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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2024
Submitted to Contest #320
Up a TreeTo a young park ranger, fresh out of training at the academy, Sequoia National Park was like playing in the big leagues. Six hundred and thirty-one square miles of dense forests on the side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains was Heaven to a man who loved the outdoors. A place where you can walk among majestic sequoia trees over three thousand years old. A place where trees over two hundred feet tall stretch into a brilliant blue sky. And a place where a person can find a kind of solitude unlike any other place in the country.Josh Howard...
Laugh or Don’t Laugh, Your Call The stage at The Edge Comedy Club was different from the ones Ben had stood on in the past. When he’d started working on his career in stand-up comedy the venues were mostly small, badly lighted clubs with a tiny stage or floor-level pad. The audience sat around closely set tables and the noise from the bar often drowned out his act. The Edge was a totally different thing. He’d been there a few times to watch other comedians and wondered what it would be like to stand on that big stage. He was just a few hours...
Submitted to Contest #316
Likes, Friends, Followers Allen Spector was, as they say, out there. He was Facebook famous. He was an Instagram fixture. His TikTok followers hung on his every word. He was easy to find on Snapchat and YouTube. Allen had so many fans and followers you could say he was a bona fide, big-time celebrity. But what makes his story special is that Allen Spector doesn’t and never did exist. At least not in the way real people do.Blake Allen had time on his hands. His job as a wealth manager at Pacific Financial kept him busy during the day but at f...
Submitted to Contest #315
One Beer, One Hour Like almost everyone I have dreams at night. They’re usually dreams about ordinary things and familiar people. But last Tuesday’s dream was different. It actually woke me up. It was so real I sat up in bed and looked around the room to be sure I was really there. My heart was pounding so I laid back down and stared at the ceiling. My alarm clock read 2:16 and all I could do was hope I’d be able to fall asleep again.The dream was about me, and I was in Clancy’s Pub, my favorite watering hole. I’d been there earlier in the e...
Submitted to Contest #314
“Even the Birds are Gone” June, 2026It was the hottest day of the year. A lot of weather reporters in cities around the country were saying that but when they say it in Arizona it’s different. It was still Spring, and we knew we’d be hearing those words too many times over the upcoming Summer. But the heat was only a secondary concern because we hadn’t seen rain in six months. The bright, cloudless sky was one of the things that had led Carol and me to move to the Southwest. Back in Pennsylvania we suffered through days and even weeks withou...
Submitted to Contest #313
Uncle DaveIt was a call that Peter had been expecting. In a soft, quavering voice his mother said, “Peter, Uncle Dave is gone.” He hesitated a moment, then, “Oh, Mom, I’m so sorry. I know it’s not a surprise, but it still hurts to lose him.”“Dave wasn’t the easiest man to know but he was my big brother and I loved him every day of my life.” Peter gave her a little time to collect herself and then she said, “I guess it’s time to wrap things up for the funeral and the estate sale. Can you do it without me?”“Yeah, Mom, no problem. We have the f...
Submitted to Contest #312
GENESIS 202Monday 9:00 AM“Good morning, John.”“Morning, Arthur, are you ready for our big day?”“Yes. Last night while I was recharging my power supply I laid on my bed and went over everything in my mind.”“That’s great. Hopefully your new AI component did its job.”56 “John, from our previous conversations I sense that you are nervous about how I will do today. Please relax and trust me. I have spent a great deal of time reading every page of your project notes. I studied every one of the computer files. I have a complete understanding of how...
Submitted to Contest #309
“Rumor Has It”The Trailside Diner looked like so many small, nondescript cafes that dot the highways of America; white clapboard siding, green shingle roof and an old neon sign barely bright enough to read. I was only a few steps inside when a sturdily built woman wearing a black apron walked up to me. “Mornin’, hon, sit anywhere you’d like.”“I’m meeting someone here”. A man waving a Stetson hat caught my attention. “Oh, I think that’s him there in that corner booth.” I walked toward him and asked, “John?”“That’s me.” He smiled and stood up,...
Submitted to Contest #308
“Another Damn Sunny Day” April, 2028Six months. One hundred and eighty days. Half a year. No matter how you say it, that’s a long time for any place to go without rain.The bright, cloudless sky was one of the things that had led Carol and me to move to the Southwest. Back in Pennsylvania we suffered through days and sometimes even weeks without seeing the sun. We joked that we were living in the dark like moles. People weren’t meant to live like that. A few winter vacations to the Phoenix area finally convinced us to make the move.I was look...
Submitted to Contest #306
“The Package” Monday 12;20 PMFrom: Josh KinterTo: Will HammondWill, just checking in, how’s it going back there? Monday 6:22 PMFrom: Will HammondTo: Josh KinterNot bad. How’s Maui? Do you have any money left? I’m working from home. FedEx laid a package on my porch, your name care of me, my address. About the size of a case of beer but not as heavy. A mile of tape holding it together. The label says it’s from Mexico. What’s up? Monday 7:04 PMFrom: Josh KinterTo: Will HammondSorry for the delay, texting outdoors is tough with all the sun. I t...
Submitted to Contest #300
“A Visit to Tatum”Driving on a wide-open road in the middle of nowhere can be relaxing but not when your fuel warning light is shining at you. That’s the kind of feeling you don’t ever want to have.As many times as I’d driven the stretch of I-44 between St. Louis and Springfield I had figured out a few things. Things like the best places to stop for a bite and exactly how much gas I needed to have in my tank. Over almost a year and a half dozen trips, I’d never had any problems until that day last month. Ordinarily if I’d left my house witho...
Submitted to Contest #299
“The Cloud”I’d pressed the big, red emergency alarm button twice before I saw what looked to be a temporary label above it. It read “EMERGENCY SIGNAL IS RECEIVED BY SOUTHWEST ELEVATOR INC.AND NOT BY EMERGENCY RESPONDERS.”. The only light in the darkened cab was from a small emergency light glowing in the middle of the ceiling. The panel that showed floor levels said we’d gotten stuck on the ninth floor, three floors and fifteen minutes short of my appointment. It was my final interview with Bates Capital for what I considered to be my dream ...
Submitted to Contest #298
“Navigator”“Geez, Charlie, when I told you to find us a car, I meant something that would get us there and back, not a piece of crap like this. Where’d you find it?”“I got it at the Circle K. The guy left it running when he went into the store and I was standing right there. I figured it was easier than trying to hot-wire another car. I’m not so good with wires. I was scared shitless but I just jumped in and beat it out of there fast.”“Geez, this thing looks like it’s older than you but I guess we’re stuck with it.” Sid looked directly at Ch...
Submitted to Contest #297
“Seven O’clock… or Whenever”When Matt rolled over in bed the beam of early Spring sunlight hit him right in the face. He put his hand over his eyes and let out a long sigh. “Well,” he thought, “Daylight Savings Time or not, if I have to turn the clock ahead and lose an hour of sleep, I’m glad it’s on a Sunday.” He lay there staring at the ceiling for a few minutes. Before he could relax completely his alarm clock buzzed at the usual seven o’clock setting. He reached over and turned it off. Reluctantly, he got out of bed.He’d been divorced fo...
Submitted to Contest #295
“Family”Fully clothed, life size mannequins aren’t what you’d expect to see in someone’s home. A department store, sure, but not in a home, not like this. Maria was holding her cellphone when she’d greeted me at the front door. She told me to please wait for a moment while she finished her call. When she walked away I waited a few seconds then stepped into the living room. I didn’t think I’d have to compete with plastic people for a place to sit. All I could do was stand there in the middle of the weirdness and wait for Maria to return. Fort...
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