Tony Hadley - Writer on Reedsy Prompts

3 Stories

87 karma pts

A Dead End

Submitted to Contest #65

I looked up at the old iron sign dangling over the entrance by a single rusty chain. It had lost a few letters over the past hundred and fifty years or so. Now the words “Memori Cemete” swayed back and forth with the occasional squeal of ancient metal. “You sure we want to go in?” I asked, looking over at William who stood beside me with his hands in the pockets of his well-worn slacks. “I think we have to.” The dusty shoulders of William’s jacket seemed to bounce with his shrug. “Only choice we have left.” “But we haven’t tried…” I start...

13 likes

6 comments 6

Read story

A Final Goodbye

Tony Hadley

Submitted to Contest #64

With a high-pitched “pop” that made my ears twitch, a woman suddenly appeared in the middle of the kitchen. She was wearing a floor-length flower print dress, and on her head was a rather large hat entirely covered with lace. She looked casually about the room, nodded politely in our direction when she saw us, and floated off toward the living room.“That’s the eleventh one today, Charlie.” I shook my head as the woman passed through the wall and out of sight. “They all just appear out of nowhere, don’t use the door or anything.” Matching my ...

12 likes

9 comments 9

Read story

A Rose I Remembered

Tony Hadley

Shortlisted for Contest #62 ⭐️

The last thing I can remember upon waking up is the day that I die. I can’t remember what date it will be, only that it’ll be midday, and I’ll be walking down a crowded wet sidewalk in the city. I’ll see a pretty blonde haired girl look at me a short distance away and smile. Then, I remember, there will be a startled look on her face as someone shoves her into the street. I remember I’ll step out into traffic to grab her and pull her back. There will be a loud screeching of tires, then nothing. I sit up on the edge of my bed, playing that ...

22 likes

11 comments 11

Read story

Author bio

Well, I've passed the half-century mark, and I still haven't written "The Great American Novel," although I have hundreds of pages of notes, backstory, and world building ready to go.

I’m born and raised in Oregon (the Valley, not P-town), but now live in Florida with my wonderful wife and best friend, waiting for the summer storms we love.

I've loved reading my whole life and discovered my love for writing about three decades ago. Some of my great influencers have been McCaffrey, Eddings, Heinlein, Poe, Whitman, Shelly, and Shakespeare (his sonnets). I enjoy writing poetry, and sci-fi/fantasy, although I have found great joy recently in some of the more real stories I have dabbled with.

I've been having fun with the writing prompts, especially since they added the feature of posting them online.

1 shortlisted story ⭐️

Contest #62

A Rose I Remembered – read story