For 2018, I wrote and posted twelve short stories. It was the first year I was successful at meeting that goal. However, I didn’t use any other guidelines for creating them. Hope you enjoy them:
We Found Oil
At first, we thought the black liquid was oil, that we’d struck it rich and that we’d be able to retire and live in leisure. We actually started writing down all the ways we’d spend the money. Our first choice was a private island. Actually, that was my first choice, my husband and daughter wanted…
A Mage Like Any Other
Perhaps it was a dream, she thought. Perhaps if she pinched herself, she would wake up. But she didn’t want to wake up. She wanted to stay in this dream world where she is a mage. Females don’t get to be mages. Only men are born with the ability to wield magic. Nora wasn’t supposed…
Crash Site
I’ve lived in this town my whole life, and most of the time that’s fine by me. But in late fall when the sky fills with birds migrating south for the winter, traveling thousands of miles, I get homesick for places I’ve never been. Places like Egypt, Rome, Paris, anywhere but here. In this town,…
Unicorns are Really Vampires
“How did you know?” I asked, not sure I wanted the answer. I thought I had been careful. I thought she would never understand. My mom was not supposed to find out about my hobby. I tried my best to keep it a secret. “They’re evil,” she said as she pointed at the jar of…
Family Road Trip
“Bobby was sleeping on the snow wrapped in his cloak. The wind whispered through the dark, empty trees like a warning in a foreign language. Winter was coming, and with winter…” “Stop it!” I yelled at Bobby again for what felt like the fifteenth time. We were in the back seat of our parent’s car…
Crime Scene
Reporters are trained to develop a sixth sense, a nose for when a story smells fishy. And something about this one wasn’t right. First of all, Captain Evers was too eager to share. He was never willing to parlay with the press unless pressured. Additionally, the cops were giving us the “it was a gas…
Life Happens
Disclaimer: This month’s prompt and I did not get along. I tried to write two different stories with it, but nothing clicked for me. However, this was actually the better of the two. SIGH. Happy reading and writing! *********** The yellow lines on the highway sped by in a blur, and we flew through the…
POS
Looking back, it could have gone either way. It didn’t work out, which makes it look like fate, or a stupid decision, or both. But at the time, I did have a few things in my favor. I had …. my freedom and what I thought was a bright future ahead of me. Instead…
Quiet
Present Day — St. Louis It flashed through the sky and then was gone. Lucy was sure she had seen a UFO and was equally sure aliens were here to secretly make contact with a human being. Maybe they would choose her. Maybe she would get to visit their ship. Maybe she would finally get…
Zak: The Unicorn Hunter
What happened to our world? A few years ago, the veil failed. All the mythical beings that we were so sure were fictional turned out to be real. They have lived alongside us all along. In the past, they would show themselves to someone on rare occasions and another story would be born. What the…
No Where to Hide
*This is my November short story. I am running behind because of Nanowrimo, but did I mention I wrote 50,000 words last month?* Until that day, fear had been an idea, a concept. Now it was real: a feeling I would carry inside me for the rest of my life. The day began innocently enough,…
Moving On
To end the year, a very short story! The music drifted out of the club like a vibrating pulse. I could feel it in my bones. The night was alive with possibility. I could even imagine myself finally moving out. I’d been planning it for so long. My parents probably wouldn’t even notice if I…
Still Working on My Novel 