Luke Woodruff
Bio
I’ve self published one novel so far but hope to write more.
I have an MFA in acting from the ART/MXAT at Harvard University, was in the Marine Corps, and I’m married to the best girl on Earth.
Stories (15)
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Journey Of The Mind
There weren't always dragons in the valley. The fact that I could now see them told me the boom shrooms in this region were getting stronger. Boom shrooms were the hallucinogenic mushrooms that grew naturally in the valley. They were also my people's drug of choice. One of my favorite past times was taking an eighth of boom shrooms, walking up the north mountain and seeing what new things my mind would create as I overlooked the beautiful valley. I had seen some pretty outlandish things, but never dragons until that day. I sat on the mountaintop and watched them for hours as they twirled and flipped about in the bright afternoon sky. They came in all colors and sizes, temperaments and designs. I knew they only existed in my head, so I applauded my own imagination for creating them. After a couple hours, I decided to head back down the slope and engage the magnificent creatures. I was curious to see what else my mind had in store for me. Many flew above but seemed not to notice me. The first one that I encountered on the ground was enormous. It was neon orange, nearly 5o feet tall on all fours, with it's spine being lined with bony spikes 5 feet tall. I stood and stared in awe as it cleaned it's scales with a rough looking tongue that was double my size. After a few moments, the neon beast turned around a it's deep, ocean blue eyes met mine. It waited for me to speak, but I had no words. So it filled the silence with a booming voice,
By Luke Woodruff4 years ago in Fiction
Valtus
There weren't always dragons in the valley. It took us damn near a century to get our home back from men. Now here I was, perched on a mountaintop, overlooking beautiful Glass Valley while my family flew about, just below the clouds. I was finally at peace. The setting sun shone off the great lake in the middle of the valley. The lack of wind gave the lake a glass shine, which attributed to the gorgeous piece of land its' name. It was the most desirable region in all of the kingdom of Valtus, both for us and for the humans.
By Luke Woodruff4 years ago in Fiction
Priceless Mercy
Human life is precious, no matter the human. That's what I would tell myself every night over and over so I could get to sleep. That's why I didn't kill him. I used to dream and fantasize about killing him, but when it came down to it, I aimed the gun lower. Was I a coward? Or did I truly believe in the sanctity of life? These very questions were the source of my torment throughout each day. And I did not know the answers.
By Luke Woodruff4 years ago in Criminal
A Mother's Love
To my dearest mother, I must confess to you in regards to that which I could not let go. As you know all too well, I battled many addictions, and was nearly overcome by them when you took me back into your home. A broken man with little to no hope is who you remember moved into your guest room that dark October evening. I had achieved what many would call success in my professional life, but I had failed in that which matters more-love. With my hopes for marriage and a family dashed against the rocks, the pain became more than I could bare. Drugs, the arms of fast women, and compulsive gambling are what I turned to for relief. God sat waiting for me with open arms of comfort, but time and again I ran to Earthly pleasures. Each time I indulged, the sharp pain that ate away at my soul would be dulled, only to return with vengeance each morning. Nothing but diving further into the chasm of my addictions would return me to a state absent of pain. This vicious downward spiral nearly destroyed me. But then it was you, the one who first held me, that offered me a sanctuary of comfort. Loving me all the more despite my sins, you opened your home to me. As you recall, I left my career behind me and sought recovery, being engulfed in your unconditional love. Our Lord showed me mercy in the form of a fiercely loving mother.
By Luke Woodruff4 years ago in Confessions
Saviors From The Water
Billy could always do more flips than Johnny. Being his older brother, Billy would show off constantly, emerging from the water, sleek and with perfect form. One, two, three he would rotate head over fin, landing perfectly nose first back into the ocean. Whether he did it to feel self-important, or to teach his younger brother, who looked up to him as a father, only Billy truly knew. But perhaps it was a bit of both. Johnny would always follow his brother's patented "tripler" as Billy called it, sometimes splashing hard upon his side, other times landing flat on his dorsal fin, but no matter how many times he failed in his attempts to emulate his heroic brother, he was never discouraged. It was this unbreakable determination that stood out to the other dolphins in their pod.
By Luke Woodruff4 years ago in Families
Friend, Inc.
William sat in his tattered old lazy boy, mindlessly staring through his television. He grasped his fourth beer of the evening as it balanced on the arm rest. Lazily, he lifted the drink to his lips, taking a bigger gulp than usual, in the hopes that he could further dull the sting of his loneliness. Flashing images hypnotized him as he sank deeper into his chair. This nightly routine had eroded away at his hope and joy for what seemed like countless years. Tears welled up in his sorrowful eyes. It had been eight years since his wife Cindy had passed. They had no children, and William never was the social type. He felt doomed to expend his existence in solace, trapped in a tiny studio apartment.
By Luke Woodruff4 years ago in Fiction
No Time To Spare
The whizzing of fired rounds crack the air as they narrowly miss taking my life or at the very least knocking me off my bike. As the automatic weapons being fired at me echo with their deafening rhythm of pop pop pop, I'm reminded of my favorite song and its' beat is now stuck in my mind. I find myself bobbing my head to the sounds of proceeding shots, all the while frantically maneuvering the 1300 cubic centimeters of power beneath me. I scrape piles of refuse, dodge two-foot deep potholes, and even cut my leg rather badly on the edge of a parked, burning car. That cut is going to bleed pretty bad, but I don't have time to even look down at it. I'm being hunted. I counted at least six men, all who to belong to an ironically named militia called the Saviors. They are on bikes just as fast if not faster than mine, chasing me like a scared rabbit through the war-torn streets of my hometown. The Saviors will stop at nothing to insure that anarchy rules, and strength becomes the only source of power. Cinched to my back is a backpack containing a box wrapped in brown paper. What's in this box is the reason I now risk my very life.
By Luke Woodruff4 years ago in Fiction
The Song of the Heart
When I was 25 years old, I was a stressed-out chemistry major. I lived in the library just to pass my classes with a C. I dreaded any labs and saw no future in what I was going to do even if I did survive the strenuous program. I was sat down by two different chemistry professors and told that I had no drive, that I was not a chemist, and that I paid no attention to what was going on in each class. This broke me, as I was applying every brain cell I had at my disposal, every effort in my being, barely to survive each class. Finally, physical chemistry made my brain explode, and biochemistry confused me to no end. I flunked out. Full of anxiety, I sought help from a University advisor. I had only one question for her: "What am I gonna do now?!" I had spent five long years of my life trying to emulate my chemist father, who I looked up to so dearly. Seeing what a frantic state I was in, she asked me to calm down, stop taking classes that fried my mind, and take something fun. "Fun??" I thought. College isn't about fun! It's about graduating. She implored me further, "Stop taking all this physics and calculus and chemistry. Take something you like." Her calm smile added some sense to what she was saying. Reluctantly, I agreed. I remembered taking an acting class in junior college, which I found quite fun, so I enrolled in an acting class.
By Luke Woodruff4 years ago in Journal
