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Patti McQuillen

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2020

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18 Followers
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9 Stories

143 karma pts

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Narrators Lie

Weekly Contest #366

I'm not a liar - most of the time. I read maps - except in new places. I care about my role as a narrator. I admit to embellishing truth. It's not true dishonesty. No matter. The opening of my story begins in a cheap warehouse, as forgotten as yesterday's news. Comes with murder stains and odd noises in the night. Can't miss the open design. The exterior includes rewarding opportunities for paving, landscaping, and paving. The winning feature is the view through the kitchen window of Sirens' Summit, atop Mount Perry. It stirs rulebreakers....

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Coveralls and Sweet Love

Weekly Contest #81

One line started a courtship of true love for the ages. "By the way, you're wearing his coveralls." A community theater director said this to my grandmother Dorothy after she showed up in her best Sunday outfit, ready to build sets. He told her to change into spare coveralls in the back. Then he introduced her to my grandfather Sherman. Sixty-two years of life, love, and family followed their wedding on Nov 13, 1948. My grandmother entered Heaven on March 10, 2011. My grandfather joined her there on November 20, 2016. A few times a yea...

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A Friend to Call

Weekly Contest #40

A long stretch of a busy highway. It’s known for a flood of cheap car lots, lemons for sale. Every kind of advertising chokes the space. Sparkling flags, gigantic parachute figures flapping in the wind, deals that turn out to be empty promises.Yep, they get me. Those slick car gods with fancy talk. From their well-oiled hair to their bright smiles and use of pet names, two of them in expensive-looking suits charm me into taking a van. They tell me, “It’s perfect for a mother on the go.”Well, there isn’t anywhere to go at the moment. My batte...

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Don't Believe Everything on the Internet

Weekly Contest #38

Well, Betty did it. She died. This is not another hoax. The story begins with the sad news. It goes viral in minutes with fans leaving farewell notes and posts. A few don’t believe it. It is a bit suspicious with the dozen previous fake news stories of her passing. Those had White laughing. Not this time. “Betty White passed away after a battle with COVID-19. The ninety-eight-year-old entertainer had these final words to leave fans. “Don’t be sad. Tell Carol Burnett it’s hot in Cleveland, and the Golden Girls will shine again.”Born in Oak Pa...

6 likes 1 comment 1
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I, Great Cat, Rule My Human

Weekly Contest #38

She’s ignoring me. My human. Look at me, I plead in silence. Perhaps if I’m cute. Nope, not even being part of the Ragdoll breed works. Time for a new plan.“Lucy! I’m typing an email to my boss. Hold on,” Emily, my human says.Her voice is not as sweet as I like. She stares at the bright shape in front of her. I don’t like its light. Too bright for me. Only the sun can be bright because it’s warm. I like to lie down in the coziness. Not this box she pecks at. What are those squares with lines and curves on them? Does she need them? Am I not e...

14 likes 1 comment 1
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Love Goes Awry

Weekly Contest #37

Haley Lee Harper is the secret daughter of Carol Tushy, the mother of the hunky bachelor, Liam Porter – and Haley’s true love! Shocker! Headlines pop with, Sexy Bachelor Set to Marry Long Lost Sister and Liam Dates His Secret Sister. The news spreads with reporters combing the beaches and nearby neighborhoods for anyone that knows more gossip.Back at the villa where the cameras roll for the new season, producers scurry to explain the shocking discovery. Rumors fly! It’s the biggest news to ever the dating scene set in Rosa Hills, New York. N...

7 likes 1 comment 1
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Music Lessons

Weekly Contest #38

The flute or the clarinet? Sleek or blasting? Delicate sounds that trill or bold ones that fail me as I try to break out a few notes? Two choices, as opposite as can be.My aunt demonstrates both. Temptation begs me to take the flute. It's light and my tongue bucks the taste of a wood reed against it. Yet, I don't know about rolling the instrument against my lips with correctness.I'm not a patient person. Practicing is boring at times. I have little tolerance for a lack of instant success. Images of mastery flood my mind. I ask myself, 'If ot...

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I Call Him Dad

Weekly Contest #36

February 18, 1941Twenty-eight degrees. No snow falls. About five degrees higher than the local average. Inside the bustling hospital, tender cries from a bassinet. It’s a boy! Joy from family, relief from his parents, Catherine and Hubert Earl. He can’t replace the loss of the first babe. It just wasn’t his time. Yet, this one shall live. No one knows what the world will bring to his feet. Turmoil reigns as world leaders rise to the sound of war. Less than a year after the birth, horror and death explode in Hawaii. The new babe is too small ...

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As Promised

Weekly Contest #35

Time to go, I tell myself. The first day of Spring brings warmth and sweetness. I promise myself this is the day to clear out the house. Raw emotions will not stop me. Pain and grief weigh down my heart. Yet, I see this as healingAs much as I see the house as part of my identity, my mother, aunt Cathy, and uncle Bob grew up here. I cannot imagine the pain of watching strangers buying your childhood home. Too many stories and memories cloud the heart. Clearing the house is coming full circle.The house at 9522 Jefferson Lane is a part of me. I...

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