Free Story of the Week #1
I have decided that on the days that I do not have any news or views to share on my blog, I will be providing a published story of mine as a free read. I will also provide some background on the writing and publishing of that story. I plan to make this a weekly feature.
Today's story is: DAY OF DUST. It is 1000 words long.
This is my earliest SF effort, written when I was 19. I was always one of the people who have sympathy for the underdog. I was reading about Percival Lowell and the ridicule he faced due to his "canals" of Mars. As serendipity usually works, I read about Mariner 9 at about the same time. Things clicked and I thought of a way I could give Lowell a second chance. The story was published in Anotherealm in 2001. I was paid $10 for the story, but then, someone read the story and liked it and offered me $200 for reprint rights. Thus the story was reprinted in the FCAT Grade 8 Test Preparation book, in 2003.
Here is a challenge: While you read the story, keep your eyes open and see if you can spot a passing reference to one of the classic SF stories about life on Mars. Just to make the challenge even more interesting, the first person to correctly name the classic SF story before next Tuesday, i.e. July 31st, will receive a copy of my book, "Ghelenden". How about it?
And now, here is the story: Day of Dust
Today's story is: DAY OF DUST. It is 1000 words long.
This is my earliest SF effort, written when I was 19. I was always one of the people who have sympathy for the underdog. I was reading about Percival Lowell and the ridicule he faced due to his "canals" of Mars. As serendipity usually works, I read about Mariner 9 at about the same time. Things clicked and I thought of a way I could give Lowell a second chance. The story was published in Anotherealm in 2001. I was paid $10 for the story, but then, someone read the story and liked it and offered me $200 for reprint rights. Thus the story was reprinted in the FCAT Grade 8 Test Preparation book, in 2003.
Here is a challenge: While you read the story, keep your eyes open and see if you can spot a passing reference to one of the classic SF stories about life on Mars. Just to make the challenge even more interesting, the first person to correctly name the classic SF story before next Tuesday, i.e. July 31st, will receive a copy of my book, "Ghelenden". How about it?
And now, here is the story: Day of Dust
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