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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2024
Submitted to Contest #322
An excerpt from current WIP novel, "Confessions of a Church Girl" My phone buzzed to a message alert from Kristina, which read: Lane, I’d like to talk to you if you’re available. I have some exciting news!🤩 If I was being honest, I wasn’t in the mood for another video chat; I’d been far too exhausted all day long to have any kind of conversation either with Kristina or with Mom and Dad. But then again, they’d find it a little weird that I chose to ignore what Kristina had to say. For her, it’s always something “exciting.” Like her engagem...
This is a scene of three teenage girls who are the best of friends (Laura, Bethany, and Heather), all having a slumber party evening at Bethany's house. “I can’t believe spring break is almost over already! It feels like just yesterday, we were excited for classes to be over and go home and spend time with our families for the week.” “Yeah, too bad one week of break is never enough. I think there should be one month for spring break.” “One month, Beth? That means we’ll miss many days of school, and we’ll never be able to graduate!” “You’re r...
An excerpt from current WIP novel, "Confessions of a Church Girl" Later that evening, as we got ready for bed and Robert was now resting up for a full new day of work tomorrow, Gemma came to my room to get her nightwear and toiletries. “You’re really enjoying this room, huh?” She smiled, and I nodded. “Yeah. I enjoyed it a lot while you were gone.” “Well, don’t let my being here keep you from enjoying it. This is your space, Lanie. You need to feel as comfortable as possible. Don’t worry so much about me.” “I know.” I shut the door befo...
When I first opened my eyes, I didn’t know where I was or what happened, but I saw everyone standing around me—Mom, Dad, Darrin, Owen, Yancey, Christian, Lyndsay, Fabio, Julia, Antonio, Hayden, Winston, and Carol-Ann. Everyone had looks of joy and relief in their eyes, making me wonder if I was dreaming. “Wh-what happened?” My voice was a little feeble. Mom only sobbed uncontrollably in response, and Dad said gently, “Honey, you gave us all a good scare. I’m not sure what you remember, but during the reception at the Plaza Ballroom, you we...
Submitted to Contest #318
Mom gave me a hug as Dad came over to caress my hair, and he whispered, “Sweetheart, it’s okay. We had no idea you’d been feeling this way. But I don’t think now is the right time or place to have this kind of discussion.” He gave me a tissue to wipe my face, and for a moment I was calm. He’s right, but at least I had the chance to let them know how I’d been feeling, after all these years of quiet resentment toward Yancey. She only shook her head. “You’re being so dramatic, it’s pathetic. Just a minute ago, you called me a whore! How can y...
Submitted to Contest #316
Mary-Jane and I were alone together, sitting on the sand near the water, our toes dipped in. I noticed her attitude changing so suddenly this past afternoon, and I wondered what she wanted to talk to me about. I asked, “Is everything okay, M.J.?” She shook her head and scoffed. “You don’t get to call me that anymore. How could you?” I raised my eyebrows. “How could I what?” “Please, don’t even pretend you don’t know,” she snapped. “You’ve got a hell of a nerve!” Then she lowered her voice. “Are you seriously pregnant with another man’s b...
An excerpt from current WIP novel, "Confessions of a Church Girl" After the luncheon at church, we returned home to relax for the rest of the evening from treating Mom with a fancy event with the congregation. It was fun while it lasted, except for the part where Jason had admitted to seeing not only another girl, but also another guy, behind my back all along. I didn’t want my family to know, so I kept it from them. When I got to my room, I blocked Jason’s number, wanting nothing more to do with him. If he’s unsure of his sexuality, then h...
That evening as I was getting ready for bed, I got a text message from Sabrina, saying that she needed to talk to me about her lunch with Kari-Ann. She’d already sent me the audio recording of her conversation with Kari-Ann, and I thought she did a splendid job of digging the truth out of her and putting her entirely on the spot. In the recording, Kari-Ann told Sabrina pretty much the same thing that she’d already told me, so that was nothing new. I decided to give Sabrina a call. “Hi, how are you, Sabrina?” I asked. “I’m great, Erika. Are...
Submitted to Contest #313
An excerpt from current WIP novel, "Confessions of a Church Girl" The Petersens and our family were the only ones who stayed behind after all our guests had left, including Gemma. I didn’t want to go back home because Gemma and I would pick up on a conversation about Jason and how my interaction with Hans Petersen was just an “easy distraction” to get over the break-up. The last thing I really wanted to do was have a discussion about Jason, or Gemma’s opinion on how any guy at all—especially Hans—could possibly be an “easy distraction” when ...
Submitted to Contest #312
When Robert Garrity regained consciousness, he groaned in pain, opening his eyes and gradually sitting up on the couch. Earlier that evening, he was involved in a hit-and-run incident with his former gang member “friends”, with the rest of the neighbors as witnesses. After the lowlives—including the de la Rosa cousins—struck him with their car, Robert went flying into the air and crash-landed headfirst on top of a woman’s Honda Accord, cracking open the windshield. As a result, he suffered a severe head injury and according to the doctors,...
Austin didn’t know it yet, but his “superpowers” wouldn’t come into play until the weekend. This weekend was his time with Kaydence, starting tonight. She was a generally well-behaved young girl, at school and at home. Her K-5 years were spent at the local all-girls Catholic school, St. Margaret Academy. It was actually Sofia’s idea to send her to an all-girls school so that she could have the traditional education without being distracted by boys her age. But now that she was 11, Austin believed she was old enough to go to a regular school,...
I hated how tense things became between Yvonne and me in the basement. Despite the pleasure of meeting her and Stephanie for lunch, I still managed to ruin things with my cold, unfriendly demeanor. Now she must think of me as an entitled snob who’s reluctant to open up to other people—not the impression I meant to give her. I’d be damned if I ever saw her again, but I wanted her to understand my apology. I just thought warning her about how high-maintenance my family—especially Jayna—could be was the right thing to do. I wanted to be absolut...
The next day was Thursday, and so far, I hadn’t gained back my zapping powers, so I knew I was in the clear for now. Nikki promised to help me create a WordPress profile after school today, and I couldn’t have been more excited to have her show me the ropes. I brought my diary with me, and it was large enough to fit in my purse so no one would ever know. Nikki was the only person who knew that my diary was in my purse, and I trusted her to not let anyone else know about it. This was our own little secret, and we didn’t want anyone else to kn...
Submitted to Contest #309
Having Taylar Barrenfeld over at my place for dinner was a dream come true—the perfect guest, with Owen out spending time with his family. I wasn’t sure when he’d get back, but my plan was to have Taylar ready and gone by the time he came back from wherever he needed to be for the evening. He knew I was bringing her over, but I wouldn’t want to make the situation awkward—should he ever return unexpectedly and catch the two of us together, doing whatever. Taylar was kind enough to offer to help me make pizza. I knew this was the last thing s...
We didn’t arrive at my parents’ until 5:20. The backyard had full decorations—twinkling fairy lights draping across the area, casting a soft, golden glow; lanterns with flickering candles placed along the garden path. At the entrance sat a framed sign reading YANCEY & CHRISTIAN in bold, black letters. The young man on the guitar played soft acoustic music, sounding like a ballad to Taylor Swift’s Lover. We saw Mom talking to Katrina—the maid—and other staff about the food, welcoming guests as they showed up. She came over to give us a ...
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