September 2017 Group Read with Guest Author, Todd Keisling

[Todd]

Ken wrote: "Todd wrote: "Ken wrote: "I really connected with Saving Granny From The Devil."

Glad to hear it. That's the most personal story I've ever written. Only ever read it aloud once. That was enough."

..."

It's partially autobiographical. My great-grandmother (Granny) raised me when I was a kid, and the last years of her life were spent in a nursing home following a series of strokes that slowly killed her one piece at a time. I was there when she had her first one, and it was kind of traumatizing.

Without spoiling anything, pretty much all the parts with the devil are fiction. Most of everything else really happened, with little fictional embellishments here and there to make the story work.

[Dawn]

Wow that is a neat back story, thanks for sharing

[Kenneth]

Wow! Just finished The Darkness Between Dead Stars. What an amazing tale! Very Twilight Zone-ish. I love the voice and tone of it.

[Kimberly]

Ken wrote: "Wow! Just finished The Darkness Between Dead Stars. What an amazing tale! Very Twilight Zone-ish. I love the voice and tone of it."

That one was one of my top reads in this collection, too! I keep imagining the "accompanying music" to the Twilight Zone movies. :) (view spoiler)[In that tale, I think the POV really made the difference--objective, so that the reader is getting "the bare facts" of what happened, nothing more. (hide spoiler)]

[Todd]

Kimberly wrote: "Ken wrote: "Wow! Just finished The Darkness Between Dead Stars. What an amazing tale! Very Twilight Zone-ish. I love the voice and tone of it."

That one was one of my top reads in this collection,..."

It's funny you mention the POV... (view spoiler)[This story went through several earlier drafts, all from different POVs, before I settled on its final form. Everything else wanted to be more direct and involved, and because of that, the story just wasn't working for me. Following Maxwell directly as he encountered the weird sounds was boring to me and not at all what I wanted for the story.

So, I kept experimenting with different takes. It wasn't until I stepped back and considered what the folks on earth would be going through that I figured out how to approach the POV problem.

The immediate helplessness of being a passive observer, knowing that there is literally nothing that you can do to help someone while they slowly self-destruct millions of miles away,
was infinitely more terrifying to me than if we'd been right there on board the DSS with him. (hide spoiler)]

[Kenneth]

Todd wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Ken wrote: "Wow! Just finished The Darkness Between Dead Stars. What an amazing tale! Very Twilight Zone-ish. I love the voice and tone of it."

That one was one of my top reads in..."

I thought the POV had a modern Lovecraftian feel to it. I think you were spot on in using it. I've been thinking about that tapping all day!

[Kimberly]

Todd wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Ken wrote: "Wow! Just finished The Darkness Between Dead Stars. What an amazing tale! Very Twilight Zone-ish. I love the voice and tone of it."

That one was one of my top reads in..."

(view spoiler)[That's what made it so effective! You hit the perfect note with that viewpoint. Had you gone from Maxwell's POV, the reader would have been considering more of his state of mind, hallucinations, etc. By going with a basic "screen-by-screen" shot of what transpired, you're giving MORE to speculate on.... I especially loved his comment "What if we're not meant to?" (hide spoiler)]

[Kenneth]

Read Human Resources and House of Nettle and Thorn and I'm convinced that you're on mind-altering drugs, Todd! Wickedly good fun with these!

[Kenneth]

Todd. I finished Ugly Little Things today and I have to say that it's the best collection I've read in a very long time. Kudos to you for producing a collection thats all killer and no filler. A very rare thing indeed. Thank you again for being our guest author this month. My review is posted here -

https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com/201...

[Todd]

Ken wrote: "Todd. I finished Ugly Little Things today and I have to say that it's the best collection I've read in a very long time. Kudos to you for producing a collection thats all killer and no filler. A ve..."

Thanks, Ken! Glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for inviting me to be here! :-)