My ‘Mercy’ in WordCrafter Press’ Tales from The Hanging Tree Anthology

I asked fellow Tales from The Hanging Tree anthology contributors to share some things about themselves prior to publication, and those generous enough to do so have appeared over the past few weeks (you can find their stories here). Today is the last in the Tales from The Hanging Tree anthology and is my offering, “Mercy.”

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 Tales from The Hanging Tree (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?).

My contribution is Mercy. Here’s the opening:

Adi woke screaming. His parents rushed to his bedside. The young child lay, eyes wide open, fixed on nothing, and shivered as if a strong north wind enwrapped him.
Isaiah, his father, pulled back the covers. “Sometimes an adder will climb into a bed for warmth. Sometimes a spider or biting thing will give poison. Roll him over.”
Mora, his mother, placed her hands under the boy’s left arm and leg. “He’s chilled, husband, and stiff as if dead. Has the deed been done?”
Isaiah ran a hand over his son’s chest. “Don’t be a fool, Mora. It was his scream which woke us. You think a bug or snake could kill him so quickly? Or leave him near frozen on a warm summer’s night?”

How the story came about:
Ah…well…there’s a story in itself.
Long ago and far away Kaye invited me to write something for a hanging tree themed anthology.
Lots of places to go with that. Old West? Witch Trials? And where? New England? Appalachia? Merry Ole England? Another planet? A modern inner city with a devil cult? Medieval Europe? Mexico from pre-history through today? Cincinnati? Too many options.
And I had several other projects going, one of which was contributing to Kaye’s forthcoming Midnight Garden anthology.
I made no promises and wrote I’d think about it, but don’t wait for me.
One by one I closed the other projects.
That’s when Kaye pinged me again. Would I be contributing?
Now the amusing part of this is, from the moment I read Kaye’s initial email about a Hanging Tree anthology, I heard a childhood sing-song:

Hanging Tree O’ Hanging Tree
Some gather your leaves to make their tea
Others laugh and drink wine from thee
Dead men’s bones root your earth
Dead men’s blood gave you birth
When my time’s come will I swing from thee?
Hanging Tree O’ Hanging Tree
When my time comes, have mercy on me.

Fellow authors know you don’t dismiss Calliope, Clio, Polyhymnia, Euterpe, Terpsichore, Erato, Melpomene, and Thalia when they come a’calling. Children sing-songed the chant while holding hands and dancing around a tree. It seemed the only Muse not involved was Urania.
Okay, yield before they get feisty about it.
I wrote. Two starts, two stops. The flavor of the story the Muses shared wasn’t on the pages typed.
One of my techniques for writing is clearing my mind, going to wherever the story’s taking place, and simply writing down what’s there, what’s going on. This I did.
The children sing-songed around a withered tree. Check.
They sing-songed about another child. Really? Okay, check.
That child wasn’t there. Go find the child.
Boom! The opening scene above. The story flowed…
Until I wrote Verduan and Patreo, the two main characters of my medieval mystery novel Tag into the story.
Hey, what are you guys doing here? I thought Tag was a one-off.
Technically, Tag was still in production. Ready to do, and waiting for Amazon to post.
Why are you two showing up here?
You’re done with us yet, Laddie.
I continued to write the Verduan and Patreo narrative into what I entitled The Hanging Tree and got to ~20k words.
This was lots more than Kaye wanted.
Go back to where Verduan and Patreo entered the story. Is there another thread spinnable from there?
Oh, yes, indeed, and it’ll serve as the core material for…
The Hanging Tree: A Verduan and Patreo Mystery. What about Tag?
I still had time to edit the title before Amazon released it, so behold, Tag: The First Verduan and Patreo Mystery.
Yeah, sometimes things work out that way.
Thanks, Kaye…I had nothing else to do with my time, you know…sheesh.

About…me:
{this is a new bio. Let me know what you think}

Hailing from New Hampshire, USA, Joseph Carrabis is a master storyteller with a sharp sense of humor and linguistic expertise. His passion for writing began at the tender age of seven, inspired by his sister’s excitement and wonder while reading ‘Mission to the Heart Stars.’ With a career deeply embedded in the evolution of technology, both as Chief Neuroscience Officer and Research Fellow, he earned numerous awards for his journalism in trade technical writing.
Joseph jokingly refers to himself as boring, but his readers and peers strongly disagree as he demonstrates a talent for weaving wildly imaginative stories which reach beyond the boundaries of what’s known into the realm of what’s knowable. He strongly believes people set their own limitations and repeatedly demonstrates breaking past them by bringing together advanced mathematics, quantum physics, cybernetics, and neuroscience to create multi-dimensional characters and future technology that will keep you spellbound. Joseph’s work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize (The Weight), recommended for a Nebula Award (Cymodoce), and received an honorable mention in ‘Writers of the Future’ (Sanctuary).
Outside of writing, Joseph spends his time with his wife Susan, reading, walking his dog, talking around campfires, flying kites, and befriending wildlife. He thinks of music as a language of sound and movement, and enjoys listening and playing the piano, clarinet, saxophone and guitar. A facilitator to open-minded conversations, Joseph runs a monthly forum, RoundTable 360º where creatives from a range of fields discuss what drives their souls to create.
Reach out to Joseph online on his blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Goodreads, Bookbub, Twitter/X, YouTube, and Amazon.
Joseph’s Books in Chronological Order:
That Th!nk You Do V1 – Jan 2023
The Augmented Man – Feb 2023
Tales Told ‘Round Celestial Campfires V1– Mar 2023
Empty Sky – May 2023
The Inheritors – July 2023
The Shaman – Oct 2023 (#1 New release)
Search (The First John Chance Mystery) – Jan 2024
Tag (The First Verduan and Patreo Mystery) – Aug 2024

See all Tales from The Hanging Tree stories here.