Since Halloween is right around the bend, I thought I’d stick to another short story that I had published last year. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I love the decorations and the creativity people show with their displays. I love the costumes and the excitement as kids talk about what they’ll dress up like for Halloween. Things are a bit different this year, but I still love the creative spirit of Halloween.
Last year at this time, I had just been published in my first anthology (Beyond Dark Drabbles #4 by Black Hare Press) but there were several small publishers that I found in my friend’s groups on Facebook that pointed me to Halloween horror anthologies. The second anthology that included my work was from one of these. Reanimated Writers Press had a call for drabbles specifically about zombies. I was thrilled to get a piece of micro-fiction in the anthology.
Why? Zombies are hard! Sure, everyone can tell a good zombie tale, and that’s what makes zombie stories so difficult to write. How do you tell a story that is compelling and hasn’t been done to death (by writers with far more talent than you have)?
As I was contemplating this question, I had an old movie on beside me. I love a good zombie story, but I love a good dragon story even more, so I was watching Reign of Fire in the background. The first time we see Matthew McConaughey in this movie is a bit of an eye-opener (not just because of the audience’s reaction to seeing the character pop up) but also because of the implication that it isn’t just the dragons they have to fear.
When I sat down and began writing “The Horde”, this was exactly what I focused on. If zombies weren’t the only problem, what was?
And that was the inspiration for my story, “The Horde” in 100 Word Zombie Bites. For more information about the book, click on the image below. I’m getting ready to launch my newsletter in the next month, so if you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter to get more information about upcoming projects, resources, and even the occasional free read!
Comments