The Empty Space Between the Stars

by Robert Royal Poff, Truborn Design (Contributor), Joshua

She stood there on the stage, cradling a long cedar violin in her hand as she struck a dramatic pose, poised to fire off at any second. Her violin was like an extension of her own throat, protruding out as if it was always meant to be there, and reflecting such beauty that it made speech seem primitive. The world stopped, everything outside the room melting away as she ran the bow slowly down the string. She stood there, entirely secluded, caught within an existence all to her as her tempest fingers performed a duet with the string, as much a war march as a ballet.
She plucked along, mixing methodical movement with whimsical spurts of passion in a way that none of the others in the competition had even attempted. Even without hearing a note I could feel the music dissolving within my skin, pushing up goosebumps as it crawled throughout my being. My heartbeat increased rapidly, thumping throughout my chest as I watched the gorgeous billowing of her placid fingers as they bounced back and forth, plucking and peeling wistfully.

88 pages, Paperback

Published October 14, 2022

About the author

Royal Poff was born a baby, growing into adolescence where they were the first ever person to put pen to paper and hallucinate in word format. Royal Poff is best known for their first novella, SLEEPING AMONG WOLVES, which is a queer coming of age horror romance, as well as their Exquisite Corpse series which combines the voices of 13 different authors into one nightmareish continuous tale.

Royal Poff's writing focuses on the horror found in every day life, in addiction, the queer experience, and the wellbeing of those around you. Their quieter take on horror is more reflective and introspective but never forgets about the grime and gore of the genre!

Message Royal on Facebook (Royal Poff), Instagram (royalpoff.exe), or through email (robertroyalpoff@gmail.com)!

Reviews

[DaniPhantom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Empty Space Between The Stars is a wonderful introduction to Royals work, showcasing that they had a superb writing style from the beginning. I really like the first story, with the same name as the book, as it has a sad melancholy feel about romance.

[Emma Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Maybe death is just memories on repeat with no actual meaning."

Royal Poff writes good things that I enjoy and I am not biased at all.