Patsy Collins
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Sally's husband Brian makes too many assumptions and does too little towards caring for their children and home – which is why she agreed to have a drink with her sympathetic colleague Steve. On a day trip to see HMS Victory Brian is forced into managing the childcare alone for a short time. That one-off event might not be enough to ensure Sally says no to a second meeting with Steve. This 3100 word short story is also published in one of Patsy's...
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Claire's friend asked her if she was superstitious before giving her the vase. Not that it mattered as it was just an ordinary vase. It didn't move about by itself, vases just don't do that. Neither did it have any influence over the life of its owner. There was some other explanation for Claire becoming happier. A short story of 2,500 words
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A light summertime story of 4400 words At first her brother's friend Julian was an annoyance to Suzy. Then it was him gently suggesting to her that she should get friends of her own and leave him be. Gradually they became friends. A holiday together will show if they can ever become more than that.
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Everything about Vivien's new job seemsperfect. Well, everything except the heat which means she can't stay in the beautiful courtyard for long and the weird girl called Natasha who is terified of being forgotten. Soon Vivien does forget about her. She forgets other things too. Far to many things. This 3000 word short story is also published in one of Patsy's many themed collections of short stories, each of which contains 24 stories.
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Albert's mother has never liked Marie. She doesn't seem to like her son much either, but she still wants an explanation for him suddenly going to Patagonia with a friend she's never met and still being gone three months later. Admittedly it is very out of character and Marie offers nothing but the soup she confesses Albert had more than a hand in, but is that any reason to accuse Marie of having done something to him? This 2,700 word short story is...
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Something is wrong with Doug. It's not his health he's worried about, or that of a family member or work or money. Moll knew because she'd asked him and believed his answers. She believed him too when he said there wasn't anyone else on his mind, but not when he claimed everything was fine. So why wasn't he enjoying their trip to Skye as much as she was? It should have been ideal for him, but the more she tries to cheer him up by making it the kind...
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Mary tries not to worry about something that might not happen, but occasionally she feels weepy. Sometimes she snaps at the children or Mike for no good reason. She knows concerns for her health are making her act out of character. This 2000 word short story is also published in one of Patsy's many themed collections of short stories.
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Hairdresser Kiri doesn't always pay attention to what's said to her, as her thoughts often runs away with her. That doesn't always matter, in fact her vivid imagination can be helpful. It is a problem though when she upsets Coral Jenkins, one of the salon's regular clients, and that's despite the fact Coral has the same tendency to half listen and then jump to conclusions. This 3000 word short story is also published in one of Patsy's many themed...
10) Lucky Charm
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Donald walked round the car boot sale without much interest. Most of the items were little more than rubbish. He didn't try to speak to anyone. Whenever he utters a sentence, he has to immediately apologise. It's been that way since he returned to England. This 2000 word short story is also published in one of Patsy's many themed collections of short stories.
11) Kissing Cousins
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Georgina is a romantic, her head often filled with fairytales. Frederick prefers facts, especially those from the past. They've always thought they were cousins. Is that true and if so can they prove it – or find some other connection between them? This 3800 word short story is also published in one of Patsy's many themed collections of short stories, each of which contains 24 stories.
12) Book Club Romeo
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Gerri wanted to believe that her friend Zoe was telling the truth. The part about her joining a book club was believeable, but not that it met every week and that the utterly gorgeous Sebastien was not only a member, but Zoe's boyfriend wasn't very convincing. It didn't help that all the places Zoe claimed to have been taken on dates were the locations of the book she'd just finished reading. A short story of 2,600 words
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Natalie and Dean have lived together for eight years and been a couple longer than that. They have a nice home, are able to take a cruise most years and she knows he loves her just as much as she loves him. There's nothing she needs. No reason of her to feel jealous of Gladys who is celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary – but Natalie is jealous. Horribly, painfully jealous.
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Bradley who runs the small newspaper started by his grandfather has promised to only print what he believes to be true. He very much wants to write a piece declaring ghosts and contact with the spirit world to be genuine. Laura agrees to hep, but warns him that no matter what he discovers, it's unlikely he'll be able to convince others of the truth. A 3,000 word slightly spooky short story.
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Nikki's husband is very enthusiastic about old engineering projects, obsessed with Thomas Telford, knows she wants to see the Bridge of Oich and promised to take her there – so why is he driving them away from the river Oich? And why can't rickety half-submerged boats stay still, instead of carrying her away from the safety of the bank, when she wants to prove a point? This 3000 word short story is also published in one of Patsy's many themed collections...
17) Voodo Val
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Since Shirley took over from the previous boss the accounting firm where Val works hasn't been a pleasant place to be. Shirley is sarcastic, demanding, unreasonable and absolutely no fun at all. In a moment of frustration Val's draws a silly cartoon of Shirley and sticks her toungue out at it. This makes her feel better so she cheers up her colleagues by making more drawings for them to stick pins in. This offive voodo works well until Shirley catches...
18) A Dog's Life
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Alex remembered Deborah from school. She hadn't been kind then and she'd not improved since. Except that he didn't remember as much about her as he'd thought, and she did once give him a chance. A short story of 2,800 words
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Matt followed all his gran's advice and got the job in the bookshop. He enjoyed it there, but there was something very strange about one of the customers. That's if she really was a customer – and actually existed. This 3300 word short story is also published in one of Patsy's many themed collections of short stories, each of which contains 24 stories.
20) Pastures New
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Grant tended not to show his emotions. It was ridiculous to think Saffron had a better idea how the farmer, whose field she walked through on the way to work, felt about her than she had concerning the man who shared her home. This 3000 word short story is also published in one of Patsy's many themed collections of short stories, each of which contains 24 stories.