I asked fellow The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication and those generous enough to do so will be appearing here for the next week or so.
Each entry gives a taste of their contribution, a little about them, how to contact them, how their story came about, and definitely a link to The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey (which you should purchase because it would make each and every one of us happy.
you do want to make us happy, don’t you?
i mean, considering what we wrote, you want us to know you’re a good person, right?).
Let’s start with an introduction to the anthology as a whole:
“Life is a journey, not a destination.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Emerson’s point has been echoed by many, but in the Land of the Weird the question arises, “A journey to what destination?” At the same time, you might ask, “Is the journey therefore the destination?” The journey may well be an individual’s destination, because it will define them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And in the Land of the Weird, that journey can take twists and turns that amuse, sadden, or horrify.
This trip into the Land of the Weird offers you 39 unique trails to follow, assisted by 35 different guides, each leading you down their own singular paths, manifesting their own view of journey as destination, some laughing, some weeping, and some, eyes wide with fear, shaking as they point out the spectral footpath for you to follow on your way down The Rabbit Hole.A Writers Co-op Production
Stories by: Chere Taylor, Brian R. Quinn, Arthur M. Doweyko, Donna J. W. Munro, Tom Howard, Kayla Whittle, Leslie Muzingo, Pete Barnstrom, Emmie Christie, Thomas Nicholson, GD Deckard, Richard DeRobertis, M.C. Schmidt, James Dorr, Rosalind Goldsmith, Margaret Karmazin, J.W.Wood, James Rumpel, Bill McCormick, v.f. thompson, Fran Tabor, David K. Slay, Joseph Carrabis, Jane Frankel, Alice Baburek, Susan R. Morritt, Bobby Rollins, Lee Clark Zumpe, Denice Penrose, Stephen McQuiggan, H. Donovan Lyón, Anna Ross, Michael Pudney, Beth Gaydon, and Tom Wolosz.
Susan’s contribution is The Cherry Tree. Here’s the opening:
He didn’t give a damn. About my feelings, my memories. About the fact my mother, his late wife, had planted that magnificent cherry tree back before I was even born.
How the story came about:
The inspiration for The Cherry Tree was sparked when Susan’s new neighbour purchased the property beside her old house, and without any discussion whatsoever, cut down a beautiful, healthy cherry tree. From an upstairs window, Susan was aghast to see the outline of a human face depicting a clear expression of pain in the amputated stump below. This revelation haunted her and was the catalyst behind this story.
About Susan R. Morritt:
Susan R. Morritt is a writer, visual artist, and musician from Waterford, Ontario, Canada. Her poetry and prose appear in numerous magazines including A Coup of Owls, Cowboy Jamboree, Better Than Starbucks, Pulsar, Freefall, and Feathertale. Her work is upcoming in 34 Orchard Journal, and The Journal of Undiscovered Poets. She has twice received Silver Honourable Mentions in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, was short-listed for the Staunch Short Fiction Prize, and long-listed for the Redbud Writing Project Coppice Prize. Susan is a former racehorse trainer who has worked extensively with livestock. She presently works part-time teaching turkeys English as a Second Language.
See all The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey stories here.