Jeff Coleman's Blog: Jeff Coleman Writes, page 6
November 6, 2019
Running From the Dark
WICHAI WONGJONGJAIHAN/Shutterstock.com This post was originally published through Patreon on November 27, 2018.
Jared glanced over his shoulder, bit his lower lip, and fed his card into the ATM. The machine whirred, and a moment later, dispensed ten thousand Philippine pesos worth of canary yellow banknotes. He pocketed the cash, relief warring with the dread he’d tried and failed to shake all afternoon, and crossed Magsaysay Avenue toward his apartment.
Charcoal clouds bulged overhead, promising rain even as the tropical heat and humidi...
October 30, 2019
Marco Polo
Olga Savina/Shutterstock.com This post was originally published through Patreon on November 20, 2018.
Jeanette peers through a narrow pair of goggles at the swimming pool beside her feet. The day is quiet, the sky is clear, and the water ripples like a mirage. She pauses, eyes locked on the deep end, then takes a deep breath and dives.
The water closes in around her. The sounds of the outside world disappear, and in their stead, she hears a resonant, ever-present thrum. Opening her eyes, Jeanette kicks off, propelling herself...
October 19, 2019
Get a Free Signed Copy of “The Stronger Half”
“The Stronger Half,” by Jeff Coleman. ©2018. All rights reserved. Every now and then, I give out print copies of my books to promote my work on Patreon, and since The Stronger Half came out exactly one year ago this month, I’ve decided to give away free signed hardcover copies. The hardcover retails for $29.99 on Amazon (it’s $19.99 in my own store), so it’s a pretty good deal
October 16, 2019
Quiet
tupaiterbang/Shutterstock.com The unnatural quiet was my first clue that something was wrong.
I’d been standing outside in the middle of a hot and humid afternoon, gazing at the sky while cars raced up and down Knott Ave. like bullet trains. I’d had a rough day at work, and my silent contemplation of the clouds was a way for me to escape the endless demands of a high-stress job.
One cloud formation in particular had just captured my attention—an obelisk that seemed to rise from a city of smoke and ash—when an audible silence desce...
October 9, 2019
Brave New World
agsandrew/Shutterstock.com This post was originally published through Patreon on November 14, 2018.
The world shifts, and my chest, starved of oxygen, begins to heave. The environment around me transforms into a jumbled mass of foreign geometries where nothing is familiar except for the certainty that this has happened before, and that it will happen again.
My throat constricts, and soon I feel as if I’ve plunged into the ocean. I gasp, shudder, reel, while dark spots blossom in my field of v...
October 2, 2019
Life as a Star
Irina Alexandrovna/Shutterstock.com This post was originally published through Patreon on November 7, 2018.
In. Scoop. Dump.
Jeanette speared the snow with her shovel, shuttling wet, sparkling ice dust from the driveway to the lawn. Her fingers had gone numb in spite of her gloves, and she could feel the oppressive cold gathering around her, climbing down her throat so that it was difficult to breathe, binding her muscles and joints so that it was difficult to move.
Until her relocation to Ne...
September 25, 2019
Simon’s Demon
Freeda/Shutterstock.com This post was originally published through Patreon on October 31, 2018.
Simon viewed the blacktopped parking lot as if it were an ocean. He breathed, a deep bone-weary sigh, then began the long trek back to his car.
Only twenty feet to go.
He gritted his teeth, pushed his failing legs harder.
Fifteen feet.
Panting for breath, Simon engaged in a futile effort to catch his breath, all the while reflecting on how different life had been when he was young. To think that ba...
September 18, 2019
Totem, Part 12
Images licensed by Shutterstock. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11
For the next two weeks, Azibo, Jahi, Rashidi, Chibale, and Kasim kept watch over the estate in anticipation of the master’s return. Each weekend, tensions would rise as they considered the prospect of his arrival, then ebb as more days followed in his absence.
Like a well-oiled machine, the estate functioned remarkably well without him—if anything, general morale...
September 11, 2019
“Totem, Part 12” Coming Next Week!
On Wednesdays, I ordinarily post a piece of flash fiction. This week, however, I’ve been busy preparing for the release of Totem, Part 12. It’s going up next Wednesday morning, so be sure to look out for it!
September 4, 2019
Tallys
nasti23033/Shutterstock.com This post was originally published through Patreon on October 24, 2018.
In the dark, beneath the shadows of a nearby pier, stood a woman, head covered, eyes a bright emerald green. The night was quiet and still, and only the crashing of nearby waves disturbed the tomb-like silence of the beach.
“It’s her,” Luke whispered. “The woman from our vision.”
His brother Michael nodded, though he wasn’t listening. He was focused solely on the woman.
Those eyes, Michael thou...
