Advice, insights and news
Free 10-day publishing courses
Free publishing webinars
Free EPUB & PDF typesetting tool
Launch your book in style
Assemble a team of pros
A weekly short story contest
Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2021
The Defender Me and Topaz went to this fancy restaurant, one of them with the low lights, candles in little glasses on tables covered in white cloth and clean cutlery wrapped in napkins. My treat. A handsome man in a penguin suit greets us when we walk in arm and arm. "Do you have reservations?" He asked. "Yes indeed. Mr. Harry Smith." I use my proper voice. Topaz c...
Melvina kicked off her pumps. In stocking feet, skates down the hall into the living room, pirouettes in front of the sofa and flops on it giggling. Still got it. With her head back and arms spread, she inhales. No conversations, meals to plan, or places to go tonight or tomorrow. Enjoying her own company, something she discovered in her youth, but marriage, motherhood and devotion to Christ chan...
I secretly enjoyed accompanying my wife on her quarterly quest, traversing concrete lots or dirt fields for decades old items. The first time, she dragged me kicking and screaming, said she needed my muscle. That day I found a weathered Pepsi sign. It still hangs in the basement. Today's hunt for pristine relics is a three-hour trek to a town where my Mom's Grandmother vanished. Exuberant is putting it mildly whe...
I'm at a red light, singing and playing the drums on the steering wheel. A woman knocks on the passenger window, pleading for help. I inspect her messed up hair, smeared makeup and rumpled top. Campfire stories of murderous hitchhikers or Granny's warning about damsels in distress who steal young men's hearts, then their souls were my first thoughts. The car behind me honked. The ones in front had gone through th...
Sheriff Callen propped against the shady side of the building, smoking a cigar and watching the bus carrying his wife pull into the bay. A guy wearing a lightweight beige suit and white hat, his kind only seen in town during festival season, stepped off, turned and extended his hand. Slender fingers with red nail polish took it. Holding gently, she descended, her teeth showing. Callen spat. "Wilma!" She re...
I glare at the twelve inch wall separating our apartments, recalling the words I devised all day at work to confront her. One giant step to her door. You can do this. The brass knocker is cool, lighter than it looks. I lift and release. Leaning my ear to the door, the only sounds are a television at the far end of the hallway, whirring elevator mechanisms and a bark in the distance. I put...
Sage set a reminder on her phone. Time to sort through the bins her parents dropped off months ago to inaugurate her house. No more excuses. Thank goodness the forecast predicted precipitation on Saturday. Rain and wind pelted the garage door. Sage pulled up her hoodie and slipped on gloves. The first bin she opened contained a mishmash of items. Folders with graded reports, another jammed with certificates, from ...
I stacked the last box of donations in the cargo space of my SUV and shut the door. Months of preparation, and my therapist's suggestion to celebrate my thirtieth, was about to begin. Before leaving, I opened closets, looked under the beds and checked locks on the windows and doors. To my knowledge, the family didn't know my address. Born April 1st, came with drawbacks. Although drawback is putting it mild. ...
Germaine hoisted her backpack and followed fellow passengers to baggage claim. Before entering the tropical climate, she unrolled a straw hat, covered the silver locks she no longer disguised, after they forced her out, and hurried to the shuttle. She hovered at the back until everyone boarded. With most of the seats occupied, she chose the single to the right of the driver. He muscled the rattling veh...
I would rather read the book than see the movie.
Oops, you need an account for that!
Log in with your social account:
Or enter your email: