drama – Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher

Update of September 15, 2020: Follow up on “A Semblance of Normalcy”

Just a quick note. I finished “A Semblance of Normalcy” tonight and submitted it to Nightmare Magazine. I should hear back from them in anywhere from a few days to two weeks.

After I submitted it, of course I thought of a way I could improve it. I should have added more descriptors to make the senses come alive when reading it, things that would reflect what the characters are experiencing. what they are hearing, touching, seeing, smelling, and tasting (if i can work that in somehow) while being concise. If it’s rejected, I may add those to it before submitting it to the next publisher. One principle I try to live by with my writing is that when one story is rejected I send it out to another publisher the day I receive the rejection.

I am going to try a new tactic and find a photo that captures the spirit of “A Semblance of Normalcy”, format it for Twitter, and post it below. Then, when this article appears on Twitter, it will have a simple banner to help promote it. Let me know what you think.

The Saturday Night Special: Voskhod

This is a hell of a good movie. Though it is short, it packs a terrific punch. This is a true guy’s flick though about male bonding between a ham radio operator and a cosmonaut stranded in space in 1966. Although this isn’t horror, I felt it is good enough to let as many people as I can know about it. There is a lot of tension. This is well written. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

“A Good Man” Has Been Published at Fiction on the Web

Phil Slattery hiking in the Bisti Wilderness near Farmington, NM, circa 2013

Today, my short story, “A Good Man”, was published at http://www.fictionontheweb.co.uk. Many thanks to Charlie Fish at Fiction on the Web for publishing this, one of my best stories. “A Good Man” is not horror, but a modern crime drama. Mr. Fish describes the story thus: “On the day before her death from lung cancer, Christopher’s mother tells him a secret about his father that may change his perception of his parents forever…” Doug Hawley, in the first comment on the story notes: “Lots of detail examining an old question of how do you judge a person’s life. It left me wondering.”

Please drop by Fiction on the Web any time and check out “A Good Man”.