Roger Crane

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2020

Stories (8)

8 Stories

294 karma pts

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“Gupta” by Roger Crane

Submitted to Contest #86

“All is one and one is all…breathe in, breathe out.”Gupta sat cross-legged on the boulder, his hands—palms up—resting in his lap, and he thought. At least, that is what he appeared to be doing, with his eyes closed. It was a very large, smooth boulder that he sat on, and Gupta looked like any ordinary boy about ten years old. However, he was not an ordinary boy, and a great sense of peace seemed to emanate from him. I don’t know how else to describe it.My role was merely to record my observations and everything he said in this little black b...

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“The Tsunami” by Roger Crane

Submitted to Contest #83

Note, wrote this between 5:15 pm and now (about 6:30) today, just to keep my hand in here. Hope you like it, although there is only a little dialogue in this one.It had only taken a short time for the tidal wave to cover the island. It was seen offshore on its way in and ten minutes later it arrived. No one was prepared—how could they be? A massive wall of water three-hundred feet high does not take much time to cross many miles of ocean—on the other side of which a volcano had split off one side, sliding it into the ocean with a giant “kerp...

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“Old Friends” by Roger Crane

Submitted to Contest #81

Note: I am going to "bang" out this one just to keep my hand in here. We'll see what comes out in the next hour or two. This is what I meant when I told my kids "just write whatever comes into your minds"--which is the way to get creativity flowing.Old Friends He got up before her, as he almost always did, and prepared the coffee--black for him, but creamer set out for her. Habit made it easy, even though he had his aches and pains, his stiff back and neck, nuisances that he had long ago reconciled with by deciding they were not going t...

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“Dino, the Story of the One Dinosaur on Noah's Ark” by Roger Crane

Submitted to Contest #78

Noah was just about ready with the Ark. He and his sons had filled it with the provisions they would need for themselves and the animals. They had strapped big barrels of water onto the interior vertical beams, which was in addition to the water runoff system that Shem had installed (he being the inventive one of Noah’s sons) from the top of the ark and down pathways cut into the wood inside, with the overflow diverted outside again. He had advised his father to have both fresh water and the runoff system.“you never can tell what will be in ...

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“A Slow Fire” by Roger Crane

Submitted to Contest #77

Sam kept a slow fire going in the huge fireplace. The snow had fallen afresh last night and the temperature had dropped precipitously, forcing him to run outside and get even more firewood. He sat in the overstuffed chair directly in front of the fire. Sam really was not much of a woodsman and had not used this cabin more than twice since he’d bought it, and that had been in the two summers since. It was definitely “off grid,” with no electricity, telephone, or internet capability, but it had seemed like a good investment at the time—what wi...

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“The Q Factor” by Roger Crane

Submitted to Contest #72

“What is the most unpredictable thing in the universe?”—a question of the SagesPROLOGUEJaedo WokjakTo my good friend and Counselor, KoesunI know how concerned you are about the rioting on Delta One, since you have direct oversight of the penal colony on Galapar and would feel the effects of a change in your numbers there. I understand that it is not a pleasant duty for you. It truly is unfortunate that you were brought into the picture by these leaks because there is nothing to worry about, but since you now know something about our program,...

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“The Gigantic, Awesome Cookie Contest” by Roger Crane

Submitted to Contest #71

The Gigantic, Awesome Cookie ContestThe whole town was involved this time. There had been many contests in the past, too many to count, and often many of the townspeople were part of the effort. The reason was simple enough: they were proud of their little town, one of the smallest in the smallest county of the state and not far from Kennebunkport. Sure, that town got all the attention, especially because of you-know-who, who called it home, but Salmon Plate was just as great a town, they all thought. They were very patriotic, and so when th...

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“The Last Mistake” by Roger Crane

Submitted to Contest #70

The Last MistakeAdan deliberately ran his hover-car aground and jumped off. The twin moons were the closest now that he had ever seen them, just a hair’s-width above the horizon of the planet. They seemed to be kissing, and perhaps that was why they had been named Helen and Helios, those legendary characters with their tragic ending in flames. There would be no such ending for him, but only a slow, withering neglect, as everyone he knew had turned away from him. He would have put an end to himself as well, if not for the social stigma associ...

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Author bio

Hi, I am a retired English teacher, living with my wife in the High Sierra. Besides short stories (lately) I have mainly written YA fiction and one romance/mystery. My trilogy "Dragon's Tooth" can be found on Amazon. So far, ages 16 to 80 have told me they loved it. "Love's Last Mystery," concerning a married couple on their second honeymoon at the Italian Riviera (where the wife goes missing) is also on Amazon. I edit my formal writing multiple times before I let anyone see it, which--to me--is the key to a great manuscript (after great writing). On this site I just bang them out with minimal editing. Nothing serious. I am glad to say that I have gotten some feedback lately, which I appreciate too. After all, we write for attention! I always look up anyone who likes my story or follows me, and usually read something (unless I wouldn't know where to start on a critique), and comment. But I don't like first person pov (few can do it right) and so don't read it. Nor do I read stories in serial form.