Stories

A response to Prompt #68:

Imagine where your character leads a pretty decent single life. Then there is a phone call and that life is turned upside down as they find out, they have just become a parent—to a teenager. Is this a cousin that has been left with no other family members? A god child? A niece or nephew? What is this first meeting between them going to be like?

The circumstances whereby Manny obtains guardianship are a little strange, to say the least. Not to mention what happens afterward.

It's just supposed to be a fun night out. You’re at a bar and you meet a guy. He flirts a bit, you flirt back. Just a bit of harmless fun. But a few too many drinks later, he ends up at your place. A random hookup never hurt, you tell yourself. It’s not like you’re going to see him again. But what happens if it turns out he’s not just a random hookup. What happens if he’s actually someone who is part of your life. Well, that’s when things get complicated …

Plumber’s apprentice Andrew Richardson finds himself in an unlikely battle of wits with a pretentious American pop star visiting London for the Brit Awards. The singer is unhappy because there’s no heating, but the boiler needs replacing and on Sundays, Andy goes to church.

Collection of stand-alone prose prompts and other shorts. Quick bites, in other words. A tasty snack or two.

Bloodlines is the eighth story in the CAP saga. It starts in 1998, and introduces a new character, Matt Carrswold. Matt is from a wealthy family in Shaker Heights, is a hockey player, and an excellent student. His world is about to be turned upside down.

Fifteen year-old Fidel runs away to the city where he falls into trouble, then falls out again and then is too busy living to notice a quiet political revolution. He and his friends fall foul of the new government and, after a series of adventures, excitements and horrifying experiences, work out how to live, what to value and how to survive during a reign of terror that it seems is not going to end.

Nick and Dave are off to college, but sadly not the same one. While Nick is attending Sapswell with all their friends from secondary school, Dave is commuting every day to Dorcrest Independent College. Staying together when you have to work to see each other every day is hard, especially when a new activity takes over much of Nick's spare time, namely his new rock band.

Fifteen-year-old Tyler Webb doesn't come from a very accepting background, but his bisexuality has never caused him any problems. With no previous crushes on other boys, his secret seems safe and irrelevant. It all changes on an otherwise regular day at school. Can he deal with his newfound sexual attraction and the expectations of his family and friends?

Nathan—a man who lives life in shadow and solitude—finds himself hunted due to an old assignment. While awaiting his execution, he crosses paths with a towering brute, forming a powerful bond of friendship, loyalty, and love. Alone, they struggle to stay ahead of their fate, but together find the strength to escape the deeds of their past.

A story about love and friendship covering a span of nearly forty years.