On another page of this blog, I’ve just posted another of my old stories, “Seducing the Muse.” In fact, this was the first story I wrote after college, and while I still get a kick out of it, it’s undeniably amateurish. Oh well. I think the other two stories I’ve put up here–a mystery about understanding religion in the age of terrorism called “In the Shadow of Death,” and a dramatic little bit of catharsis about raising children after divorce called “Gordon Raises the Kid“–are better, but this one is still worth a read.
I wrote it wanting to blend two romances, a love for a woman and a love for the written word. It works well enough, but Joyce Carol Oates–or even Nicholas Sparks–I’m not. I’ve sent it to several publishers, but to no avail. Zoetrope sent me a note calling it a “good story,” but not for them. Another magazine wrote on their rejection slip that it was “cute,” but too long. At least I got some feedback. Alas, I’ve never been very good at marketing. These stories will probably reach more sympathetic eyes here than they would anywhere else willing to print them, anyway.
Enjoy!
Gently Hew Stone 