Thursday Randomness: Cheaters Never Win

Next month will see two of my stories appear in different anthologies. Last week, I unveiled a bit of graphic artwork I created to promote one of those stories entitled "The Deadlands," which will appear in the anthology Four in the Hole. I'll include wallpaper versions of that graphic for your computer at the end of this entry. First off, a few details on the other short story.

I wrote "Cheaters Never Win" back in 2008. It's one of the few pieces of flash fiction I've ever written, coming in at just a little more than 500 words. The story might well be one of the darkest things I've ever written. A husband, having learned his wife has cheated on him, exacts his revenge by forcing her to take part in a deadly game. I don't want to say much more than that, lest I give too much away. After all, there's only so much one can reveal about a flash fiction story.

A local publisher, Sink/Swim Press, is including "Cheaters Never Win" in their anthology Front Porch Flash Fiction. The book comes out September 9th. They're holding a release party that night at Velocity Comics, and I can't wait to go!

I'm also excited about this anthology, because it will include stories from two friends of mine, Katharine Herndon and John Glover. I met John at last year's James River Writers Conference. Speaking of which, Katharine is the chair for this year's JRW Conference, which is being held October 7th and 8th at the Library of Virginia (you can expect me to blog about that as we get closer to the conference). I've known Katharine for many years, and my wife and I were even in a writers critique group with her called "The Ten Page Club" (or "XPC" for short). It was in this group that Katharine read an early version of my other short story, "The Deadlands." Ah, yes... that's how I bring this blog entry back to my other short story.

So, here's the wallpaper for "The Deadlands." I've included the usual sizes for your enjoyment. Nothing makes a computer look more chipper (or would that be "chipperer?") than a picture of the end of the world.

               

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