Susan Dalziel

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2022

Stories (7)

7 Stories

136 karma pts

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“Yolanda:Queen of the Desserts” by Susan Dalziel

Submitted to Contest #186

"Would you please put that menu down and look at me, Norman. I can't read your mind. You have to talk to me. Can't you do that?" "I'm not sure you want to hear what I have to say Christine." "Try me." "I've...well, I've been thinking about this for a while. I mean, a long time. Long before they announced the whole pre-retirement National Service thing." "I still can't believe they would think up such a thing, let alone pass it into law. What a croc! No state pension until you complete two years in service to the State? It's beyond in...

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“The Betwixtmas Escape Plan of '22” by Susan Dalziel

Submitted to Contest #178

The Betwixtmas Escape Committee Meeting Minutes of '22 Attendees: Charlie Potts, Head of Operations; Rachel Huffington-Hill; Strategic Planner; cousin Charlotte, junior Family Representative (minute taker); Aunt Matilda, elder Family Representative (Chair). Apologies: Royston Rockall, Head of Delivery. Venue: Back Room at The Old Chimes Bar and Grill. Date and time: the evening prior to Betwixtmas. The meeting was declared quorate by Aunt Matilda with apologies from Royston Rockall noted. AM welcomed the Committee members present and ask...

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“Way Off Target” by Susan Dalziel

Submitted to Contest #156

Contains swearing. Ice cubes clinked in glasses as toasts were raised to their late friend. There was still a lingering underlying odour of tobacco even though the smoking ban had been in place for over a decade; it had definitely been more than ten years since the upholstery and curtains had last been cleaned. Soft music mingled with hushed conversations, the murmur of other mourners rolled and peeked, occasional flurries of laughter from far corners floating up and evaporating into the ether as the drink loosened up memories and stories ...

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“The Gift That Keeps On Giving” by Susan Dalziel

Submitted to Contest #155

Carly was thirteen years old when her grandfather told her that he would be gone before the next winter's snow; this would be their last summer together. Then he told her about what she had already inherited; her gifts. And how they were going to spend their last summer together practicing, developing, understanding these gifts. There was much to do he said and she had to be brave and listen and concentrate. There, in her grandfather's cabin, where she had spent so many of her happiest summers, she had felt the first piercing ...

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“Son of A Beach” by Susan Dalziel

Submitted to Contest #154

I am inexplicably powerful. And I am one of so many, there are not stars in the night sky can outnumber us. Sometimes, one of us ends up in your pocket. Other times we get dropped but we move around anyway, cradled by the great forces. And after countless centuries, I have become the most beautiful form of myself I could ever have dreamt of becoming. I'm how I always hoped I would be. I am smooth, polished, sleek, potent. Funny how ageing gives me the properties that the land herd lose with the passage of time. Maybe, if I could condense the...

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“Stoned Love” by Susan Dalziel

Submitted to Contest #153

The corner of this week's sale banner, declaring twenty percent off everything, peeled silently away from the glass the second Elliot turned his back on the shop display window, leaving a bargain offer of 0% off everything to impress the potential customers. He stumbled out from the display window, squeezing between two mannequins, brushing them just enough to teeter both, a knitted beanie falling from one and the other almost collapsing on top of a customer who was checking the prices on the lower rails. Elliot blushed furiously, his eyes f...

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“Too Much TV Is Bad For Your Health” by Susan Dalziel

Submitted to Contest #152

Agatha's fingers hesitated, her hand hovering like it was trying to sense some unseen force, a vibration, maybe a temperature difference, slightly warmer, slightly cooler than it should be? She held her breath and closed her eyes allowing her senses to close ranks and focus solely on touch. Nothing.She opened her eyes and let her breath escape. There was no astral message coming through the technology in her hand, no great sign from the universe to tell her this was the right course of action. She sighed and stabbed the numbers from the...

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Author bio

Having left my dream job in the arts many moons ago, to raise a family and get a proper job, the call back to the land of creativity has become too loud to ignore. That and the kids are now big teenagers who can feed themselves without fear of breaking things...mostly. So, giving writing a go as it can be done from my rural home, whenever I feel the mood take me and there's no travelling, learning lines or auditions. Not quitting the proper job. Just enjoying getting back out there, artistically speaking.