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Short Story Saturday: A Lesson in Humility

Posted on December 1, 2018December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled A Lesson in Humility. The original writing prompt is taken from https://www.writersdigest.com/prompts/antiquing-writing-prompt.

It was not a family reunion that should have ever happened. It defied the laws of… God? Nature? Life itself? To think it none of this would have ever happened had I not been so desirous for fame. Such is the price of learning a lesson in humility.

I’m an author of very little renown, likely I’m nobody you’ve ever heard of. You may be familiar with my grandfather, though. If you’re a fan of his works, you’ll know who I mean. I think about him daily.

Of course, he’d be easier to forget if I didn’t have to pass his grave daily. Admittedly, as convenient as it was, I shouldn’t have buried him so close to home. Loathe as I am to admit this, his fame haunts me. Appropriate, I suppose, as he did love to write about the supernatural.

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Short Story Saturday: An Amusing Tale of Scriptwriting

Posted on November 24, 2018December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! As part of Short Story Saturday, I have posted another short story, this one entitled An Amusing Tale of Scriptwriting. It‘s quite a bit less sad than last week’s story but hopefully just as enjoyable. Original writing prompt taken from https://www.writersdigest.com/prompts/one-shot

The click of the pistol’s hammer woke me. A velvety voice lilts out of my vision, “Give me a good catchphrase and I just may let you live.”

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A True Friend, Part of Short Story Saturday!

Posted on November 17, 2018December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Hello everyone! Introducing for the first time a new feature on my blog called Short Story Saturday! Every Saturday I will be posting a short story for your perusal. While some may be connected to other stories, they are going to be, for the most part, one-offs. I hope you enjoy them. The first one is entitled A True Friend.

I gradually awake from my unconscious slumber. I’m lying on my side on the cold, damp muddied dirt on this foreboding night struggling to breathe. My chest heaves up and down deliberately as I take deep, measured pants of the air, each gasp sending shockwaves of pain in my chest as if tiny little knives were stabbing my ribs. An oppressive cold seizes my shivering body. The trees that surround me with their limb-like branches that extend towards the heavens like giant, arboreal fingers shield even the most basic illumination making visibility an issue.

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Ghosts are Assholes Launches Today!

Posted on November 12, 2018December 3, 2023 by jkirst

Happy to announce that my first book, Ghosts are Assholes, published by World Castle Publishing, LLC, is launched today on Amazon and other online sites in e-book and paperback form. Please see the main page for more details or click on the image above to get to the Amazon order page. If you enjoy the story, please feel free to submit a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or any other review site you can think of. Please subscribe to the blog for more updates and short stories in the future. I hope to write more novels in the future as well so please look out for that too.

As a bit of a celebration of the release, please read a bonus short story involving the adventures of everyone’s favorite medium, Vincent Pietro. It is entitled The Friendliest Ghost I Know:

“Are you sure you want to go in here?” Vincent asked. He was directing his question toward the apparition standing beside him. Both were near a blue door outside a white rambler.

“I have to know exactly what happened,” the poltergeist explained.

“Ed pretty much told us. He’s one of my closest friends and the most trustworthy man I know.”

“It’s not that I doubt the veracity of your friend the desk sergeant. I just need to confirm.”

“Your memories still haven’t returned?”

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What I Learned In School Today

Posted on November 9, 2018December 3, 2023 by jkirst

As a bit of a supplement to my upcoming book, Ghosts are Assholes, here is another vignette into Vincent’s life that I hope you enjoy. It is entitled What I Learned In School Today.

“What’s the answer to number 2?” the young boy asked the dowdy ghost floating over his left shoulder just above a whisper. He didn’t want to risk attracting the attention of his fourth-grade teacher sitting behind her desk.

“Vincent!” the apparition admonished. “Are you asking me to cheat?”

“Uh-huh!” the boy replied eagerly.

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Just One Date

Posted on November 7, 2018December 3, 2023 by jkirst

As a bit of a supplement to my upcoming book, Ghosts are Assholes, here is another vignette into Vincent’s life that I hope you enjoy. It is entitled Just One Date.

“You have a lot of nerve showing up here after what you did,” Vincent said after seeing the thin apparition in the reflection of the bathroom mirror.

“Look, I know I dropped quite the large one,” a young brown-haired man said as he turned off the faucet next to Vincent. As he shook his hands above the sink, he continued with, “But there’s no need to embarrass me about it.”

Vincent’s awkward attempts to apologize fell on deaf ears. The man gruffly dried his hands and left in silence. After this time confirming that nobody else was in the bathroom with him, he turned and faced the poltergeist. “You know that girl I was with? She’s my girlfriend! And today is the first day we’ve been able to get together in over a week! Couldn’t you just let me enjoy the show with her without making an ass of yourself?”

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Do I really have to do this?

Posted on November 5, 2018December 3, 2023 by jkirst

As a bit of a supplement to my upcoming book, Ghosts are Assholes, here is a vignette into Vincent’s life that I hope you enjoy. It is entitled Do I really have to do this?

“This place is really nice,” Vincent told the apparition as he waited for the elevator. Based on the way Edward Freeman had described it he had expected the place to be decrepit. Instead, he found himself in a beautiful ten-story glass building. It even had a pianist in the lobby which is the most definite sign of a classy establishment.

“A gilded cage,” Edward snarled floating above Vincent’s shoulder.

“You made the place sound like a dump.”

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Celebration Week for my first novel Ghosts are Assholes

Posted on November 4, 2018November 7, 2018 by jkirst

Hello everyone. This is my first real blog post and it is really just an announcement of sorts. We’re just over a week away from the release of my first novel Ghosts are Assholes and to celebrate this, I will be posting vignettes during the course of this upcoming week to give you a taste and flavor of my writing style and to whet your appetite for my upcoming book. The first short story will be posted tomorrow and expect at least vignettes if not more. It really depends on what my muse is doing this week. Short stories are going to become a regular feature of this blog too so please look for them in the future.

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