Welcome to Crystal Crawford's official author blog!

a sci-fi flash story

a suspense/escape short story with a speculative technology element

a dystopian-future science fiction short story Cassandra had survived death—again. “How do you feel?” The doctor’s face loomed over her—wide, dark eyes; pallid skin; a mess of bland, brownish hair. He had big ears, the kind that stuck out. Cassandra had noticed them when she first met him, but now they glowed pink, backlit by the fluorescents. Capillaries threaded the cartilage like blood-red lightning. White-hot strikes filled the sky when The Collapse began, splintered w

a potential supervillain origin (flash) story Pneumonia. Again. “This is the third time this year, Nasha.” Her mother patted her hand above the IVs. “You’ve got to be more careful.” Nasha stifled a groan—breathing was hard enough, anyway—and glanced toward the window. The clouds were high and bright, the sky blue and sunny. Inside her felt like a violent rainstorm, swirling toward a hurricane. She took a painful, shaky breath and forced herself to sever the awareness. The sto

a contemporary novelette about family, kittens, & coming together in crisis Hannah stood at the foot of her bed with her arms full of clothes, staring at her overflowing suitcase. “Hurry, Hannah,” Aaron said, “we’ve got to go.” He grabbed her suitcase and zipped it, then carried both his suitcase and hers out into the hallway. “Wait!” Hannah shouted, “I still need that!” She ran after him, took her suitcase back, and cracked the zipper just enough to shove in that last mound

a short story of love and horror (psychological thriller; creepy) The door creaked slightly as it opened, and a young woman's mahogany-curled head peered into the office. "Doctor Martin." She whispered his name as if it were a question. The doctor looked up from his desk, pencil in hand. "Yes, Amelia," he answered. "Mr. Winston is in the lobby, sir," the girl said, sliding her body through the door's thin opening and shutting it quietly behind her. "They found him wandering a

a creepy, bizarre flash horror (nothing graphic, just… weird) Shocking sea beasts— you won’t believe your eyes. A sloppily painted sign suspended by thick rope greeted us as we entered. The tent was garish; burgundy fabric walls, peaked ceiling, electric lanterns strung along the sides. Glass tanks lined the edges, tall ones like magicians use. One held an octopus, disgusting tentacles suckering the glass. The dolphin in front of me hung upright in its confined space, as tho

a short-short sweet romance told entirely through dialogue

a quirky, comedic short story with a thriller/mystery edge

a unique-POV contemporary short story about life and loss

a magical-realism/real-world fantasy flash

a bizarre, comedic flash horror (somewhat creepy!)

a paranormal (short) love story "Why would we take you, Son of Adam?" a voice hissed. Maggie blinked, her eyelids resisting as if tied down by weights. Where am I? Another voice answered the first, a voice Maggie felt she should know. She forced her eyes to focus. She was in a large cavern with greyish-white walls. Stalactites hung like daggers across the low ceiling. Deep, murky water covered the floor. The air was damp with the smell of salt and rotting seaweed. Maggie lo

a short story from a cat’s POV (inspired by a real-life event) A Note from the Author: The following is a narrative based on a true story that happened a vague amount of time ago. The events in the story are mostly accurate. But, as you will soon notice, the narrator is a bit unusual. I have allowed my story to be told not by myself, but by a participant in it, whose voice I have attempted to capture as authentically as possible. Though the events are real, the details and in

a positive-future science fiction flash story Two-hundred meters below the wide windows of the newly constructed spire of HuangTech Tower, the gentle waters of the Yangtze-HuangHe Juncture glistened in the afternoon sun. I squinted against the glare, tracking the metallic wink of the drones returning from the afternoon’s scans. Their latest data blinked up on my handheld as soon as they were near enough to sync. The merge was holding. Water levels of Yangtze and the Yellow Ri