For those who may not be aware, two of my novellas—Forever Anna Day, and The Crossing—are also available on Amazon in trade paperback (and, of course, on Kindle)…!
Forever Anna Day:
This story began as a short story, which won honorable mention (essentially, 4th place) in an international short fiction competition back in 2010.
But afterward, I challenged myself: the story centers around Red Kelly, an old man who’s lost everything he loved and cared about over the course of his life, and is now standing in a tiny, run-down, roach-infested apartment, looking at a collage of photographs on the wall, each one bringing back a memory.
So my challenge was this: instead of each photograph prompting a distant memory comprising a few paragraphs, could I turn each of them into a full short story?
So that’s what I did—which turned out to entail months of research to create the WWII scene in occupied France when he was a young soldier (among other incidents/history, since the story spans 50 years of his life), and even a further challenge, which was fun: creating a memory within a memory (and even told from two different perspectives!)—and Forever Anna Day grew to a novella, and became my best piece at that time (IMO, but at least the most challenging to write), not only in my collection Rolling The Bones, but overall (at least until I finished my novel PRIMEVAL in Sept 2025, that is, which, spanning several centuries and nearly 800 pages, was the ultimate product of 7 years of labor…).
Though Anna Day is one of the 3 novellas included in Bones, many aren’t aware that it’s also available as a stand-alone novella, both on Kindle and in trade paperback:
Synopsis:
“This dramatic and ghostly novella spans over 50 years of the life of Red Kelly, from a young soldier dealing with the atrocities of WWII in occupied France, through his marriage with the beautiful love of his life Anna, to a lonely old man, having lost everything and living out the last of his days in a tiny, seedy apartment surrounded by memories of his life, and facing a dismal future in a nursing home…until a sudden crisis unfolds in his apartment building, enabling him to perform one last heroic deed—and in the process, win the love his long-lost, beloved Anna once again…”
The Crossing:
The opening scene of this The Crossing actually came to me in a dream (not unusual), and the next morning I hammered it out before I forgot about it. Then, sometime shortly thereafter, I wrote the ending…having no idea how the story would unfold and complete the journey from the beginning scene to the ending scene!
So I ended up writing the story backwards, from how I knew it was going to end, to how it had already began, and had to fill in the middle of the story and somehow make it work.
Over time the story developed and grew to novella length, and ends up, The Crossing became the final piece I finished to complete the collection Rolling The Bones, so I decided to relax a bit (I’m usually pretty strict with my writing style) and just run with it, have a little fun. And it turned out nicely (IMO), and was very fun to write!
But, like Forever Anna Day, many aren’t aware that The Crossing also available as a stand-alone novella, both on Kindle and in trade paperback:
Synopsis:
“In the small town of Hope, adult life is about to be thrust upon young Tommy, essentially ending his childhood and his boyhood adventures with his best friend Winnie. This uncertain future as a “man” frightens him; he wonders if he’ll turn out to be just like his abusive, alcoholic father—or become an emotionally damaged deadbeat like his older brother Will. As his last childhood summer draws to a close, he struggles with the prospect of leaving his childhood paradise—and his best friend—behind, only to venture into the unknown, scary territory of adulthood, perhaps prematurely. But an evil entity hidden deep within the nearby haunted Black Woods and Blackwater Swamp beckons, and “Old Rope” (the ancient, rickety rope bridge that crosses Hope Creek Canyon near Black Woods) offers him a possible escape–and the decision he makes will mark his name down in history forever…”
And further: After publishing Bones, I couldn’t stop thinking about The Crossing…that there must be more to the story…so after much contemplation, I decided to expand the story, and as it continued to grow, The Crossing eventually formed the basis of my epic novel PRIMEVAL, becoming Part I (out of a preface, 4-part prologue, 3 main parts, and an epilogue), only with a slightly altered storyline to better fit the new overarching narrative:
Anyway, just a heads-up that my novellas Forever Anna Day, and The Crossing are also available on Amazon in trade paperback (and, of course, on Kindle)…!
And be sure to check out my Amazon author page to see all of my books currently available—in hardcover, trade paperback, or on Kindle!
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