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Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2024
Submitted to Contest #335
The beach was peaceful and less crowded at night, with no lifeguards on duty. It wasn’t the best choice to be at night, but I doubted that M.J. even gave a damn about her safety at all. She also had her purse and phone with her, sitting on the sand in close proximity to the water, staring out into the ocean. She turned around when she saw me, a baffled expression on her face. “What are you doing here at this time?” “I could ask you the same thing.” I sat next to her and she got up, as if to avoid my presence. “None of your business, Katel...
This is a continued part to the story "Secrets" (Submitted previously for Contest #331). I continued to listen to Kalissa, in Spanish, telling her mother more about this mysterious Kevin, the apparent father of Baby No. 2. He was the husband of a former patient of hers at St. John’s Health Center, a woman named Sharla, who’d died from ovarian cancer back in March—four months ago. Sometime in the weeks that followed, Kalissa kept him company as he processed the grief, since he and Sharla had a daughter of their own—a nine-year-old girl, Rober...
Submitted to Contest #331
“Aaaaand now we’re outta here,” Tanya said with a wry laugh, she and Serenity rushing out before Katelynn or I could say anything else. I only shook my head, rolling my eyes, before confronting Katelynn. “I know that since last year, you’ve been tricking Donna into giving you some money. Hell, at least once or twice I’ve caught you stealing from her! There’s nothing you can say or do now to deny it because I know you very well.” She scoffed, folding her arms. “Oh, yeah? Got any solid proof of my so-called ‘money theft’? I’ll wait.” She had...
Submitted to Contest #330
*This is the beginning of a professional and platonic relationship between the protagonist Yvonne McCarter, her best friend Stephanie Grossman, and the future groom Zachary Russo, during this professional lunch meeting.* YVONNE By 12:30, Stephanie and I arrived at George Italian Seafood & Steakhouse—only ten minutes away from the shop. As first-time customers to the restaurant, we were immediately greeted by the scent of freshly grilled seafood and sizzling steaks filling the air, blending with the faint hint of saltwater from nearby win...
Submitted to Contest #322
An excerpt from current WIP novel, "Confessions of a Church Girl" My phone buzzed to a message alert from Kristina, which read: Lane, I’d like to talk to you if you’re available. I have some exciting news!🤩 If I was being honest, I wasn’t in the mood for another video chat; I’d been far too exhausted all day long to have any kind of conversation either with Kristina or with Mom and Dad. But then again, they’d find it a little weird that I chose to ignore what Kristina had to say. For her, it’s always something “exciting.” Like her engagem...
This is a scene of three teenage girls who are the best of friends (Laura, Bethany, and Heather), all having a slumber party evening at Bethany's house. “I can’t believe spring break is almost over already! It feels like just yesterday, we were excited for classes to be over and go home and spend time with our families for the week.” “Yeah, too bad one week of break is never enough. I think there should be one month for spring break.” “One month, Beth? That means we’ll miss many days of school, and we’ll never be able to graduate!” “You’re r...
An excerpt from current WIP novel, "Confessions of a Church Girl" Later that evening, as we got ready for bed and Robert was now resting up for a full new day of work tomorrow, Gemma came to my room to get her nightwear and toiletries. “You’re really enjoying this room, huh?” She smiled, and I nodded. “Yeah. I enjoyed it a lot while you were gone.” “Well, don’t let my being here keep you from enjoying it. This is your space, Lanie. You need to feel as comfortable as possible. Don’t worry so much about me.” “I know.” I shut the door befo...
When I first opened my eyes, I didn’t know where I was or what happened, but I saw everyone standing around me—Mom, Dad, Darrin, Owen, Yancey, Christian, Lyndsay, Fabio, Julia, Antonio, Hayden, Winston, and Carol-Ann. Everyone had looks of joy and relief in their eyes, making me wonder if I was dreaming. “Wh-what happened?” My voice was a little feeble. Mom only sobbed uncontrollably in response, and Dad said gently, “Honey, you gave us all a good scare. I’m not sure what you remember, but during the reception at the Plaza Ballroom, you we...
Submitted to Contest #318
Mom gave me a hug as Dad came over to caress my hair, and he whispered, “Sweetheart, it’s okay. We had no idea you’d been feeling this way. But I don’t think now is the right time or place to have this kind of discussion.” He gave me a tissue to wipe my face, and for a moment I was calm. He’s right, but at least I had the chance to let them know how I’d been feeling, after all these years of quiet resentment toward Yancey. She only shook her head. “You’re being so dramatic, it’s pathetic. Just a minute ago, you called me a whore! How can y...
Submitted to Contest #316
Mary-Jane and I were alone together, sitting on the sand near the water, our toes dipped in. I noticed her attitude changing so suddenly this past afternoon, and I wondered what she wanted to talk to me about. I asked, “Is everything okay, M.J.?” She shook her head and scoffed. “You don’t get to call me that anymore. How could you?” I raised my eyebrows. “How could I what?” “Please, don’t even pretend you don’t know,” she snapped. “You’ve got a hell of a nerve!” Then she lowered her voice. “Are you seriously pregnant with another man’s b...
An excerpt from current WIP novel, "Confessions of a Church Girl" After the luncheon at church, we returned home to relax for the rest of the evening from treating Mom with a fancy event with the congregation. It was fun while it lasted, except for the part where Jason had admitted to seeing not only another girl, but also another guy, behind my back all along. I didn’t want my family to know, so I kept it from them. When I got to my room, I blocked Jason’s number, wanting nothing more to do with him. If he’s unsure of his sexuality, then h...
That evening as I was getting ready for bed, I got a text message from Sabrina, saying that she needed to talk to me about her lunch with Kari-Ann. She’d already sent me the audio recording of her conversation with Kari-Ann, and I thought she did a splendid job of digging the truth out of her and putting her entirely on the spot. In the recording, Kari-Ann told Sabrina pretty much the same thing that she’d already told me, so that was nothing new. I decided to give Sabrina a call. “Hi, how are you, Sabrina?” I asked. “I’m great, Erika. Are...
Submitted to Contest #313
An excerpt from current WIP novel, "Confessions of a Church Girl" The Petersens and our family were the only ones who stayed behind after all our guests had left, including Gemma. I didn’t want to go back home because Gemma and I would pick up on a conversation about Jason and how my interaction with Hans Petersen was just an “easy distraction” to get over the break-up. The last thing I really wanted to do was have a discussion about Jason, or Gemma’s opinion on how any guy at all—especially Hans—could possibly be an “easy distraction” when ...
Submitted to Contest #312
When Robert Garrity regained consciousness, he groaned in pain, opening his eyes and gradually sitting up on the couch. Earlier that evening, he was involved in a hit-and-run incident with his former gang member “friends”, with the rest of the neighbors as witnesses. After the lowlives—including the de la Rosa cousins—struck him with their car, Robert went flying into the air and crash-landed headfirst on top of a woman’s Honda Accord, cracking open the windshield. As a result, he suffered a severe head injury and according to the doctors,...
Austin didn’t know it yet, but his “superpowers” wouldn’t come into play until the weekend. This weekend was his time with Kaydence, starting tonight. She was a generally well-behaved young girl, at school and at home. Her K-5 years were spent at the local all-girls Catholic school, St. Margaret Academy. It was actually Sofia’s idea to send her to an all-girls school so that she could have the traditional education without being distracted by boys her age. But now that she was 11, Austin believed she was old enough to go to a regular school,...
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