May is International Short Story Month.
And to help celebrate, the Short Mystery Fiction Society is highlighting stories written by its members. Today, they were kind enough to highlight my story “Not My Gun,” originally published by the Flash Fiction Offensive at Out of the Gutter Online.
(Here’s a bit more about “Not My Gun.”)
Follow the SMFS blog, or follow the SMFS on Twitter or Facebook, to read a great story (or more!) for free every day this month.
My short story “Oh Well” is now available in Spanish!
Read it here: Oh Bien
“Oh Well” was originally published in English by The Flash Fiction Offensive at Out of the Gutter Online in August 2013.
My thanks to translator Carolina Maria Russo-Holding, who does a great job with my stories. “Oh Bien” is my 10th story available in Spanish. All of the translations are available here.
My short story “Not My Gun” is now available in Spanish!
Read it here: No es Mi Arma
“Not My Gun” was originally published in English by The Flash Fiction Offensive at Out of the Gutter Online in June 2014.
My thanks to translator Carolina Maria Russo-Holding, whom I really enjoy working with. More Spanish translations are available here.
I’m very excited to be back at Out of the Gutter Online’s The Flash Fiction Offensive today with a new short story:
Making my fourth appearance at TFFO even better, editors Joe Clifford and Tom Pitts are featuring two great pieces of art by my friend Dillon Samuelson along with the story. Dillon is remarkably talented and, I predict, will have a long career as an artist.
I think the art we chose fits the dark mood of “Not My Gun” perfectly.
If by chance you’re interested in acquiring one of Dillon’s works, well… I’ve already purchased the second image (a monoprint), the one with the butterfly. But the top piece is still available (as are numerous others — check out Dillon’s portfolio at Behance to see more of his art.)
Click the images for larger versions.
My thanks to Dillon for allowing his art to accompany my story, and to Tom and Joe for deciding to feature it.
Earlier this week, The Flash Fiction Offensive at Out of the Gutter Online published my story “Oh Well”, about an ambitious politician and set in the Pennsylvania Capitol. Inspired by an email from my wife, I put together this video trailer for the story…
Some of my stories have had political elements, but until now only one (“Mess With Me”) has been set in the Pennsylvania State Capitol, where I work. I’m pleased that my second Capitol-based story was published this morning.
“Oh Well” — published by the fine folks at Out of the Gutter Online’s Flash Fiction Offensive — has scenes set in the Capitol Rotunda, the Senate chamber, and a Senator’s office. The Capitol’s a remarkable building, and if you ever get a chance to visit, I highly recommend it.
“Oh Well” being published is great on its own (I’m thrilled to be back at TFFO!), but also because it gives me an excuse to post a few photos of the spectacular Pennsylvania Capitol (click on any of the photos on this page to see larger versions), including:
I’m thrilled to have a second story up at Out of the Gutter Online’s The Flash Fiction Offensive today.
“For the Honesty” is about the loving relationship between Bruce Burton and his wife Amber, how Bruce gives Amber a gold bracelet with a diamond charm, and so on. (That all happens in just the first sentence.)
With setup like that, “For the Honesty” must have a happy ending, right? Whether it does or not, I’d love to hear what you think. TFFO makes it easy to leave comments on the story.
My first story at TFFO was “Sole Operator,” which stole its title from a song by the band Poole. “For the Honesty” takes its title from a song by The Throes (both bands feature several of the same members), from the album Fall On Your World.
The editors at TFFO are Joe Clifford and Tom Pitts, who also happen to be great writers (notwithstanding their shared poor taste in football teams). I highly recommend Joe’s collection of short stories, Choice Cuts, and Tom’s novel, Piggyback. Check out their websites for more info.
Several months ago, my friend Harry Evans (drummer for The Throes and lead singer of Poole) challenged me to “write a story called ‘Sole Operator.’ 1, 2, 3… Go!”
So I did.
And much to my delight, the good people at Out of the Gutter Online’s Flash Fiction Offensive decided to publish the result, my first story to appear there. (The email I received saying they accepted the story said, “You are a twisted muther.” I hope “Sole Operator” lives up to that high praise…)
SPOILER-TYPE DETAILS BELOW. Read the story here before continuing.
Since “Sole Operator” is about a rock band and is set in 1996, I thought it would be fun to include a few references to bands and artists who were popular around that time. So tucked into the story are nods (some larger than others) to Sade, Robert Palmer, the Cranberries, and Vanilla Ice. (I’m inordinately proud of the Vanilla Ice reference.)
The story’s title, “Sole Operator,” comes from a song on Poole’s album Among Whom We Shine. I borrowed a few lyrics from that song as well.
The “influential indie rock mag” Notebored is also appropriated from real-life: I worked at a magazine called Notebored in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Editor Brent Hershey, publisher George Metzler, art director Ned Bustard and I (thinking back, I’m not sure I ever had a real title) had a lot of great times putting that mag together in our office on the top floor of a barn in Atglen, Pennsylvania.
Here’s a video from Poole, “Supermerica,” from the album Alaska Days: http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/7946342 (That’s Harry on lead vocals.)
Erik Arneson 