Anthony Stauffer
Bio
Husband, Father, Technician, US Navy Veteran, Aspiring Writer
After 3 Decades of Writing, It's All Starting to Come Together
Use this link, Profile Table of Contents, to access my stories.
Use this link, Prime: The Novel, to access my novel.
Stories (99/0)
Soul Searching
Claire awoke to a sloppy tongue. She was startled, to say the least, but the state of her stiff, tired muscles prevented her from any quick threatening movements. A groan escaped her lips as she slowly opened her eyes to the morning sun peeking through the leaves above. Before her stood the owner of the tongue, and her eyes met the squinty, orange-brown eyes of a fox. She let out a huff, the fox quickly retreating from her and letting out a meager yelp. It stood several feet away, looking at her curiously.
By Anthony Stauffer2 years ago in Fiction
Profile Table Of Contents
Dear Reader, You will find below the titles and the links to all of my publications on Vocal. I try to write on a wide range of topics, but I find fiction the easiest for me. My inspirations include Stephen King and JRR Tolkien. While my published writings tend towards the dark and mysterious twists one would find in a King story, there are certainly elements of fantasy that can be attributed to my love of all things Middle Earth. I sincerely hope that you enjoy my publications, and any and all comments, suggestions, or ideas can be provided to my Facebook page. Just type @StaufferFictionPA in your Facebook Search Bar, and it will link you directly to my Author Page. You have my utmost thanks for taking the time to read and enjoy my stories.
By Anthony Stauffer2 years ago in Journal
Prime: The Novel
It is said that science and religion don't mix. But what if they did? What if everything we believed about gods, nature, and science were all intertwined in such a way that we could never fully understand it. And if we did understand it, then how would we handle it? What if there were multiple realities? What if those realities were the result of God, but they were governed by the very science that rules the Universe? What if...?
By Anthony Stauffer2 years ago in Fiction
The Satyr and The Traveler
Claire sat in the dark, a single candle lit upon the coffee table. She stared into the flame as she ate the MRE from Other Eric’s pack. She replayed the killing of Other Claire at the camp site, the feel of her neck breaking as she bled out onto the ground making her shiver. I’m not a killer… But the epiphany that Gabriel wanted her to kill her others was so abhorrent. What was the purpose? It was something that he was reluctant to tell her, and it pissed her off. Killing one of John Friedman’s others was one thing, the man was an asshole, and she could convince herself that killing one of them wasn’t so terrible. But why kill her others? An angel telling her to kill… herself. Wasn’t suicide a mortal sin? Does it really count as suicide? she thought cynically.
By Anthony Stauffer2 years ago in Fiction
By The Firelight
The vertigo subsided and Claire was able to begin focusing her vision. The cacophony around her filled her ears, but it was all background noise. She was sure that, were a pin to drop on the floor in front of her, she would hear it as clear as a church bell ringing on a bright Sunday morning. Her mind’s eye was still mired in the shock and sorrow of watching Eric die again, the swift incineration of his uniform and skin as unforgettable to her now as the moment he dropped to one knee and proposed to her. Yet, as the world came into focus, there he stood. Where only a moment ago the world was confusion and flame, Eric again stood before his company barking orders.
By Anthony Stauffer2 years ago in Fiction
Into the War
The chill, damp air finally pulled Claire out of her slumber. She hadn’t slept in a comfortable position, and her screaming neck was proof. Slowly she bent her neck forward, the tight muscles feeling like breaking bones as they stretched. Long, slow blinks gave way to shorter, faster ones as she attempted to break through the sleep glaze over her eyes. It took a few moments until her could focus, and then she just stared at the opposite wall of the closet she chose for her bed. Claire began flexing her toes and her feet to get the blood flowing; despite it only being the beginning of the end of October, the cold rain she could hear outside made the unheated air inside easily sinkable into one’s bones. The blanket she stole from the top bunk the night before would stay right where it was.
By Anthony Stauffer2 years ago in Fiction
The Trenchcoat Man
Claire hadn’t felt comfortable sleeping in her apartment on Sunday night. Between the weird vibes from Pastor Sullivan to seeing, once again, the man in the trenchcoat, she just wasn’t sure if she could handle being alone. Not to mention that she still had no idea where she was, this was not her world, and it was just as screwed up as the one she came from. But Eric was still alive here, and that was something she could hold on to.
By Anthony Stauffer2 years ago in Fiction
A Feast For Five
It’s that time of year… The time of year when we plan for that most important meal of the year, Thanksgiving Dinner! Many look forward to going over to a family member’s house for Turkey Day, as the specter of staring down the time and effort of preparing such a feast is too much. It doesn’t help that there are innumerable stories, both on TV and in real life, about the disasters that await any who dare to tempt the Ghost of Thanksgiving Past and spend an entire morning in the kitchen preparing a meal that will, doubtless, make at least one family member complain about it afterwards. Who could forget poor Catherine Johnson, wife to Clark Griswold’s cousin Eddie, and her epic failure on the Christmas turkey?
By Anthony Stauffer2 years ago in Feast
The Definition Of Me
How do you define yourself? It’s one of the most difficult things you can do… There is this idea that a person can be defined by a singular moment in their life, that there was a challenge that they faced in which their entire character was on display for at least one other person. But life is so much more than just a single defining moment. From the most-photographed Hollywood celebrity to the homeless man sleeping on the streets of Los Angeles; from the President of the United States to the CNC machine operator on night shift in a manufacturing plant. We have all faced adversity on numerous occasions that have challenged us in different ways. Just as we are more than the sum of our parts, the definition of who we are is more than just a singular moment in time. We are multi-faceted, and so are our life-defining moments.
By Anthony Stauffer2 years ago in Journal
Weird Vibrations
The Pennsylvania 14th was twelve hundred members strong, encamped around the huge church from which the town took its name. For the assault on the tri-borough, the militia would need not nearly all of their ranks. In fact, Major Buxton had chosen only two hundred for a two-pronged attack. John had “identified” several pockets of possible resistance on the way to the East Greenville Borough Hall, so his detachment, under the command of First Sergeant Jones, was to thrust into Colonial Village. There was a police kiosk that needed to be either subdued, or verified abandoned, in the small community.
By Anthony Stauffer2 years ago in Fiction