I Want to Tell You A Story

I want to tell you a story.

This past weekend, my wife found several misplaced items around the house. A television remote, one of my brown dress shoes, my bifocals. The latter two items had been missing for over a month. For my part, I found a portable recorder I hadn't seen since last August.

Funny how things all fell into place, and we found not one, but four missing items in a two-day span.

I haven't written a word of fiction in nearly two years. For a decade or more, short story writing took up all my spare time. I loved the entire process. But somewhere along the line, it became more and more like work. I dreaded doing it. I tried too hard to be something I wasn't and then let self-doubt poison my attitude. I resented certain things that were out of my control.

I stopped writing entirely.

During this period of time, I did a lot of reading.

I also line-edited my next short story collection. These are all stories that have been previously published, but they all benefited from another read-through. I made edits, revisions, and corrections to the entire manuscript.

I am proud of it and excited to publish it. This will happen very soon.

During this editing process, I still didn't feel any inclination to write anything new.

Then, about two months ago, some interesting things started to happen. I had a series of vivid dreams that lingered in my memory long after waking. I typed random phrases that popped into my head into my note-taking app on my phone. I jotted down one of my dreams in a notebook. I woke up one night and wrote down an idea for a poem.

I still didn't want to write, but I had started telling myself stories.

A month ago, I ran into a friend who is a professional photographer. Over two cups of coffee--and two hours and forty-five minutes!--we discussed the similarities and differences between photography and writing. We talked about contests and awards, and critics and editors. We talked about the difference between work and "just for fun". I confronted some of my insecurities and admitted holding grudges.

Afterward, the strangest thing happened: I went home and wrote a poem. I also wrote two pages of a new story, and sketched out an idea for a second new story.

A few days later, to get back into practice, I resurrected an old trunk story, and polished it up. I didn't have to think too hard. I just revised, edited, and corrected. No new content. No first draft.

Several days after that, I saw a submission call that gave me an opportunity to use a story premise I'd had rattling around in my brain for the last year or so. And the theme of the anthology allowed me avoid creating entirely new content. Authors were invited to re-imagine a classic. Once again, I'd avoided writing something entirely new. I took an old story and changed it, shortened it, and gave it a twisted new ending.

I wasn't consciously aware of it, but I was backing, step by step, into the haunted forest I'd so scrupulously avoided for so long.

A week ago, I completed the story I'd begun that night after coffee. It took me two days, which for me, is fast.

After completing that story, I wrote another.

After that, I wrote another.

Three new stories in less than a week. Each, in my opinion, turned out better than the last.

All told, in the last thirty days, I wrote three new short stories, a new/old retelling of a Jack London classic, a new poem, and revised an old favorite. I have submitted them all to various publishers. Fingers crossed, right?

I didn't want to say anything at first. I didn't want to jinx it. I wanted to be sure.

It didn't happen overnight. The pieces fell into place incrementally, like a puzzle that I didn't even know I was putting back together.

I'd like to make it official: after nearly two years on hiatus, I am actively writing short stories again.

The best part? I'm having fun doing it.

Honest Review of Suspense Unimagined and Mindscapes Unimagined

Since Amazon doesn't allow authors to review anthologies that include their work, I've made a habit of posting my reviews here on my blog.

Title: Mindscapes Unimagined
Theme: "An Anthology of the Supernatural, Science Fiction, and Horror"
Publisher: Left Hand Publishers
Editor: Karen T. Newman
Number of stories: 24
Pages: 357
Price: $17.99 paperback

Favorite stories: "Every Single Day" by Sophie Kearing, "The Mating Moon" by Chris Rodriquez, "Pax" by Gustavo Bondoni, and "The Sixteenth Ritual" by Jeff Stevenson.

My story: "The Sodbuster and the Spider." This is one of my favorite stories, but lots of publishers passed on it. I'm glad it finally found a home! It's a weird western with a kindhearted teenage protagonist whose nightmares and visions help him solve a crime. But when the marshal won't listen, the boy takes drastic measures.

Final thoughts: Although I didn't have a lot of stories I loved, the anthology is remarkable solid, with high quality fiction, only a handful of mistakes, and a nice cover. Having all the authors' names on the cover was a nice touch I give it a B.

You can order a copy of Mindscapes Unimagined here.

Title: Suspense Unimagined
Theme: "An Anthology of Suspense, Thrillers, and Nightmares."
Publisher: Left Hand Publishers
Editor: Karen T. Newman
Number of stories: 22
Pages: 336
Price: $17.99 paperback

Favorite stories: "Rurale" by Blake Jessop, "My Sister, Electra" by Laura Campbell, "Not Easy to Forget" by S.E. Greco, "Mixed Messages" by Jay Seate and "Rhiannon" by Sophie Kearing.

My story: "Amelia," another of my favorite stories that finally found a good home. Inspired by a real person I encountered, this is a story about a young man who falls madly in love but who also harbors a dark secret. This version features a more hopeful ending than my original vision for the story.

Final thoughts: As an avid reader of horror, I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this one as much as Mindscapes Unimagined, but I enjoyed it a bit more actually. Very solid lineup, several stories grounded in reality, while others pushed the envelope. This reminded me of the old Alfred Hitchcock Presents anthologies. I give it an A-.

You can order a copy of Suspense Unimagined at this link.

Honest Reviews of: The Bad Neighbor; Creature: and Beautiful Broken Things

David Tallerman's The Bad Neighbor is a gritty, paranoia-inducing suspense story that feels like it could explode into a full blown horror novel at any moment. It doesn't, but I still enjoyed it. Tallerman is a British author, but I found none of the quirks or wordiness that marred Ramsey Cambell's  latest offering (see the previous review.) Tallerman created an Everyman--almost sad sack character, if it weren't for his hot temper--character that conveyed the hopelessness of one's living situation when money is tight. (The only part of the story I didn't completely buy was Ollie inheriting a large sum of money and then quickly purchasing a home only to immediately regret the purchase.) From there, the nightmarish neighbor and his friends were all too real, as were Ollie and his pals distancing themselves from one another. Nice climactic ending, some good suspense, and few well-placed red herrings and twists made this an enjoyable read. I give it a B.

Hunter Shea's Creature is a single-setting horror novel that builds the tension but never quite explodes into a big payoff. There are only two main characters, and later two more are added, for a total of four. Reading the book is almost like watching a play unfold. A woman with a debilitating, perhaps fatal, disease hopes for rest and relaxation in a secluded cabin. Strange noises and small dead animals outside increase in frequency. The woman's hubby tries to keep these developments a secret. I felt sympathy for the sick woman and the descriptions of her pain and daily challenges were effective. What is the creature outside? Sasquatch? Wendigo? An amalgamation of nature like in The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon? The truth is, I'm not sure what the creature was/is. The author gives a partial explanation, but I'm not sure I am buying his explanation. I can suspend disbelief, but there's a disconnect between the why and the how surrounding the creature that I couldn't quite get around. I give this one a C.

Beautiful, Broken Things is a short story collection by Rose Blackthorn. Some of the stories are horror, some are dark fantasy, while others fall somewhere in between. I like the variety of settings, some historical, some otherworldly, and some could have been set in the house next door. I also liked the inclusion of several flash fiction pieces interspersed between longer stories. My favorite stories were: Something Savory, in which a teenager is both repulsed by and drawn to the creepy new girl in town; Outside the Gates, a coming of age story/survival tale set in the near future; The Lilac Hedge, in which a girl befriends a mysterious being who manifests inside the hedge; In the Dark, in which a father and daughter move into a remote house only to discover something strange living in the woods close by; and Harvest of Night Seeds, involving a farmer's daughter, a pushy creep of a farm hand, and some very strange plants growing in the farmer's garden. I give this collection an A.