New Publication

I’m pleased to report that Creative Pinellas Magazine’s first Creative Writing selection includes my short short, “Bare.” The occasional beauty in horror and the intimacy of our extremes shape it. “Bare” does one of things I most enjoy in speculative fiction: It departs the realistic world to illuminate one of its stronger forces–the things we do for love, to connect, to express. 

For those who’d rather listen, there’s audio available here.

At well under 1,00o words it’s flash fiction. Just as brevity is the soul of wit, flash can waste no words.  fill speculative fiction. Think Fantasy and science fictions tomes and lengthy series. For instance, A Song of Fire and Ice Series (Games of Thrones) is on Book 5 of a planned 7 and Terry Pratchett’s Disc World series clocks in at 45 books. Flash fiction follows a different aesthetic. It delivers a concentrated resonance often reserved for poetry or song. Seeing as I’m a sucker for both, flash is a favorite form.

With the right words and a central scene, it’s possible to immerse a reader quickly. In the case of horror it’s interesting to see if the author lets them back up for air.