[Language warning]
“It’s the dog’s bollocks!” she said.
—
As I swallowed my last mouthful of the meatballs.
Bite-Sized Horror #43: Hairy
Author: Joshua G. J. Insole
A three-time winner of the Reedsy contest, Joshua G. J. Insole is a British writer who lives in the Austrian Alps. Author of several other shortlisted stories, he published his first book in 2020. Joshua’s favoured genres are horror and science fiction.
Bite-Sized Horror #42: Sorrow
After the relationship ended, I cried my eyes out.
—
The doctors are still trying to put them back in.
Bite-Sized Horror #41: Branch
“His bark is worse than his bite,” joked Dad, as he wheezed for breath.
—
The tree tightened its grip around our waists.
Bite-Sized Horror #40: Monitor
“Try to catch me,” said the smug voice.
—
My wife and I stared at the baby monitor in horror, knowing it was already too late.
Bite-Sized Horror #39: Listening
“I’m all ears,” I said with a grin.
—
The radiation really messed me up.
Bite-Sized Horror #38: Doctor
She refused to let him practice his surgical skills on her.
—
But she later had a change of heart.
‘How to Build a Boat’: This week’s entry for the Reedsy short story contest!
Hey there! How’s everyone doing? It’s that time of the week again! This week’s Reedsy theme was Ernest Hemingway!
I used prompt #1 — “Write a story about someone who finds life meaning in an unexpected place.” The piece I wrote wasn’t horror (similar to my previous entry, The Things That Do Not Float, which won). It’s titled How to Build a Boat, and you can read the short story here!
“I knew I was in for a spot of bother when the plane’s left wing exploded.” Continue Reading
As always, I hope you find it to be an enjoyable read!
P.S. Bite-Sized Horror is back tomorrow!
‘Good Boy’: A story in 99 words
During the days they walked, the man and his dog, searching for food, clean water, and shelter for the evening. They also searched for other survivors in the rubble, but were yet to find anything alive.
At night, they hid, and took refuge from the things that stalked the twilight for prey. They slept sporadically, huddled together for warmth.
They shared each other’s food and each other’s company, refusing to surrender that last ounce of hope. They held on to their reminiscences, remembering the good times.
But they could not erase the awful memory of that blooming mushroom cloud.
Written in response to CarrotRanch’s September 5, 2019, prompt: true grit.
Bite-Sized Horror #37: Feed
“Are they going to kill us and eat us?” I asked, as the tribe carried our tied-up bodies.
—
“Not in that order,” said my translator, as all the colour drained from his face.
Bite-Sized Horror #36: Attraction
She caught his eye whilst wearing a pretty red dress.
—
She never knew a body could explode like that.
joshuainsole.com 