think it’s adorable.” SherylCoggins’ voice, on the other hand, w...

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“Curtis and the Conciliatory Kill” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #278

“Of everything I’ve regretted over the past 30 years — and you know just how many — I regret most that I couldn’t have given you the one thing you begged me for when you needed me the most. I’ll live with that for the rest of my life, and even if you could forgive the rest, I know you’ll never forgive my leaving you in your pain. I just can’t face you — I’m the same weak man, the same coward you’ve always known me to be. I couldn’t give you the death you deserved. I’m so sorry.”It was his style — a miserable, tiny, meaningless “man” with del...

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“Bob Barker and the Price of Cookies” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #275

If Bob Barker was dead, he apparently was making the most of it.Bev checked the date on the magazine, guessing this bundle of BLTNs (?) had gathered dust on some post office loading dock until some chucklehead’d awoke from their civil service coma.November 2024. She angrily brushed the white hair from her eyes as the early November winds buffeted the mailbox bank, then located the mailing label that cheapened the high-tone, heavy matte cover. Bev’s old stylist had been a pretentious little B with a stack of thick, chic, hoity Town and C...

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“The Creature From the Undeveloped Interstate Right-of-Way” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #274

Reggie for once had brought home a truly intriguing, unique gift. The Brennans nonetheless were wholly unappreciative, to Sir Reginald Fox’s bewilderment and consternation.“Sweet holy FUCK!”Reggie had never fully grasped that a gift once spurned has little chance the second or third or sixth pass. The chipmunk had sparked mild approbation; the first robin of spring amused horror. The rabbit on Good Friday morning had surely left some psychic scar tissue on the kids, and after the crow turned up Halloween, Gary was mightily afraid Reggie had ...

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“Noche de Muertos: A Tale of the Arts Department” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #274

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico/2012Malik stared Death in the eye.“Gracias, no,” Malik murmured, pulling his Bureau ID. “Gringos federales.”The eyes behind Death’s deep ocular orbits narrowed, and a hearty laugh erupted from beneath the clenched teeth. He slipped the fat, expertly rolled Havanas – illegal in the States, freely available in Quintana Roo – into his cloak. “Was that necessary?” Agent Drees sighed beside Malik. “How long you think before word gets out the feds are in town?”“Relax, Austin – get into the Día de los Muertos spirit,” ...

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“Mr. XX” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #274

By the sixth parent, Mr. Grant was ready to toss it in for an evening of Little Caesar’s, the new Ryan Murphy gorefest on Hulu.Where their offspring were relentlessly candid, contemporary millennial parents were adept in prefatory prevarication. I’m an adamant opponent of censorship. This isn’t a racial thing. We take our child’s education very seriously. Our daughter’s needs always come first.He’d scheduled Anthony Cardell last. Despite the common perception, big pitchers actually tended to have the biggest ears, and Wil warily regarded the...

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“Phenomenal” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #272

I knew the other three who’d come on board, but had never made the formal acquaintance. Nor from what I’d learned, would have cared to.The other guys, no idea. I use “guys” loosely, without gender assignment. Which isn’t a horrible thing — people more than ever are just kinda people, despite the plucky can-do dementia of the Proud Boys and rollers and Florida and guys like my two new “friends” who seemed to swing dicks with random glee. Today’s vast uncertainty liberates me from the subconscious “rules” of attraction or aggression and the tr...

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“Day of Roux: A Mike Dodge Mystery” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #270

The roux is the foundation -- of any great stew, bisque, chowder, the velveteen béchamel your visiting cousin calls the “gravy” he found just a mite too boojie for his tastes. It’s the distinction between a minestrone and a pasta e fagiole and certainly the basis of any jambalaya you don’t want called out as a gumbo.**“You’re shitting me, right?”“I shit you not,” I pledged, sliding the cookie sheet into the oven. I guesstimated, as I had throughout my culinary career, and set the dial for 375. It was an old church oven – that’s to say a rest...

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“The Mask of Sammy: A Tale of the Arts Department” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #269

1937New York CitySammy flung a precise complement of steaming chestnuts into a paper bag - an impressive feat given the enormity of his signature scoop and his signature over-the-shoulder tossing arc. Whistling his slightly manic but jaunty signature tune, Sammy proudly conferred his toasty treasure to the Dapper Dan and his Dazzling Dame as they swayed in rhythm with him and the skyscrapers looming above. The city had become heavily anthropomorphized ever since the banks had recovered and folks had quit fleeing for California’s golden boule...

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“Blue Tina” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #267

“That sounds a little fucking paranoid, you know that, right?”Wren frowned and, turning back to the bed, remembered why she’d probably let that pass. Melissa seemed unconcerned about Wren’s physical satisfaction, and so, paradoxically, there were no self-conscious fumblings, no insecurely showy moves doomed to failure, and utterly no hesitation in extracting the most out of the situation – a mutually beneficial selfishness. A flash of lightning illuminated Melissa’s contours like a private shoot, bringing their dual commonalities into focus....

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“The Picture of Daria Cray: A Professor Deshpande Mystery” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #266

The Dancer entreats the audience with a blossoming left hand, and although the blazing lights at stage’s edge render invisible the bedazzled masses, She feels the silence, the moment of transit, when observer becomes one with the Dance, believes the doors have opened to a universe of possibilities. With one inviting gesture, The Dancer has become the Conductor of Dreams…Her fingers pause. A double-tap, and a blue nail hovers over the keyboard. It descends, and all begins again…**“These mitigating circumstances,” Curtis murmured. “Whyn’t you ...

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Author bio

I was a reporter and federal policy writer for 33 years, but have been a mystery lover since I discovered Ellery Queen in the Cruft Elementary library more than 50 years ago. I love the classic, fairplay mystery, and as a community volunteer, I hope to meld old-school storytelling with contemporary issues and concerns and, ideally, humor. I’ve collected seven Kindle collections of my Reedsy stories — five with amateur detective Mike Dodge; one mixed collection of Dodge stories and suspense/horror fiction; and a collection of detective and paranormal tales about the professors of the Arts Department. I do this primarily for enjoyment, and regretfully emphasize I don’t have the money to pay for art services, so soliciting me here squanders your time and prospects