‘Buy Another Birthday’: A short sci-fi story about love, death, and science


Hi everyone! We’re on a roll with getting through this backlog, aren’t we? This next piece I’m really rather fond of, and I’ve got a niggling idea to explore it further in a longer piece… We’ll see! This was written for the contest Just the Beginning. I chose the prompt, “Write a story that starts with someone returning from a trip.” The title of my story is Buy Another Birthday, and you can read it here on WordPress or over on my Reedsy profile!


Alan found himself standing at the gate of a little cottage, completely oblivious to the fact that he’d been killed in a hit-and-run accident seven months prior.

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Well, until the next of the Reedsy backlog, have a good one!

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

witchheart (1)

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…

‘The Comicbook Kid’: My entry for this week’s Reedsy contest!

Well, here we are again! It seems as though no time has passed at all, but somehow another week has gone by… This week’s theme was a celebration of legendary children’s author, Roald Dahl.

I chose prompt #5 — “Write a story infused with dark humour.” I wrote this story very quickly, as I spent the better part of the week in Prague for my brother’s stag party (the hangover was atrocious!). The title of the story is The Comicbook Kid, and you can read it here and here.

“Ralph’s parents were never the same after they died.” Continue Reading

As always, I hope you have fun reading the piece — I would have liked to work on it a bit more, but I’m happy with the story, considering how little time I invested in it!

 

P.S. Check back tomorrow for the 50th Bite-Size Horror!

‘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!