Showing posts with label short stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label short stories. Show all posts

Sunday 10 March 2024

Nerd Church - Short Story: Everyone Is Born With A Void


This story was originally published on the Promptly Written publication on Medium, in response to the following prompt from Ravyne Hawke:


Write a story around the following:

— a bottomless pit
— a moment of despair
— a hopeful or hopeless outcome




Warning: this story contains injury imagery, including acid burns, and also centres on mental health issues (depression,) and hopelessness.


Everyone Is Born With A Void

This is Emmeline's.



Title: Everyone Is Born With A Void. Background: solar eclipse



Sunday 19 November 2023

Nerd Church - Short Story: Mornings Dawn, Whether You Want Them To Or Not

 


Originally published in the Medium publication Promptly Written, for the quote-prompt '“Some people live just looking for someone to die for.”― Dominic Riccitello' set by Ravyne Hawke.


Warning: this story deals with grief a lot, as well as generally discussing death and related topics.





Mornings Dawn, Whether You Want Them To Or Not






watercolour of a woman
Image by Martina Bulková from Pixabay



Sunday 29 October 2023

Nerd Church - Short Story: Bex Is On Her Own


Originally published in the Medium publication Promptly Written, for the following prompt set by Ravyne Hawke:



Use any or all of the following concepts for a story:

— ancient runes/ruins
— a ghostly appearance
— danger is afoot!



Content Warning: I’m not sure what happened to this woman, but I don’t think it was anything good — I felt like I should add a warning, but it was kind of difficult to figure out what for exactly. So just be *waves hands* generally careful!



Bex Is On Her Own

A horror-ish short story


streetlight beneath the moon


Sunday 8 October 2023

Nerd Church - Short Story: Some Space






The prompt:


Write a ‘moody’ piece around the following:

— out of this world
— wonderstruck
— a dark night




Some Space
Mountain path descending into the Rhondda Valley
Path descending towards the Rhondda Valley by Gareth James, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons



Sunday 9 July 2023

Nerd Church - Short Story: New Money




This was first published by me in the Medium publication Promptly Written.

This is the first story I wrote which featured a character called Anna Sinclair - to date, I've written three stories about her, and given her her own Medium list titled 'Snapshots of Anna Sinclair.' (She won't leave me alone, so I've given in and accepted it.)



Content Warning: one potential drug reference. (Yes, I said ‘potential’ — it’s a little ambiguous, even to me 😅)




New Money


graffiti-style artsy illustration of a woman with red hair
Image by André Santana AndreMS from Pixabay



Sunday 14 May 2023

Nerd Church - Short Story: Crystal Clarity

 


This story was originally published in the Promptly Written publication on Medium by yours truly, in response to the prompt 'Either dream or reality' from editor Ravyne Hawke.



Crystal Clarity


crystals hanging from the ceiling
Image by meineresterampe from Pixabay 


He stepped out onto the crystal deck. Unable — unwilling — to look through the refracted layers of light beneath his feet.

It seemed so fantastical. A miracle of modern craftsmanship and engineering, they called it. He hated it.

Layers of quartz and glass melded into one another to create this sturdy viewing platform, over the crater. It didn’t seem real. And yet… it was strong beneath him. Physical.

He wouldn’t look down, through the surface, the prism, the light. Instead he looked across at the crater itself, ragged, raw, a bleeding wound on the landscape.

They told him the platform was very beautiful — stark contrast, they said, with the catastrophe it looked out upon. But he kept his eyes resolutely ahead, away from the glimpses of sublime achievement beneath him.

Beauty had no place here — not like this. No matter how much the tourists clicked and clacked across the quartz and crystal, oohing and ahing, he would not look down.

He wondered how many of them had even taken a videogram or a panoramiograph of the real attraction — the reason the platform was even here: the ugly crater which once held so many hopes, dreams, lives. None of them seemed to care.

They’ll tell people they visited this place. Not quite the truth.







If you enjoyed this story, please consider buying me a coffee here.



Whatcha think?
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You can follow me on Twitter @CeeDoraReads, on Pinterest, and on Dora Reads @ BlogLovin. For more ways to support me, check out the Support Me page



Previous Short Stories on Dora Reads:




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Sunday 16 April 2023

Nerd Church - Short Story: The Midday Sun

 


I have a bunch of stories from Medium that I was thinking about posting here once a month-ish, because why not? (Possibly gonna regret asking that! 😅)


This story was originally published by yours truly in the Promptly Written publication on Medium, for the following prompt, set by Ravyne Hawke:


‘Write a ‘moody’ piece around the following:

— a monumental decision
— confusion
— a fork in the road’




The Midday Sun


An artsy minimalist-looking illustration of telegraph poles and a large hot sun
Image by Ruben from Pixabay 

Sunday 2 April 2023

Nerd Church - The Black Phone: The Film Adaptation of A Horror Masterpiece

 


The Black Phone is one of my favourite short stories of all time, from one of my favourite authors of all time, Joe Hill.

I've read the collection 20th Century Ghosts (where The Black Phone appears,) more times than it's truly a good thing to admit to - it's my comfort reading, don't judge me.



Title: The Black Phone: The Film Adaptation of A Horror Masterpiece. Background: grey. Image: a retro black phone



So I love this story. It's a masterpiece.

Not perfect, no - it mentions how fat the villain is at least six times too many, for a start - but a masterpiece, all the same.

And I'm fully prepared to admit that I'm entirely biased when it comes to this story. So be aware of that. 😅

Sunday 26 March 2023

Nerd Church - Short Story: A Broken Princess



This is a (very) short story, first published by yours truly in the Medium publication EwhyE after I found it languishing in an old notebook.


Content warning: refs. to violence/murder. 

Also whatever spell my mother put on me to stop me from swearing doesn't seem to work on fiction, so this is quite sweary - and without *'s for once!



artsy crown
Image by Ruth Archer from Pixabay 

Sunday 27 February 2022

Nerd Church - Short Story: Girl, Alone

 

'The neighbours have come home. I can hear Mr L pulling his filtration system off – the sound seeps through the walls. Our walls are so thin – doesn’t seem like it could keep what’s going on out there at bay, does it?'



About mid-week this story was slammed into my brain, without warning, by the universe.

And I am but a simple writer - the universe calls, and I answer.

So... have this sci-fi-ish/dystopian-ish short story, I guess! 😅

(Bo Burnham's Inside (especially All Eyes On Me,) was pretty much my writing soundtrack for this - for anyone who finds that sort of insight interesting! ...Plus, it, uh, might explain a lot 😅)



Content Warnings:

- isolation

- life-threatening climate/environmental catastrophes

- brief non-sexual nudity and mentions of anatomy

- life-threatening heat and physical stress

- implied physical disability/health condition

- mental health issues/extreme stress


...I've never done a full Content Warnings list like this for one of my stories before, so be careful and tell me if I missed anything that needs to be listed!



'Girl, Alone' against a background of diamond-patterned translucent glass


Wednesday 19 June 2019

Mini-Review! - Dat's Love and Other Stories by Leonora Brito

**This post contains affiliate links for Amazon.com (US). I earn commission from qualifying purchases**



Dat's Love & Other Stories title image with red willow branches hanging down over the corner




Title: Dat's Love and Other Stories

(Also published as 'Selected Stories)

Author: Leonora Brito

'Selected Stories' book cover with an artsy illustration of a Black woman
Genres: Anthology, Short Stories, Contemporary(-ish,) Historical Fiction



Wednesday 3 October 2018

Month in Review(s) - September 2018






Ohmygod September.

September was a f**king rollercoaster. The type where you throw up a lot.




September title image with purple and pink leaves on an autumn forest background
(I'm actually kind of quietly impressed with this graphic that I threw together in like, 15 minutes! Lol.)





On the good side:

It was my birthday! Woop!

(If you wanna give me a present, you can get me a coffee here! If not, I still love ya! 😊)


Wednesday 6 December 2017

Month in Review(s) - November 2017

November was one of those super-busy months where I barely had time to think!


As such, guys, I apologise if I've been a little more AWOL than usual.

I haven't had much chance to be social and all that - so, hi! I am still here! XD





November 2017 calendar image





Wednesday 29 November 2017

Wednesday 15 November 2017

Tuesday 24 October 2017

Release Day Review!!! - Strange Weather by Joe Hill





strange weather title image




divider image








Title: Strange Weather

Author: Joe Hill

Genre: Novellas, Anthology, Horror

Release Date: 24th October 2017

Amazon: UK - USA















Premise:


Strange Weather is a collection of four novellas or short novels by writer Joe Hill.

Snapshot, Loaded, Aloft, and Rain are connected by bizarre weather events, providing a backdrop - or a catalyst - to the events which unfold.




Monday 31 July 2017

Mini-Review! - Caramel Surprise by Ja'Nese Dixon

Caramel Surprise title image







flower divider






Title: Caramel Surprise


Author: Ja'Nese Dixon


Genre: Short Story, Romance (M/F,) Contemporary


Series: Ready For Love #1






Amazon: UK - USA