STORY SHOWCASE #2

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YOU ALWAYS DRIVE
TOO FAST

by SJ Townend

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A little taster…

At least you know exactly where it is, the one that got you this time, and you know now to brake in time when you pass it next, so you do, on your drive home from the course. The bold black rectangle mounted on a rod of grey polycarbonate smiles down at you in green. You grimace back, sarcastically of course, muttering swear words under your breath.

When you get home your wife frowns at you. All you notice is the downturn of her lips. You’ve no idea what she’s nagging on at you about as she rants away. She hasn’t smiled at you in weeks, months possibly, you think, caught up in your own miserable world as you pop your ready meal in the microwave. And neither have your children or your boss or your dog. But the speed radar has.

About the author

SJ Townend is a single mother of two young children, a teacher and an author of dark fiction. She has stories in publications from Vastarien, Eerie River Publishing, Dark Matter Magazine and a few other places. Her debut horror collection, Sick Girl Screams, is out now (Brigid’s Gate Press) and her second horror collection, Your Final Sunset, is coming in 2025 (Sley House Press). She is currently collating her third collection and will be looking for a home for it soon.

“You Always Drive Too Fast” is also published electronically in Die Laughing literary magazine, August 2025

Twitter: @SJTownend

Bluesky: @sjtownend.bsky.social

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