Jennifer’s eyes reminded him of cheese. Something about the way they oozed cream while she argued her point, like they were liquefying and he had to quick find some tortilla chips while the stuff was fresh...
My one and only stab at bizarro fiction is greeting the world again, thanks to the kind folks at Liquid Imagination. This story originally appeared at Linger Fiction which, alas, is no more. I'm honored to say my work has appeared in three straight issues of Liquid Imagination, and I plan to keep submitting there because it's a cool venue, and because Bob Eccles reads the audio version. I'm pretty sure he'd make even the classifieds sound good!
You can read or listen to "For a Handful of Crowns" here, if you're so inclined.
Back in July, writer/blogger/book reviewer Jeff Chapman had this to say about it:
What if the Soviets had won the Cold War? What if a mysterious green cloud had washed over the United States of the early 1970s, leaving every American dumb, as in unable to speak, and unable to use their feet? What would happen to all the shoe stores? Is there any hope for people reduced to such desperate circumstances? Is there any hope if they can trade a handful of crowns for some cheese and chips?
In other news, I'm still on track with Write1Sub1 (48 short stories written and submitted in 48 weeks), and I'm looking forward to "Write1Sub1 Reloaded" in 2012. I'm planning to drop from the weekly to the monthly challenge so I can focus more on my neglected novel-length projects. One in particular has garnered an editor/publisher's interest, and it involves a certain character you might be familiar with if you're an In Medias Resgular.
More on that in the weeks to come!
32 comments:
Congratulations, Milo! How on earth do you find time to write so much, anyway?
Congrats, Milo! And I'm with Alex - I'd like to know how you do it all, too. :)
Ha! Very bizarre and interesting story.
And yay! A Captain Quasar novel! Definitely looking forward to that. ;)
garnering a publisher/editor's interest is a very good thing :)
Alex + Madeline: There's a great deal for 36-hour days on eBay!
Defcon: Thanks for reading! And yes, I am stoked.
Marcy: Agreed; we're working out a few particulars, and I look forward to sharing more.
Congratulations Milo. Eyes like cheese is not a comparison that I would have made. It's a testament to your imagination.
Congratulations on the publication and on writing 48 stories - that's good going. Will be joining W1S1 next year - haven't decided yet if I'll go with weekly or monthly.
Wow. A publisher/editor's interest. That is big new.
Congratulations on your three straight run at LI. That's got to be a record. They are a great venue, and really nice folks.
Oh! You've made me hungry now!
Cream cheese... Mmmmm :)
Congratulations.
Michael: I guess imagination is one word for it; I originally wrote this story for The Pedestal's bizarro issue, so as weird as possible (with a plot) was my goal.
Patsy: Weekly is definitely doable; I staggered short stories and novelettes with flash fiction and survived fairly well.
Deborah: I'm stoked, mos def; and you'd better believe I'm going to try to get into Liquid Imagination's next issue!
Lydia: You can probably guess what my Food Network show would be like...
I love Captain Quasar! I can't wait to see what awesome you bring out in 2012, Milo. Congrats!
Congrats, Milo. That story still creeps me out.
Intriguing news, Milo! And congrats on that story and all your W1S1 successes.
Cool cool cool! I can always expect to find a new story to read and great news on the horizon when I surf over. Keep it up, my man! :-)
Stephanie: Thank you! And the captain thanks you as well.
Jeff: Honestly? Me too.
Simon: It's been a good year for us W1S1ers, hasn't it? I'm sure more will join the throng.
Tony: I'll do my best. Looking forward to reading your story collection!
You are a writing machine!
And the eyes like cheese simile is pretty awesome!
You're 48 for 48?
Okay, total honesty here - I thought when you set out to do Write1Sub1 that there was no way you (or anyone, for that matter) could hang in all the way. It's mind-boggling to me! But you have, and that is insanely awesome.
Jay: Some days are better than others, and some of my work is a little cheesy...
Jennifer: Only 14 of them have been accepted so far, but I'm not giving up on the other 34!
Heh, I'm definitely going to officially do Write1Sub1 all the way through in 2012. I think it's great!
I got distracted by Business & Books, but now I'm back in action on the short story front.
Oh, and great new logo...
Great, David! I highly recommend it; I mean, who's to argue with Bradbury, right?
Just been listening.I love how you use observations and turn them into original story lines.You have an amazing imagination. Superb!
You have proved Bradbury correct. You can't write 52 duff stories. Congratulations on the continued success
That was incredibly weird, vivid, and wonderful. Post Cold War crawling and... I feel a little sick for wanting some nachos, now.
Milo, I've been on a long summer vacation, and not making the rounds as much as I used to. But I'm happy to see that you're going stronger than ever, and happy to hear of all your successes. I've always admired your endless energy and tenacity.
Madeleine: Thanks for the kind words!
Martin: I've still got four weeks, so don't count me out yet. =]
Katey: Make sure they're extra-cheesy.
Marty: Thanks for stopping by! It's been a while. I'll need to check in and see if you've posted any new aphorisms...
"Jennifer’s eyes reminded him of cheese."
Wow!
I remember that Jennifer's cheese eyes line! Maybe it's because it's my name? HAHA, awesome.
But is it Velveeta? Or is it cheddar?
Hmmm, cheese eyes - well, that is bizarre, but certainly a line that will stick with me :-))
That was totally bizzare Milo. I stared at the picture for several moments too, getting a feel for the place.
But vivid certainly describes the piece. My stomach growled too every time he looked at her, licked his lips.
You did well building the tension and the characters. The gestures, the signing, even the rolled eyes (which I don't normally approve of) were all so expressive; visual. I could feel their need, their hunger, and their humiliation at the drastic lengths they were forced into just to obtain a little food.
Well done Milo. Weird, but exciting. A unique concept.
Good luck with the reloading of write1sub1. I can't write that much, but I think tracking down all the possible publishers would be the most difficult for me.
Have a great weekend. And thanks for sharing your Crown story.
........dhole
Lisa: Glad you found it sticky.
Donna: Duotrope is a life-saver in that regard -- markets you can search by genre, payscale, and word count. You should definitely give W1S1 a try.
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