Mark Shannon is one of the 2009 Awards Program finalists. Below is an excerpt from the prologue and first chapter of his entry, In The Land of Cane.
Monthly Archives: November 2009
Where Luck Lies, by Mary Larkin
2009 SFWP Awards Program finalist Mary Larkin presents Where Luck Lies. This story has since been published in Shenandoah .
The Revelation of Everything (excerpt)
Snow fell again like feathers tumbling from the sky and when they hit the concrete, they dissolved into a clear liquid.
The old joke that Phoenix used to tell Jalen when it snowed back in Cross River was that he’d spotted two snowflakes that were exactly alike. It was never that funny, or even original, but year after year he’d tell it and cackle as loudly as he did the first time Pop Pop or his father (he couldn’t remember who told him the joke) first said it way back when he was five or six. Now, Jalen wasn’t around to hear the joke. Cliff was, but he was a poor substitute. It seemed he had forgotten how to laugh.
Let’s Rile ‘Em Up
I look out at the crowd from the edge of the stage and wait for the event to begin. A swarming mass of people form a churning sea of reds, whites, and blues. Near the front I spot my friend Rick wearing an American flag headband and pumping a placard into the hostility-charged air. The sign pleads for “more 1776 and less 1984.” In the middle of the mob I see Jen, the bored mother of one of my daughter’s friends, who is screaming about burying Obamacare alongside Ted Kennedy. She just loves that line, thinks it’s so witty. Looking around at the faces, I recognize maybe twenty percent of the people in the audience. They’re my people, strategically placed and heavily armed with talking-point lies to foment agitation. This is our magic act, and we’re good at what we do. I’m expecting a great show, a scream-fest louder and angrier than any metal concert you’ve ever been to.
Excerpt from Henry’s Secret, by Robert Gately
From 2009 Literary Awards Finalist Robert Gately comes Henry’s Secret.