Happy Halloween!
This edition of The Storied Scrolls features a new Fiction Drop. I was inspired by Halloween to write my first ever horror story, Through Bone Like Butter, but upon completing it, my wife read it and said that the story is too “real” to be a horror, so I’ve reclassified it as a psychological thriller.
It’s darker than most of my writing, but I have to admit that it was interesting to write from the perspective of a psychopath.
Let’s break the wax seal and unroll the scroll…
Through Bone Like Butter
CHAPTER 2 of Tales of Twilight
My name is Bernie Louis Harding Jr., and I’m a good person. Always have been. Always will be.
Do you believe me?
When I was seven, my Grannie put chocolate pudding in my lunch bag every day. Some of the kids at school were jealous, so I shared with them. We passed around the pudding and ate it with my spoon.
When I was twelve, I saw Liana Scaldy pass out by the playset. She was mean and made fun of my shoes, but I still went and got help.
And when it came time to choose a career, I became a doctor.
I love helping people. That much I remember.
So do you believe that I’m a good person?
I need to kill my wife.
How about now?
Please don’t lose faith in me. Give me the chance to explain…
My Writer’s Journey
Upcoming Stories
Chapter 10 of Nomad Life - Ruth’s Haus: A travel story covering the time we spent in Hallstatt, Austria. This charming mountain village has existed for 7,000 years and recently became a victim of over-tourism after it was cited as inspiration for the fictional town of Arendelle in the Disney movie, Frozen.
Chapter 3 of Tales of Twilight - “Five Fingers, Four”: I take my first dig at a Western in this short story about a man who will gamble just about anything.
My first novel - The Great War of Inner Peace: I continue to make progress on my first novel. I hit a large milestone last week when I finished the first draft of the outline and sent it to my editor.
Inspiration & Research
🔎 Read a “true” story: A Farewell to Arms by Earnest Hemingway => one of my favorite Hemingway quotes is, “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” I think that A Farewell to Arms is a very “true” story in the sense that it is not based on fact, but it is real. Some of Hemingway’s books get negative reviews in modern times because people complain that they are too sad and have no point. Hemingway didn’t write to teach lessons, as many modern storytellers do. He wrote what he believed was true, and if that’s something that you’d like to read, A Farewell to Arms is both a tragic and a “true” story that I enjoyed.
📺 Unravel a mystery: Season 1: Only Murders in the Building => This murder mystery TV show starring Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, and Martin Short manages a more light-hearted feel than most crime fiction and is one even my wife (who is sensitive to intense shows) could watch before bed.
❤️ Warm your heart: Check out this new concept of a “bicycle bus” that Barcelona is experimenting with. Police escort a caravan of kids biking to school on a pre-determined route. Parents can send their kids out the door into the group of bikers and let them get to school safely on the “bicycle bus.”
⛰️ The salaried wizard of New Zealand who got canceled: “New Zealand council ends contract with wizard after two decades of service”
Quote I’m pondering
“When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind.”
-C.S. Lewis
Enjoy the journey,