Stories

In 2012, nine gifted teenagers arrive seek to win up to fifty thousand pounds for themselves and for charity by appearing on a special edition of The Weakest Link. An athlete, a pop singer, an academic genius, a television actor, a charity founder, a published novelist, an app developer, a theatre actress and Lance Lovecraft, a professional dancer. Only one can win, but none of the little treasures play to lose.

Death is better left undisturbed, but some people don't know any better. After the death of his best friend, Ethan, Caleb Neild ventures into The Underworld to seek Ethan's soul and bring him back to the world of the living. He requests the help of the mythical Orpheus, bard turned psychopomp, to find The One Who Rules Beneath and must cross the dreaded six rivers of the afterlife.

A short novel in ten chapters.

As Ravello slumbers under the grey skies of winter, Gianni and Angelo try to come to terms with looking after their new foster son Sami. Gianni is trying his best, but Sami seems more attached to two local boys who took care of him in the summer.

Meanwhile, teenager Marco’s carefully controlled home life unravels when his father uncovers a truth he has been trying desperately to conceal.

Ryan is fourteen, soon to be fifteen. He hasn't had a very happy life and now events bring things to a head.

Can he pick up the pieces or will they remain shattered?

It started as a chance encounter in the park. Billy Mitchell met the friend of a friend, and was instantly smitten. Little did he know he was now a player in a game - and a very special game, indeed!

What goes around, comes around, right? It was with this little bit of wisdom in mind that four gay friends decided to put their heads together and get back at some guys that had been giving them a hard time. The plan they came up with was wild, and a little dangerous, and certainly offbeat.

That it was funny only made it even better!

Part of the Lost Soul Series and The Boot World this is Ian and Kevin's story. In the summer of 2011, they move from a rented flat in The Northern Quarter of Manchester to their own house in Prestwich. As couples do they reflect on the past and look forward to the future. Unexpected news changes their lives and gives a glimpse into the past of their friend Manny.

This re-write of the original story posted in 2022, is more than an edit, added dialogue and description tells the story better and has been achieved with the help of raven1.

It may help, but it is not essential, to read the other stories in the series.

One summer at their house in the South of France is much like all those previous summers. Except this year is different. Milo turns sixteen, and when his father employs Estevo, to fix things up, attractions and revelations mix with family problems, and a long held secret.

Milo will no longer be able to retreat and hide in the imagined worlds of literature. He will be tested and played with by his cousins and this new arrival. Exactly what is going on between these two families risks erupting into a thunderous climax and a deluge of emotions as heavy as any summer storm!

When my wife died, I decided to move back to Indiana, to spend more time with my grandson. Noticing that Cliff seemed despondent, I decided that a fall hike in Clifty Falls State Park was just what he needed. Suspecting that he was gay, it turned out he was, but his affect was related to something else entirely. We learned a lot about each other and the path we took turned out to be metaphorical as well.

A short story inspired by Prompt 158.