A Cool Campfire?
Time was - when I was first falling in love with made-up tales - storytelling in this culture was passive. Long ago, delivery via the tribal circle and oral traditions gave way to schoolroom seating and pulp. Celluloid in the dark followed, then waves to couches through cathode ray tubes. Even with traveling electrons, still pretty much one-way. Invisible griots and minstrels to audiences of mutes.
Now this - ubiquitous chat, new possibilities. A friend recently introduced me to the musings of Internet marketing guru Seth Godin. According to him, this medium's all about tribes and stories, anyway.
Welcome to a meeting place for a tribe to make stories about life and living in it. I'm interested in sharing my love for caring for, feeding, and perfecting the written word - with a bias toward contemporary and topical short fiction.
You're invited to:
- Read in full here or download in eBook format the Featured Short Stories below - they're free.
- Go to the Short Stories page to sample my other stories and to buy them in your preferred eBook format.
- Join Now (it's free) and log in to post comments on my occasional Rants and reviews.
- Join me on my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter to discuss my work.
- Sign up for my email newsletter.
Can't wait to hear from you.
is Now Available in All eBook Formats & Cloth Cover!
- Go to Wordclay to preview and buy MATTERS FAMILIAR in clothcover.
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Featured FREE Short Stories
Could next year's election be the last authentic one our Republic has? I finished this story in late September 2008, six weeks before the last Presidential election. (I've updated it to include the rise of the Tea Party, the midterm election results, and the GOP nomination follies, to date.) Otherwise... Download FREE!
Our writing group decided to do and review stories based on the Round Four rules for National Public Radio's "Three Minute Fiction"--600 words or less; containing each of these words: "plant," "button," "trick," and "fly;" and not "inappropriate." Two out of three ain't bad. It's about two veterans and a...new friend. Hope you enjoy it. Download FREE!
My entry in Round Five of National Public Radio's "Three Minute Fiction," concluded Nov.14. Had to be 600 words or less; had to begin with "Some people swore that the house was haunted;" and had to end with the line, "Nothing was ever the same again after that." Guess Michael Cunningham and the IWW minions don't like spooks with some basis in historical fact... Download FREE!
My entry in Round Six of National Public Radio's "Three Minute Fiction," concluded April 3. As usual, had to be 600 words or less; this round one character had to tell a joke and one character had to cry. From the selections, seems the screeners are most fond of self-conscious, first-person exposition--tell, don't show. Cheats you, the reader, I think; you should be permitted to make up your own mind. Download FREE!
My entry in Round Seven of National Public Radio's "Three Minute Fiction," concluded November 12. As usual, had to be 600 words or less; this round, one character had to come to town and one had to leave town. Still not buying my theory that the reader should be able to watch and eavesdrop, rather than be read to; I blame Elmore Leonard. Download FREE!
Want to comment on or discuss any or all these stories? You're welcome to do so on my Facebook page. |
Featured Rant
In this vortex of congregation, celebration, and consumption that our culture’s Christmas ritual has become, the question arises: How can I find a little Christmas peace and happiness, in the midst of all this turmoil? Read more >> |
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