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Tamsin Liddell

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2025

Stories (21)

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38 Followers

39 Following

21 Stories

529 karma pts

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Those Who Dare

Submitted to Contest #311

I look at my right wrist for the seventh time, but they confiscated my watch before escorting me to this room, so I still can’t tell how long I've been sitting here. At least they gave me a cup of water, but I finished that off two wrist-glances ago. So instead I look around the room once more, taking inventory. Wooden table: check. Two wooden chairs on opposite sides of said table (one occupied, one empty): check. Video camera in the upper corner: check. Three different signs advising me of my rights (a laminated page taped firmly in front ...

14 likes

Sweet as Honey, Bright as Dawn

Submitted to Contest #310

The postcard received with that morning’s delivery was still on Deb Mielke-Park’s mind as she started pedaling up 11th Street away from Spruce. She and Sue had lived in “the Gayborhood” for forty years, but she’d never heard of the place advertised on the mailer. She couldn’t figure out how she’d ended up on their list either: Sue was the one who’d read; Deb was a numbers girl. And it had been a year since that final heart-attack. The advertisement had been straightforward—she was invited to join an exclusive club at this bookstore, located ...

20 likes

Our Revels Are Now Ended

Submitted to Contest #309

Content warning: Language They had to wait in line at the table, virtually side by side: she was on the left; he was on the right. David Lee Roth’s voice could be heard coming down the hall from the gymnasium, echoing through the corridors, going on about how bad he’s got it. Occasionally, the two exchanged glances and smiles. But each time one seemed about to talk to the other, one of the lines would move forward and they would be separated, starting the awkwardness over again. Doesn’t have a wife with him—she evaluated—wonder if he’s avail...

16 likes

The Dockenmacher

Submitted to Contest #308

Nestled in the artisan district of downtown Clarksville, the “Bell Witch Doll Hospital” had several examples in their shop windows, with a black velvet curtain behind both them and the door, blocking the view within. A handcrafted sign, wood, hung on the inside of the door, at eye-level: “By Appointment Only.” The Bell Witch was a local urban legend, one that involved dolls that looked like a nightmare out of Toy Story. The figures in the window were well within the lines of that mythos: a mixture of plastic, cloth, bisque, and even carved w...

12 likes

Miss Blythe Finds a Lunch Date

Submitted to Contest #307

Genevieve Blythe—known as Genny by anyone who’d ever known her—was sitting on a park bench on a Monday in mid-October, eating her brown-bagged lunch as usual, when she realized that there was a monolith sitting ten yards away from her, in the grassy town square. Moreover, it was there the whole time: it hadn’t appeared suddenly, materializing out of thin air. She racked her brain, going over the past forty-five minutes, but could not recall seeing it until that very moment.In point of fact, she couldn’t remember not seeing it either, not rec...

10 likes

The Diary of Miss Elizabeth Perry

Submitted to Contest #306

Monday, 3 June 1695Golden Venture of Portsmouth3 weeks west of the Canary IslandsMy dear Diary,It has been almost two months since we left Portsmouth, and the Golden Venture now lags behind both the convoy of frigates with whom we travel, and our contracted gunship. The Canary Current and trade winds—so vital to any Atlantic crossing—seem to have left us behind. We have not seen their sails in days, and the captain grows more irritable each time I ask.I know the fault does not lie with the winds but with the ship herself. The ship groans wit...

8 likes

Author bio

I have only attempted writing actual stories within the past year. I appreciate people who use a critical eye on any of my work, and am happy to do the same in order to try to improve myself more.
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The "Joan Dark" stories are a series which originally started hereas responses to contest prompts. I wrote them in the order shown in my profile. Chronological order:

1. Toil and Trouble
2. It's the Only Thing
3. So Grows the Tree
4. The Party Will Come to You
5. Gang Aft Agley
6. That House Cannot Stand
7. Cannot Be Undone
8. Nothing But the Truth
9. The Last Place You Look
10. There You Are
11. Not as I Do
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If you are interested in exchanging beta-reading duties, or any other form of communal critique exchange, for works outside of short story prompts, please feel free to contact me at tamsinliddell@gmail.com. (Spam will be blocked.)