It was the month of the apocalypse, and I’d come home to a house of shadows and gloom. The curtains and blinds were all shut, barring any light except what leaked through the door. The air smelled like spoiled fast food. No sound came from within—not his labored breath from the recliner, not even his favorite sitcom laughing hysterically at itself.
That was the first time I doubted.
It was the month of the apocalypse, and I’d come home to a house of shadows and gloom.
Wade Dargin’s story “The Dragon and the Unicorn” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 1 April 2022. The story began as a writing exercise. My original intent was to write an atmospheric tale with themes of survival and endurance. I had a clear idea of the main character and setting but little else. The story evolved as I wrote it. When the major elements came into better focus the story took on some aspects of …
Q: How often do you think about writing during a day?
A: Some part of my scattered, overactive mind is probably always thinking about writing, but I’ve worked really hard to reign that in, and to put those thoughts on hold until an appropriate time arises. Because of this, my phone is full of notes with little snippets of ideas–new premises, story titles, character names, and bits of dialogue that I plan to come back to later. The surfaces of my house are littered with sticky notes and scraps of paper that serve the same purpose. Much of it doesn’t end up getting used, but most of the stories I’ve gotten published these last few years owe themselves in part to those notes. The notes are important for another reason: if I simply dropped everything to write whenever the fancy struck me, I’d probably get fired from my dayjob–and my wife and kids would be pretty grumpy, too.
P.G. Streeter’s story “A Xenothanatologist’s Guidebook to Death Practices Among the Sapient Species of the Outer Perseus Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy”
in Metaphorosis Friday, 14 October 2022.
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Justen Russell is a scientist and author, with a PhD in the biological sciences. He lives in Paris, France with his partner and their child. He is anachronistic in his athletics, enjoying historical sword-fighting and swing dancewww.justenrussell.com
Justen Russell’s story “Holding On”
in Metaphorosis Friday, 21 October 2022.
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Adrian’s name is typed across the front of the white envelope, but there’s no address and no stamp.
Felix Taylor’s story “The Year of the Bright Lands” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 25 March 2022. The idea to write “The Year of the Bright Lands” came with an image of a row of crops suspended over an abyss, buffeted around by a mysterious wind from below. Then came the decision to write a story about two children who find a way down into the abyss. I don’t usually go for plot when …
