the sand and gravel and peeling his skin like a banana. Warm blood oozed from raw, opened wounds.
Jake heard the sounds of the cars roaring over the edge, hanging in the air and then plummeting to the mechanical ripping and mangling of metal being chewed by rocky teeth. He brushed the dirt from his bleeding face and looked for Ricky. He expected to see anything but the wind lifting the dirt and blowing it across the night. The crowd started screaming.
An hour later, and they had to use a metal saw on Ricky's door. It seems someone had welded it shut.
Bonus E-book Mental Shrillness Notes
Yes, we're in overtime now.
In preparing the Dead Tree Book (DTB) version of Mental Shrillness and facing the economic realization that it would cost more money than the e-book version, I wanted to add some bonus material.
And bonus material without bonus notes to go with the material would be like cheese without wine, batteries without acid, sun without light and, well, you get it.
One of the first consulted was my right arm, my wife, as to what short stories she liked from the same AIN era. I gave her sampling of several different stories. I didn't ask her to consider if these would have any Mental Shrillness connection, just a simple question: "Can you tell me which of these you like best, please?"
She chose "The Clock Called Fate" and "Honey, I Shrunk The In-Laws." Curious selections, I thought, but since this book is dedicated to her I didn't question. Fortunately, there is a Mental Shrillness connection.
Special e-book version note : I replaced "Honey, I Shrunk The In-Laws" in this version with another twisted humor tale from the same AIN era entitled "Politically Correct." I wanted the kind readers who bought the Mental Shrillness paperback to have an exclusive story that couldn't be found anywhere else. Here's the good news: this e-book also contains a story that's not anywhere else, so please don't sic the digital demons on me.
I also included a couple stories that have been used during the promotion of Mental Shrillness. These stories were also written during the AIN era so I'm keeping it all connected.
Let's check out the notes on the bonus stories.
"The Clock Called Fate" - Mental Shrillness: time management and awareness. We've all been rushed by the clock at one time or another and wished we had more time. Poor Kyle Ekelton was so focused on not being late that he forgot something time-worthy had happened. In the present day Kyle could simply have checked his smartphone and saw he had an hour to go but remember, these stories are blasts from 15 years ago past. We weren't as atomic clock friendly back then. At least the technology wasn't as widespread as it is now. Then again, even with technology, how many of you still take a few days to adjust to the new time? It's like when a new year turns over and you want to keep writing last year down instead.
"$$$ Knowledge and Power $$$" - Mental Shrillness: overconfidence. Imagine a job where all day, every work day, you stare at a bank of security monitors. It's possible that someone like Albert could start believing he could predict people's actions. Of course the eyes can always deceive and being overconfident about anything in life can be a mistake.
"Politically Correct" - Mental Shrillness: deception. This is an odd curveball bonus piece. Back in the AIN era I had numerous reader requests for some twisted humor and this was one of several stories that dropped out of my head (along with "Honey, I Shrunk The In-Laws" in the DTB version). Remember, this story was written in and published several years before the tragic events of September 11, 2001. I thought about altering and updating this story but decided to leave it alone. Like "The Clock Called Fate" I'm fascinated by how time, technology and real life events can change fiction.
"Father Knows Winners Best" - Mental Shrillness: obsession. Almost every child wants to make their parents proud, but Ricky and Jake
Jake heard the sounds of the cars roaring over the edge, hanging in the air and then plummeting to the mechanical ripping and mangling of metal being chewed by rocky teeth. He brushed the dirt from his bleeding face and looked for Ricky. He expected to see anything but the wind lifting the dirt and blowing it across the night. The crowd started screaming.
An hour later, and they had to use a metal saw on Ricky's door. It seems someone had welded it shut.
Bonus E-book Mental Shrillness Notes
Yes, we're in overtime now.
In preparing the Dead Tree Book (DTB) version of Mental Shrillness and facing the economic realization that it would cost more money than the e-book version, I wanted to add some bonus material.
And bonus material without bonus notes to go with the material would be like cheese without wine, batteries without acid, sun without light and, well, you get it.
One of the first consulted was my right arm, my wife, as to what short stories she liked from the same AIN era. I gave her sampling of several different stories. I didn't ask her to consider if these would have any Mental Shrillness connection, just a simple question: "Can you tell me which of these you like best, please?"
She chose "The Clock Called Fate" and "Honey, I Shrunk The In-Laws." Curious selections, I thought, but since this book is dedicated to her I didn't question. Fortunately, there is a Mental Shrillness connection.
Special e-book version note : I replaced "Honey, I Shrunk The In-Laws" in this version with another twisted humor tale from the same AIN era entitled "Politically Correct." I wanted the kind readers who bought the Mental Shrillness paperback to have an exclusive story that couldn't be found anywhere else. Here's the good news: this e-book also contains a story that's not anywhere else, so please don't sic the digital demons on me.
I also included a couple stories that have been used during the promotion of Mental Shrillness. These stories were also written during the AIN era so I'm keeping it all connected.
Let's check out the notes on the bonus stories.
"The Clock Called Fate" - Mental Shrillness: time management and awareness. We've all been rushed by the clock at one time or another and wished we had more time. Poor Kyle Ekelton was so focused on not being late that he forgot something time-worthy had happened. In the present day Kyle could simply have checked his smartphone and saw he had an hour to go but remember, these stories are blasts from 15 years ago past. We weren't as atomic clock friendly back then. At least the technology wasn't as widespread as it is now. Then again, even with technology, how many of you still take a few days to adjust to the new time? It's like when a new year turns over and you want to keep writing last year down instead.
"$$$ Knowledge and Power $$$" - Mental Shrillness: overconfidence. Imagine a job where all day, every work day, you stare at a bank of security monitors. It's possible that someone like Albert could start believing he could predict people's actions. Of course the eyes can always deceive and being overconfident about anything in life can be a mistake.
"Politically Correct" - Mental Shrillness: deception. This is an odd curveball bonus piece. Back in the AIN era I had numerous reader requests for some twisted humor and this was one of several stories that dropped out of my head (along with "Honey, I Shrunk The In-Laws" in the DTB version). Remember, this story was written in and published several years before the tragic events of September 11, 2001. I thought about altering and updating this story but decided to leave it alone. Like "The Clock Called Fate" I'm fascinated by how time, technology and real life events can change fiction.
"Father Knows Winners Best" - Mental Shrillness: obsession. Almost every child wants to make their parents proud, but Ricky and Jake
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