Six Sentence Sunday April 15, 2012

Wow! Where'd that week go.  Hard to believe it's mid-April already.  I understand that some folks are just now doing the IRS dance again.  Let's take our minds off that and READ:  Here are six sentences from my short story CHEMS.  It's on Amazon.

CHEMS

 a zombiefied short story

by Ann Swann

He was curled up like a comma in a pile of old feed sacks.

The year was 1974 and I was in the eighth grade.  I was in a hurry, running late as usual, and I had just opened the hen house to let my flock out for the day when I looked across the packed-earth yard and noticed the toolshed door wasn’t completely closed.  Since I was the one responsible for shutting things up in the evening, I knew that door was closed and latched the night before.

            I tiptoed up and tried to see inside through the crack—had my eye pressed to it just like that Tell-Tale Heart guy we’d read about in English—but I couldn’t see anything except that pile of old sacks.

            Then they moved.  

That's it for today!  See ya next Sunday.  If you would like to participate in Six Sentence Sunday, simply go to http://www.sixsunday.com/

CHEMS

Howdy Folks,
Just a very quick update-type note.  First of all, I just published a stand-alone short story called CHEMS. Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/cj64sd8  It is a story about a pseudo-zombie and that's all I'm going to say, except it will be FREE this Friday the 13th (and Saturday, too).


I think I will post six sentences from it this Sunday for the Six Sentence Sunday.  I have to admit, this is a lot of fun!  I didn't know it would be this much fun.  I even enjoyed designing the cover from an old photograph.  It didn't come out exactly the way I wanted, but it was darn close.  I think you'll see what I mean if you read the story.  Many thanks to Dude for helping me and for not flinching when I stomped and hollered. :-)


On top of all that, I got my first round of edits from Denise (YoDen) Vitola, editor extraordinaire, for The Phantom Student (slated to be released around Halloween). Believe it or not, I really like this part of the writing process, the editing part, I mean.  As long as I'm not having to edit someone else's book...ooh, torture.  No offense, Yo, but I don't know how you do it.


Hey, I'm sensing a pattern here; first, my short story goes FREE on Friday the 13th, now my new book will be released around Halloween...oooweeeoooo.  I'm liking this.  It reminds me of a story (everything reminds me of a story heh heh) by Ray Bradbury.  Did you ever read the one about the kids Halloween party in the basement where this dad is passing around peeled grapes (eyeballs, natch) and oh man! What was the name of that story?  Now, I have to go find it.  I've got a huge book of his short fiction here somewhere...


Okay, even the weather is getting in on this, creating the atmosphere for me: mucho lightning in the west, rumbles of thunder from way off in the distance, and the requisite tree branch tapping at the window like Poe's raven tap tap tapping...hope the electricity doesn't go out.  It almost always goes out when it storms around here.  (Let me just interject this for those of you who know how bad the West Texas drought has become: YAY FOR RAIN!!! Who cares if we do lose power?  IT'S RAINING!)

But back to the topic: I don't know why I like scary stories.  Do you?  What was the scariest story you ever read?  For me, it might be "The Shining."  That woman in the tub, even after thirty-odd years, let's not go there.  Then again, "The Beach" stayed with me for a long, long time.  It was terrifying in a whole different way.  How about you?  What story scared you the most?


Ann


Afterthought:  "The Black Cat," by Poe.  That one really got to me, too.  C'mon, tell me your scary story. 


After-afterthought: Can I whoop and holler about your book yet, Sara?  (shh, she's waiting for her contract to come back after she signed it today--the book is going to be published October 10th, but you didn't hear that from me.  The name of it is A Heart on Hold, and it is terrific!  But remember, you didn't read that here.)