The Past / Morpheus Tales / Publication / Horror Writing / Horror Blog

I was published, once, in a magazine, it seems so long ago. It was a story that I hold close to my heart because it has morphed, at least three different times, since that publication. I love the story and the idea, but as I've grown older, I realize the story is worth capturing with more detail. I need to put more meat on the bone. The story needs more digestive material for the reader.

Inspiration for the story came from current news at the time and me listening incessantly to Tool's, Lateralus. I'm a rock and roll kind of guy. Give me some speed guitar, some drums and a screaming, coherent, vocalist. When a writing buddy of mine, who was obsessed with Tool, talked about the band, I had to listen. It wasn't typical heavy metal, but I liked it. The album, like I found out that all of Tool's albums tend to do, drew me in, told a story. Their music moves a lot like a novel, each track unfolding as another chapter. I listened to each track, over and over again,and my interpretation of the album was about someone running from something. Even the weird last track featured an AM radio station that I used to listen to in the wee hours of the morning it was from Coast to Coast, with Art Bell.

There was a news brief that inspired my short story, mixed with the music from Lateralus. At the time we were raising our seven kids, and the the story on the television unsettled me, and intrigued me at the same time, like so many other bizarre news does and can. 

The story flowed from me and then stopped as a short story, titled, Symptom. I edited it myself, as you will probably be able to tell, hell it was eleven years ago, and I'd like to think I'm better at words now than I was then. The magazine is still holding on to life, albeit in a crappy market for publishers. I appreciated, and still do appreciate the opportunity to be read in the United Kingdom where it was published. I learned that when your heart is close with a short story, maybe, just maybe it deserves more. Maybe the story needs to breathe, maybe the characters need more formation and attention. I think I just may revisit my good friend, Fabel, from the story again. The magazine, featuring the story is still available to buy here: Morpheus Tales #5  

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