Fast Runs, Short Fiction, Dark Carnivals, and Cellar Doors

I would have written a shorter letter but didn't have time. (Blaise Pascal)

Rarely do I participate in running events less than a half marathon, and rarely have I published anything less than a novel. Both of them take an economy of foot-strikes on the pavement and fingertip strikes on the keyboard I don't come by naturally.

Well, that's changed. In a few months, I will have a short story in the collection  "Cellar Door: Words of Beauty, Tales of Terror (Volume 2)"   If you read STRAY and are familiar with the character nicknamed The Ancient Heroin Wizard, then you will be interested in this piece as it is loosely based on his legacy. The story is written to the song, "The Needle and The Damage Done" by Neil Young, and Beta-readers have reported outbreaks of 'awesome' from their lips upon reading.

Cellar Door: Words of Beauty, Tales of Terror

Volume 1 has just been released by the very well-known James Ward Kirk Fiction line. It has been edited and compiled by uber-diligent and ultra poetic falconer Shawna Bernard: Pen Name: Sydney Leigh. Check it out here: Cellar Door: Words of Beauty, Tales of Terror

Next month, I will also be featured in the Pen and Muse project The Dark Carnival (Writer and Illustrator Showcase) This artwork below by Cara Elizabeth is mesmerizing.

It's been said that once John Lennon died, Paul McCartney wrote his worst crap because having John out there as part of his audience raised him to his highest level.  That's kind of how I feel when I look at the list of fellow writers involved in the Pen and Muse Dark Carnival project. Unless I kill them all off, I am going to need to write something worthy of them to read. (or, perhaps, they shall be killing me off, thus relieving me from my duties)

Shorter pieces of works and shorter races mean you need to be sharper. There's no room to waste words, waste energy, and little time to recover if you screw up a mile or write a boring paragraph.

Godspeed. I have a November marathon to train for and some short fiction to write.