And as the burning embers of the world fell, the god of calamity sat and did nothing. He had won, and in so doing, had lost everything. Within his imagination, the ghosts of lost dreams took root, safe from the gnashing teeth of reality. Here, deep in his thoughts, he was safe. And so he remained for an eternity and then another and a good part of another, until all the world had forgotten. Those who came after would rest upon his figure, worn smooth as stone. Some were moved to tears, others to somber song, though not one among them knew why.

This, my dear child, last of my friends, is how it should have ended. This is how I should have ended. But nothing is as it should be in this world where the love of beautiful lies is eclipsed only by the hatred of bitter truths.

What’s…

The Hero is powerful. The Hero stabs and shoots and kills and conquers. So of course the hero has conquered our notion of storytelling to the point where every story must be about the hero's journey. Every narrative must be driven by conflict. The quiet peace of hearth and home must be bookends from which the Hero escapes, to which the Hero returns with the power to change. Le Guin, offers another take on narrative in this short and beautiful essay.

https://youtu.be/C292fxOJdf4?si=kogGOpvJosncUBtu

Following the unexpected death of his wife, Kat, Ben Parker moves from Florida to rural New York. He comes in search of a connection to his remaining family and in pursuit of Kat's lost dreams. What he finds instead is an ancient and hungry evil that threatens to devour everything he loves.

Ice Eater is a 60K word horror novel. I'm nearly complete, but need to smooth out a few wrinkles in the second half. The first half is linked below. The story is rooted in place rather than time and the narrative switches often, from modern day, to 1018AD, to 1895, to the dawn of time. I'd love to hear any feedback you have on this piece.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13IVzyBgoVvMPcBViMg5nxUVUfo_uPsMx/view?usp=sharing

If anyone is interested in an autospeech reading:

Chapters 1 & 2:

First act of a horror screenplay about a boy who loses things. One day, he finds the place where all the lost things go and finds a way to use this to his advantage. When this puts him in the path of some very dangerous people, he is forced to use his unique talent to save those he loves, even though doing so could awaken something far more dangerous and imperil our very reality.

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