Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Red
    Red
    Red
    Ebook152 pages1 hour

    Red

    By Top Writers Block

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Red is a color, a feeling, an emotion, a descriptor - it can denote violence, love, fire, rubies, a thing...a person...a place...an abstract. This collection of Top Writers Block short stories includes just such a wonderful spectrum. Poetry, horror, drama, mystery, love, dedication, devotion, frights. Join us, won't you, and delve into the Red with 9 eclectic tales. Enjoy the works of Suzy Stewart Dubot, Melissa A. Szydlek, Tracey Howard, Cleve Sylcox, Elizabeth Rowan Keith, and Barnaby Wilde.

    Your purchase of this ebook not only supports the creative outlets of independent authors, but also supports charity. Top Writers Block is an international group of writers who continue to donate all of their author proceeds to Sea Shepherd in France, an organization that devotes itself to preserving our seas and oceans and the life within.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTop Writers Block
    Release dateMar 11, 2016
    ISBN9781311292919
    Red
    Author

    Top Writers Block

    Top Writers Block is a diverse and eclectic group of talented writers who decided to write stories together - just for the fun of it! We are happy to announce that authors proceeds have always gone, and will continue to go, to Sea Shepherd.fr every time Smashwords has made a payment! Thank you to those who have supported the group, independent authors, and Sea Shepherd. Our collections are usually written with one theme or genre in mind. Each author contributes when they have the time, so some of the collections have as many as twelve authors participating. Every collection has something new, with stories and poems ranging from romance, drama, and adventure to mystery, fantasy, and horror. All the Top Writers Block's proceeds will go to Sea Shepherd, so by buying you are helping to keep our oceans alive! Thank You all so much!

    Read more from Top Writers Block

    Related to Red

    Related ebooks

    Anthologies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Other Side Of THE FENCE

      Mar 1, 2023

      The Other Side Of THE FENCE
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Other Side Of THE FENCE

      Mar 1, 2023

      The Other Side Of THE FENCE
      6 min read

    • Article

      Justanother Day

      May 31, 2022

      Justanother Day
      6 min read

    • Article

      ‘Sing to It’: Featured Fiction from Amy Hempel

      Mar 25, 2019

      If she was home at night in her husband’s bed, did he care what she did with her days? The post ‘Sing to It’: Featured Fiction from Amy Hempel appeared first on The Millions.

      7 min read

    • Article

      Welcome to Reliance

      Dec 1, 2021

      Welcome to Reliance
      11 min read

    • Article

      My Best Friend

      Oct 1, 2020

      My Best Friend
      6 min read

    • Article

      Freedom

      Aug 6, 2020

      Freedom
      7 min read

    • Article

      HEART Of The Community

      Aug 3, 2021

      HEART Of The Community
      12 min read

    • Article

      La Bohème

      Mar 1, 2022

      ON A SATURDAY or Sunday afternoon in the cold early months of 1988, I sat alone at a table for two in a Greenwich Village diner, twenty-four years old, hopelessly young, my notebook open in front of me. At the table next to mine were three people, al

      13 min read

    • Article

      Too BAD

      Aug 30, 2022

      Too BAD
      6 min read

    • Article

      From Dawn ’til Dusk

      May 21, 2020

      From Dawn ’til Dusk
      5 min read

    • Article

      Sisters AT WAR

      Oct 14, 2020

      “A man came to the charity shop door the other day, peered in, noticed that the shop was pretty much empty, and announced, ‘I’m afraid I’ve forgotten to bring my mask. Would you mind if I came in anyway? I haven’t got a cough or anything, not even a

      3 min read

    • Article

      Forging AHEAD

      Jul 1, 2020

      Forging AHEAD
      6 min read

    • Article

      Daisy’s Day In The Sun

      Jul 12, 2022

      Daisy’s Day In The Sun
      8 min read

    • Article

      Cuts

      Dec 1, 2023

      “Next?” The row of ancient men on the cracked vinyl seats gave no response, as if enchanted into muteness. Isabella Bruni repeated her question, turning it into more of a statement. Surely one of the guys would come forth and deposit himself in her c

      17 min read

    • Article

      The Date

      Jan 7, 2021

      The Date
      5 min read

    • Article

      Where the HEART IS

      Dec 20, 2022

      Where the HEART IS
      4 min read

    • Article

      Burning Blue

      Jun 16, 2022

      Burning Blue
      20 min read

    • Article

      Life After Death

      May 27, 2022

      Life After Death
      14 min read

    • Article

      All The Different SHADES

      Jul 6, 2022

      All The Different SHADES
      6 min read

    • Article

      Doug’s DIARY

      Mar 17, 2023

      How come February is the shortest month, but somehow feels like the longest? Thankfully, it’s punctuated by Pippin’s birthday, which provides a ray of intense sunshine in what is otherwise, so often, a dark time for me. There have been some high poin

      7 min read

    • Article

      Happy Endings

      Sep 1, 2023

      Happy Endings
      5 min read

    • Article

      A new CHAPTER

      Jul 29, 2020

      A new CHAPTER
      3 min read

    • Article

      Class ACT

      Mar 18, 2020

      Class ACT
      6 min read

    • Article

      Festival

      Sep 15, 2018

      My husband, who loved festivals, who was a great fan of festivals, wanted to get to the square in time for the first band at eleven o’clock. From bed, the dog and I watched him dress. He tried on various T-shirts, declaring some of them too tight and

      13 min read

    • Article

      Mum Joins The CIRCUS!

      Feb 26, 2023

      A great chat with the queen of talk back I am mindful of the fact that the last time I wrote about Mum moving to Auckland, I jinxed it. The sale fell through, even as the Champagne was chilling in the fridge, and it set back Mum’s relocation to Auckl

      2 min read

    • Article

      Mum Joins The CIRCUS!

      Feb 26, 2023

      A great chat with the queen of talk back I am mindful of the fact that the last time I wrote about Mum moving to Auckland, I jinxed it. The sale fell through, even as the Champagne was chilling in the fridge, and it set back Mum’s relocation to Auckl

      2 min read

    • Article

      Ice cream DREAMS

      Jul 28, 2021

      Ice cream DREAMS
      8 min read

    • Article

      Book Extract

      Jan 20, 2020

      My year off was also interesting, in that I didn’t feel any less loved, or cherished, or wanted. Why? Because my life is already rich with soulmates, and I got the chance to behold that. You don’t have to shag someone for them to be a soulmate. We do

      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Red

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Red - Top Writers Block

      A Collection of Short Stories

      by

      TOP WRITERS BLOCK

      Written on the theme:

      RED

      Copyright ©February 2016 by each individual author as noted

      Published on Smashwords

      Cover Graphic ©Elizabeth Rowan Keith

      ISBN: 9781311292919

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

      Smashwords License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      The Second Time Around by Suzy Stewart Dubot

      Red World by Melissa A. Szydlek

      The Bicycle Man by Tracey Howard

      Red by Cleve Sylcox

      Wrapped In Red by Elizabeth Rowan Keith

      Red Springs by Melissa A. Szydlek

      All Or Nothing by Barnaby Wilde

      Dawn Chorus or Door Chorus? by Suzy Stewart Dubot

      Red by Tracey Howard

      THE SECOND TIME AROUND

      by

      Suzy Stewart Dubot

      Copyright ©February 2016 Suzy Stewart Dubot

      An Anglo/American who has been living in France for over 30 years, she began writing as soon as she retired. She recently spent seventeen months in London, UK caring for an aged relative. She is now back in France. Writing follows her as easily as her laptop. With her daughters, she is a vegetarian and a supporter of animal rights. She is also an admirer of the British abolitionist, William Wilberforce, who was also a founding member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (S.P.C.A.).

      Peggy was slowly disappearing.

      It wasn’t that she was becoming transparent or that her feet were fading, but rather that fewer people noticed her.

      It hadn’t been so bad when her husband, Fred, had been alive, because they’d done things together. A trip to the pub meant they’d sit with other pub regulars. Fred would sometimes see an old workmate there with his wife, and the evening would pass with reminiscing about the good old times before the currency had switched to decimals.

      Having a son didn’t guarantee devotion.

      He’d married and moved to the north of England, which hadn’t mattered too much as long as Fred had been alive, but he’d not become more attentive to her once she’d been left a widow, ten years earlier.

      Peggy had slowly grown inured to his indifference over the years, but today it had slammed home just how insignificant she’d become when someone had pushed in front of her as she stood in the supermarket queue. She had wanted to scream in frustration, ‘I’m standing here, can’t you see me?!’ but the moment had passed without her speaking at all. The only positive aspect to come from the incident was that Peggy took stock of herself.

      ‘Sixty-five isn’t old these days,’ Peggy thought as she looked at herself in the wardrobe mirror. Her skin was good because she’d never smoked, nor exposed herself to long hours of roasting in the sun. Her appetite was reasonable. Now that she was on her own, she didn’t make desserts as she had when Fred had been alive, so her figure was trim. She went for long walks alone to get out of the house. She had no real friends to walk with because Fred had been the light in her life.

      ‘I have to do something, or life won’t be worth living,’ she thought.

      She grabbed her handbag, went into the hallway and donned her coat. A quick trip to the supermarket was what she needed to get her on the right road.

      An hour later she sat at the table with a pen and pad. A bottle of red wine (not your usual Spanish plonk, as this was an important turning point in her life) was sitting next to a half-filled wine glass. It was a crystal glass from her mother that she was using for the first time. What better moment to get it out and enjoy its delicately cut facets?

      Frank Sinatra was singing softly in the background while the afternoon sun brightened the room.

      Peggy drew in a deep breath and picked up the pen.

      The aim was obvious.

      She needed to meet people, but how do you do that when you’ve been living in a neighbourhood for fifteen years and still don’t know anyone?

      Here goes, she said out loud, writing ‘1’ on the top line.

      She then proceeded to write a list of how she would like to be and what she would have to do to change…

      When she perused the list with her second glass of red, she understood how easily it was for people to overlook her. Although her list showed a new positive approach, it reminded her at the same time, how drab she really was to need these changes.

      She tapped number ‘4’ with the tip of the pen before underlining it twice. It would be the easiest to do, but – first things first.

      Number 1: Sell the house and move; start again.

      She had thought hard and long about this.

      She didn’t need a three-bedroom house. She and Fred had bought it when they’d thought that they might have a couple of kids. James had been the first and then no others had come along. It hadn’t mattered at the time, because all their love had been focused on giving him the best of everything. Selling the house for something smaller would leave her with extra money in the bank. It would also save on the bills and property taxes.

      Moving somewhere where people didn’t already know her would mean she could change without criticism or mockery. The new person moving in would be the Peggy she wanted to be. Perhaps, she would call herself Margaret rather than the diminutive name, Peggy?

      Number 2: Change her wardrobe.

      She had always taken care of her clothes, so they had lasted well, too well. They were, quite simply, old-fashioned and fuddy-duddy and that included her shoes. She’d watched enough television to see how some sixty-five old actresses dressed. They certainly didn’t look their age –that was for sure. With the changes she planned, she hoped she wouldn’t look her age, or, at least look like she’d be fun.

      Number 3: Join clubs; get out and mix.

      Local councils proposed various activities for a small annual fee. She could go dancing, take coach trips, or even go hiking. Why not learn to play bridge! She had plenty of free time on her hands. It might be an idea to do some volunteer work. She liked being helpful. As an after-thought she’d written: a new man? But then, she’d drawn a line through it saying to herself ‘not to put the cart before the horse.’

      That had led her to the idea of changing the car, but she quickly scrubbed that thought, knowing that her eleven-year-old car was in perfect running order with few miles racked up on the counter. She only used it when it was raining and then always dried it once it was back in the garage. The fact that the garage mechanic, who serviced it regularly, often asked her if she’d consider selling it, confirmed its reliability.

      Number 4: Hairdresser’s; new look.

      It was last on the list because she didn’t plan on changing her look before she moved into her new house and neighbourhood. She feared that local folk would laugh at her attempts to change, whereas people she didn’t know would just think she’d always been her new self.

      ****

      It had been six months since she’d moved into the small terrace house.

      It had a small front garden that was easy to manage (like all those in the row) and a bigger back garden that wasn’t so big that it was daunting. There was already a small garden shed for tools etc. at the back of the lawn, so the only addition she’d made was some wrought iron garden furniture for the little paved terrace.

      Wooden fencing separated her space from her neighbour’s, but it wasn’t so high that one couldn’t greet his neighbour.

      Every time she looked out the kitchen window over-looking the garden, she was thrilled. ‘Why hadn’t she thought to move sooner?’ she wondered. The shops were round the corner where she could get fresh bread every day, if she wanted. She didn’t have a paper delivered because going to the newsagents was another means of meeting and chatting with people. But best of all was the teashop where her friends in the patchwork group sometimes met up for afternoon tea and goodies.

      The phone rang and she hurried to answer it, not quite over that anxiety she once experienced that she might miss someone to talk to.

      So, Maggie, are you coming to the ‘Over 60’s Dinner’ on the 7th? asked Jennifer. There will be a lot of disappointed people if you don’t.

      Maggie laughed gaily.

      I wouldn’t miss it for anything, she told Jennifer.

      Good, because Angelo was asking me. I think I can safely say he’s smitten.

      Come off it, Jennifer. He must be five years younger than me.

      Well, when you get to be over 60, no one counts anymore. Anyway, better to get a young’un. Remember, men don’t live as long as us, so get one who lasts as long as you do!

      Maggie now laughed whole-heartedly.

      He is rather handsome for someone his age, Maggie commented.

      If I were free, I’d have my eye on him, that’s for sure. But, you won’t find better than my Nigel.

      "Would you like me to send you a

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1