Read my psychedelic, dreamy piece for this week’s Reedsy: ‘Sea the Moon’

Wow, look at me! Staying on top of things and publishing my Reedsy entries on time! This piece was written really quickly — I think I had it finished by Saturday evening, as the prompts came out on the Friday afternoon. The theme of this week’s prompt was the legendary writer, Haruki Murakami. I chose the prompt, “Write a story in which the lines between awake and dreaming are blurred.”

Interestingly, I didn’t write a horror story again — third week in a row! I know it sounds odd (especially for me!), but, in general, I try not to force my stories. I try to let them flow out of my fingertips naturally. Horror comes to me fairly easily, hence why it’s my preferred genre, but sometimes I stray from the darkened path and venture out into the light. If a horror story happens, great, if a non-horror story happens, also great! I just like writing and telling stories.

Anyway, the title of my short story is Sea the Moon, and — as always! — you can read it here on WordPress or over on my Reedsy profile.

The seagulls were weeping again. They had woken her from her sleep. It was funny, now that she thought about it. She’d also fallen asleep listening to their shrill pleas. It reminded her of the song her mother had sung to her as a baby. Sunset and sunrise, bird calls and bird cries.

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I liked this one quite a lot! I enjoyed the dreamy, uncertain feeling that permeates the piece. I also had fun writing the rhyming couplets! Oh! And I had a blast making the artwork for this one, too — I was super-proud of it! If you’d like to see (sea?) more of my art, why not check out my other blog, Art in Soul? I’ve got a backlog of art (much like I previously had a backlog of stories…) that I’m slowly posting and uploading, working my way through. I reckon there’s some good pieces, here and there!

On Hitting 100 Followers and the Creation of a Sister Site!

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Wow! So, here we are! 100 followers! *Cue party blowers and confetti showers* I didn’t think I’d ever get to the point where 100 people would voluntarily subject themselves to my waffling posts and inane ramblings that I try to pass off as “writing”. But here we are! So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you — it really means a lot! Here’s to many more stories in the future! 🙂

I do apologise that my Bite-Sized Horror series has fallen by the wayside recently, but I’ve had neither the time nor the energy to keep it up at a consistent quality. Maybe when my life returns to something that resembles normality, it’ll make a return! In the meantime, I hope my short stories alone are enough fuel for thought (fuel for nightmare?).

Okay, so, that fanfare and apology is out of the way and done with — on to the next part. Writing is one of my main hobbies, alongside music (which I write, record and publish online) and art. It’s this latter point I’d like to draw your attention to. I like to make my own art (mostly digital paintings), and I’ve recently been adding images of my own creation to my short stories (check out the latest additions, for examples!). Well, it turns out that I’ve amassed quite a lot of art over the course of this hobby, and a few weeks ago I started sharing the pieces via Instagram, to positive response. I thought to myself, “Why not do the same on WordPress?”

I didn’t want to start uploading art onto this blog, as it’s solely for my short stories and horror pieces, and I didn’t want to get my threads crossed or to strike tonal inconsistencies — my stories are, for the most part, horror-themed, whereas my art is quite gentle, dreamy, and psychedelic. So, I’ve made a sister site on WordPress, dedicated entirely to my art. If you’re in any way interested, you can find it here: https://artinsoulstudio.wordpress.com/ — but at the moment, it’s in its fledgling stages!

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An example of the sort of art I’ll be sharing! Artwork by Joshua G. J. Insole

Don’t worry, though — writing is (and shall remain) my main point of focus (even if I don’t have time to work on Bite-Sized Horror!). Art is quite a quick time-filler — I can bash out a painting in ten minutes or so; it doesn’t occupy that much time. I just thought it might be nice to also start sharing my other creative hobbies, as well!

Well, I guess that’s all I really wanted to say! So, thanks for the follows, likes, comments and shares over this past year — I look forward to many more years of blogging with you guys!

P.S. If you’re interested in my music, you can find it on YouTube or SoundCloud!

Read ‘Routine’: My sunny story for last week’s Reedsy!

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Gah, I know, I know, I’m really not on top of things lately. Personal life (I won’t bore you with the details) and other projects often get in the way (and I’m not great at decluttering!) — but I’m always writing! Rest assured of that!

This short story was written for the theme Bildungsroman, as in, stories about formative years. I chose the prompt, “Write a story about two best friends.” Horror tends to come to me quite naturally, and it generally feels like my ‘home’. However, sometimes it’s nice to take a break and write something completely different! This story was one of those pieces — it’s a sunny, upbeat tale. As always, you can read it here on WordPress, or over on my Reedsy profile!

Daisy wakes me up each day with a kiss. I always sleep longer than her, so she’s always the one to wake me up. I sometimes wonder how long she’s been up before she decides to rouse me – minutes, hours? Does she get up to see the morning sun rising?

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I hope you dig the story! It was very pleasant to write. Oh, and I also hope you like the artwork, too! I’m really starting to enjoy doing my own art to go hand-in-hand with my stories (but more on this at another point!).

My dreamy story for last week’s Reedsy: ‘Night Train to Pinea’

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Well, I’m catching back up again, aren’t I? Even when I’m not keeping this blog up to date, I’m still always writing something or another — so when I don’t post for a while, I pile up a bit of a backlog of stories that I’ve gotta upload…

This story was written for the theme ‘Agatha Christie’. I chose the prompt, “Write a short story that takes place on a train.” My favourite kinds of prompts are ones such as this — giving you a push in a particular direction, but without being too specific. I like a little bit of vagueness when writing to a prompt, otherwise I get the feeling of being “tied down” to an idea, without any creative freedom of my own. So, I really loved last week’s Reedsy for this precise reason! Anyway, enough rambling… The title of my story is Night Train to Pinea, and you can — as always! — read it here on WordPress or over on my Reedsy profile.

“Tickets and passes, please! Tickets and passes!” bellowed the conductor, startling John awake from his slumber. His eyes snapped open and he lifted his head from the table. Panic jolted into his veins like crackling electricity. His stomach lurched.

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I really liked the psychedelic, dreamy vibe of this one! It felt very peaceful, yet very creatively fertile. P.S. I did the artwork for this story — I’m quite into painting abstract art, so I thought I’d have a go at making the related image myself. Maybe I’ll have a go at more of these in the future. Who knows?

Also, there won’t be a Reedsy story written for this week. The prompts for this week are all non-fiction. Non-fiction isn’t really my cup of tea — I like making stuff up, letting my imagination go wild! I don’t think my life is interesting enough to write about, really… Having said that, I will still be reading the stories that others put up (and you should too!) — as I’m sure there will be some great ones.

Check out my dark little story for Valentine’s Day: ‘Which Heart?’

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Well, hey guys! Happy Valentine’s Day! Have you got much planned for today? Got a special someone you’re spending it with? Don’t worry if not, there’s no pressure — some say it’s just a Hallmark holiday anyway, manufactured to make money from sales of saccharine cards, boxes of chocolates, and red roses that die within a week…

But, hey, that’s enough cynicism for one day! I’ll be spending the day with my partner, but we won’t be doing anything particularly out of the ordinary to mark this date; a couple of pizzas, a bottle of wine (or two), cuddles on the couch, and a few movies to fall asleep in front of. Maybe even some video games… Perhaps Resident Evil? (At least, that’s how we spent V-Day last year!)

Anyway, on to the reason for this post! For Halloween and Christmas last year, I made holiday-themed posts for my Bite-Sized Horror series. I had a lot of fun with them, and I want to continue the trend for many holidays to come. I thought about doing something for Valentine’s Day, but I honestly haven’t had enough time to properly do it justice. I have, however, had just enough time to write a short story! So, here you have it, a dark little tale about love, life, and death, in order to celebrate Valentines Day 2020. The title of my story is Which Heart? You can read it by clicking here!

Friday the 13th of February: Part One

The witch staggered into the clearing clutching the man’s body. She stumbled to her knees, for his weight was greater than her own, but she did not drop him. She would not drop him, not ever. With a grunt that might have been a howl of rage, she lurched to her feet, arms cradling the lifeless frame.

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I hope you like the story, I really enjoyed writing this one. I’m quite proud of it! Also, I made the artwork for the associated image, which I’m also rather fond of. Art is sort of a “side-side-hobby” for me (with making music being my “side-hobby” and writing being my “main” hobby!), and I’ve kinda got it in my head that it’d be nice to make my own art for my stories, to really draw the reader into the twisted little world I’ve got within my mind…

My entry for the February #BlogBattle: ‘Old Strittie’

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Well, another month, another ! You might be thinking, “Josh, you’re awfully late with this entry, aren’t you?” And you’d be absolutely right! This month’s prompt word was ‘vivacious’ — a great, but tricky word! I had to have a think about how I could work this one into a story… But I got there, in the end! The title of my short story is Old Strittie.

Something was feeding off the child. It came out at night, from out of the closet.

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I hope you guys like the story! I rather enjoyed writing it, once I knew where I was going with it. Also, I did the artwork for this story — hope you guys dig it! I’m not very good at painting “real” things, I’m more into the abstract stuff…

Also, be sure to head over to the site, and check out the other stories! There’s always some corkers to read!

‘Listening to Ghosts’: My occult Reedsy story!

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I know, I know, I’ve been lazy with keeping this blog up to date. I do apologise! Unfortunately, my life has gotten incredibly busy over the last few weeks, for reasons I won’t bore you with here. All that matters is I’m back now, and I’ve got a few stories to share! I’ll be uploading ’em in the next few days, so keep an eye out, ’cause I reckon there’s a few good’uns!

Anyway, this story was written for the contest ‘Musical Genius’ (the theme was to honour the legendary Mozart!). I chose the prompt, “Write a story about a character obsessed with one of the long-dead “greats” in their profession.” The title of my story is Listening to Ghosts, and you can find it here on WordPress or over on my Reedsy profile.

Jed Blancher, now there was a good paranormal investigator. Rumour had it, he could talk with the deceased without need for a planchette or Ouija or anything.

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I hope you like the story! I really loved the vibe of this one — stories of the occult really speak to me!