For your reading pleasure today, two by others and one of my own:
Cheeky by R. Thomas Brown -- Flashfic that's sick and twisted, and I love it. As usual, The Molotov Cocktail delivers (and now they have voting on each issue). Coincidentally, it appears Mr. Brown also has a story up at TFFO. Just read it. It rocks just as much! Finger Lickin' Good. Mm. That Mr. Brown is a, shall we say, sharp writer.
If you're a Chuck Palahniuk fan, his new story, "Romance," is in the August issue of Playboy. Also sick and twisted. I also loved it. And it's been raging about my head all day since I read it; he can take a premise that, if I told you, you would absolutely not believe, and he makes you absolutely believe it could happen. Amazing. But sick (not as fucked up as Snuff or some of his novels, so sort of tame on the Palahniuk-o-meter, but still icky). Well worth the cover price. :)
Also worth the price of admission: My own story, The Bumpy Road.
The zombies have come to suburbia, and eleven year old Richie has a hammer, a brother, a Bronco, and a Dad who loves him. I swear.
I don't usually talk too much about where my stories come from. It's the kind of navel-gazing with which I'm uncomfortable, and in the end, it doesn't matter. I don't, personally, care where an author got their ideas or who a certain character is based on or that a piece was inspired by the yellow lamp in their grandma's living room. I really don't.
Having said that, "The Bumpy Road" is an homage to my family. I won't say how much of them (and, therefore, me) is in this one, but this is deeply personal, taking eight months to write and edit. I'm going to tell my sister tomorrow (she'll squeal as soon as she hears the title) and my dad maybe never. Not that it's unflattering, it's just... There's a weird thing about knowing someone's written about you. Or so I would imagine.
If anyone would ever like to make me a character in their story, I think I'd feel weird.
Anyway.
Love and zombies,
R
Hi Becky,
ReplyDeleteI left a comment on the site for "Bumpy Road", but for some reason it didn't take.
It's a fantastic story, and you've done something that I feel the very best stories do, and that's make it all about the characters. Some stories are fantastic because the ideas they talk about are so cool that we get swept away, but the stories that stick around are the ones that touch on the shared emotional experience between reader and character. Your dynamic between the boys and their dad does this, and does it well.
Knowing that there is some of your "real" life in this is just icing, but it does give an extra bit of veracity to some of the quirkier details.
The zombie elements are really well done as well. But - and this is only my experience, my favourite zombie stories don't usually focus on the zombies. The genre is like window-dressing on the story you really want to tell, which is the dynamic of the characters as they go through it together. That's how I like my Z-stories, and it's how I write my own.
Very, very well done. Be proud of this one.
P.S. - I've nominated you for a blog award. Hope that's not too presumptuous- but you've got some great material here, and it bears sharing! Click over to my site for details.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chris, well put!
ReplyDeleteThe story stands so well on its own, but I find the background info makes it more precious, it adds a touching element =)
xoxo
You guys are too nice to me. I want to thank both of you, because at different times, your voices were just what I needed. Chris and A, I appreciate you very much. (and now I am thinking of some weird robot love story that takes place inter-continentally; maybe I should squash that one...)
ReplyDelete