It’s been quite a while since I updated this blog with what’s been going on vis-a-vis writing, so this is as much for readers as it is myself to put everything in perspective since January 1st.
I completed the first draft of a 14,000 word “longish” short called “Breathe,” a retrospective of a man in late middle age. Some life experiences never fade with age and the protagonist, Jon, shares the story of his early life as a champion swimmer and what event changed him forever. I expect to have this piece edited by March 31st and posted in this blog or on my website by mid-April.
I just finished an even longer “short” story that is tentatively entitled “A Grand Delusion” (originally a much shorter work called “An Interesting Exchange”). I wrote this story in response to a competition to have a piece featured in Sevastian Winters’ anthology called Bonfire Stories, which is scheduled to be released in e-book format on March 17th. The challenge: write a story with the following introductory sentence: “Jake Everson woke up one day in St. Bart's and picked up the newspaper to discover he'd died that morning in Spain.” As it turns out, he liked my entry along with two others, so we three finalists are waiting to find out which of our stories will be selected. While it would be nice to have a piece published in another anthology, I really just entered for the challenge - though, of course, I’m not going to decline should I win. More on this soon . . .
Another piece I just wrote and published to my website is called “The Packet,” a bit of historical fiction mixed in with a touch of conspiracy theory. I admit, the rumor that inspired the story is difficult for me to believe, but I put that aside to write this story, a tale set during the early 1900’s about man struggling to excise the sins of the past.
Besides these short stories, there are many other works-in progress, including several more short stories, my fourth spec feature-length screenplay and a novel. Thankfully, I’ve been on a creative juggernaut as of late; the down side of that, of course, is there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to do it all. However, I’m not complaining!
May your Muse be kind,
Michael
