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.
Denice’s contribution is Castles in the Sky. Here’s the opening:
“Oh no! What was it I needed?” Katie stared at the supermarket aisles. She’d been distracted by the sale on those little camisole tops that had been such a life saver this summer. When the hot flushes struck, she could strip right down to the skimpy top for relief. With a light wrap, they even looked decent enough in public. She stuffed two hangers into her basket. She’d have to start at the beginning and see if she could work out what she needed.
How the story came about:
Stories often start with random snippets that eventually coalesce into something meaningful. This one started with watching Sherlock Holmes, and hearing him talk about using a ‘memory palace’ to remember information. It coincided with conversations on ways of remembering information, and then I started wondering about how it worked, and what happened if it worked too well..
About Denice Penrose:
Denice is a freelance writer who also works part-time on a patchwork of jobs to support her writing habit. These include funded research projects in the digital humanities at the University of Sussex, admin, IT and consultancy work.
She is an avid reader and loves cats almost as much as she loves her husband. They have five furry children who rule the house and their humans with an iron paw. The ducks living in the pond across the road also regard Denice as their human and can be seen following her down the path for food.
Denice loves walking, cooking and baking and spending time with friends.
Follow her on Twitter or through her blog.
See all The Rabbit Hole Weird Stories Destination:Journey stories here.