Emaciated by time, the hollow-eyed wraith at the cash register drew on his smoldering cigarette and released a ragged cough.
"You play?" he croaked.
I glanced up from the book of guitar chords, a dog-eared paperback with coffee-stained pages, but at forty-nine cents a real pawn shop bargain. "Yeah."
"Bored with the standard crap? Those open chords and whatnot?" He spewed smoke like a dragon in its final throes. "Looking for more advanced stuff, huh."
"Something like that." I hadn't come in here looking for conversation.
You can read the rest of the story here at Fear and Trembling, if you're so inclined. "Power Chords" was my Write1Sub1 for Week#31 and my first stab at urban fantasy/horror with spiritual underpinnings and a healthy dose of rock 'n' roll. Let me know what you think.
As always, thanks for reading!
33 comments:
I like the beginning of your story! Horror and rock 'n' roll are an excellent mix. And hopefully your parents didn't get your name after seeing the movie "Milo and Otis."
Yeah, great intro there, I shall definitely read. Sounds like your're having a spooktacular week, my friend.
Good contest. I'll have mine up by midnight tonight. I did post to facebook, albeit without a definitive answer to the question.
Nice riff on the theme, Milo.
Alex: Final answer?
Simon: It's been a good one!
Tony: Still counts as an entry. =]
Deborah: I thought of recording myself riffing on "Stairway to Heaven" but that wouldn't have worked as well with the Coffin Hop theme. Maybe for the reprint next year...
Great intro into your story. Good luck with the Coffinhop contest.
Thanks; igualmente.
Awesome.
But I'm creeped out at the term "Coffin Hop."
Completely understandable. =]
I'm going to go with the Venus de Milo. The resemblence is uncanny! :P
Hmmm.
Can I guess that you are, in fact, named after the Australian fortifying choco-malt beverage?
If so, I have some Ovaltine fans you should meet.
Happy Hopping amigo! Watch out for those coffin nails!
That's some tasty stuff!
Nice excerpt.
I probably spent more time chipping away at that opening line than any other part of the entire story.
I feel like I should know the answer to your question, but I can't think of it! Waaah!
I'll be posting a hint or two on my FB page this week...
Enjoyed the story. :-) I was wondering how you were going to pull off a 1st person POV with the MC dying at the end and not having it be a cliche... Heehee. :D
Thanks for reading! No first-person narrators were harmed in the writing of this story -- just one of the main characters is all.
Great story, Milo!
And congrats on W1S1 :)
Thanks for checking it out! My W1S1 is kicking me in the rear this week -- can't quite figure how I want it to play out -- but I shall have it beaten and submitted by Saturday, mos def.
Congratulations on your October award, Milo.
Hi there,
I am just hopping over from the PIF blogfest, I'm sorry it's taken me so long. So many to get around. Anyway hope you are well. Your blog is great.
Eve :)
Good one, Milo. Love the opening and there are such great sharp descriptive lines throughout the whole story.
Deborah: Thanks; you too!
Eve: Thanks for stopping by -- and for the follow.
Madeline: Thanks for reading! I had a lot of fun with this one.
Happy Halloween and Coffin Hop to you! I won't be entering a contest but am following your blog. Nice to meet ya!
Thanks for stopping by. I think I'm about halfway through the Coffin Hop -- so many more cool sites to visit.
I'm very ashamed to say that I can't even guess the answer. D'oh! Have a great Coffin Hop and a wonderful Halloween.
Hey, you too. Thanks for stopping by.
Seems I'm too late for the contest here. :( But will check out your FB page! :)
J.C.
Coffin Hopper
Read my Coffin Hop post HERE
Thanks!
Great start to the story, Milo!
Thanks! Let me know how you like the rest of it.
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