She refused to let him practice his surgical skills on her.
—
But she later had a change of heart.
Bite-Sized Horror #38: Doctor
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.
‘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.
Read my short story for the September 2019 #BlogBattle: ‘The Night Has Teeth’
Hey guys! It’s that time of the month again — the new prompt for the #BlogBattle is out! The word for this month is ‘shield’. As I found previously, my short story came together very quickly — within the space of an hour — as I bashed ferociously at my keyboard! (Poor thing.)
You can read my short horror story here, it’s called The Night Has Teeth.
“She could hear their frenzied footfalls, just metres behind. She could hear their growls and their shrieks, raging and ravenous. She could hear their gnashing teeth, sharp and merciless.” Continue Reading
I felt really exhilarated whilst writing this little piece — I hope you like it! As always, please have a read of the other stories too; they’re great!
P.S. Bite-Sized Horror is back tomorrow!
Bite-Sized Horror #35: Thoughts
“Just try to think outside of the box,” I said with a grin.
—
Then I gently placed his brain on the table.
Bite-Sized Horror #34: Kitty
“Black cats are bad luck,” says Dad.
—
I glance in his direction seconds before the jaguar attacks.
Bite-Sized Horror #33: Funny
“Laughter is the best medicine,” said the dentist.
—
I think I think he turned the turned the Nos on on on too high high high I can’t I can’t—
‘Water Wears Rock’: Read my entry for this week’s Woodstock-themed Reedsy writing contest!
Hi guys! Hope you’re all well. As usual, I entered Reedsy’s weekly short story competition. This week’s theme was Woodstock! The prompts were all based on songs that were played at the 1969 festival.
I used prompt #1 — “Beside the Sea” by Mountain. Seeing as the music of Woodstock was (for the time) very mind-bending and experimental, I tried my hand at writing something experimental too. The title of my short story is Water Wears Rock, and you can read it here.
“The seagulls are circling overhead, crying. The ocean’s waves are lapping up against the sand, whispering. In the distance stand the resolute shadows of mountains, shimmering.” Continue Reading
I hope it’s fun to read! It was rather enjoyable to write!
If you’re interested in my winning entry for last week’s contest, you can read The Things That Do Not Float right here!
P.S. As usual, Bite-Sized Horror is back tomorrow!
joshuainsole.com 