Description

A teenager finds an unexpected escape from abuse in the garage, and it will haunt him the rest of his life.

Background

It was amazing to have my latest horror story out in time for Halloween! “From Them Prostrate I Flee” is available now in Stories We Tell After Midnight, Volume 3, the latest anthology from Crone Girls Press and edited by Rachel A. Brune. The ebook is available for purchase from Amazon for Kindle and is included in Kindle Unlimited for subscribers of that service. A paperback edition will be available soon.

I’m grateful to have been asked to contribute, and after reading the first three stories in the book, I find I’m in astonishing company. The stories are terrific so far (I’m writing short reactions to each one after I read them in a thread on Twitter here.) Brune is not only a fantastic editor but she’s also a gifted storyteller, which shows up in how she orders stories in the anthologies she edits to let arcs of emotions, connections, and parallels between stories emerge, and also in her own writing, including her recent collection of short stories, Side Roads.

My story “From Them Prostrate I Flee” begins with an older narrator looking back at a traumatic childhood incident that takes an unnatural and life-changing turn when a desperate wish is granted. I wanted to explore how trauma cycles back unexpectedly, even years and much counseling later. The writing took me to unexpected places that challenged my own understanding of trauma and recovery. I hope readers find the story engaging and thought-provoking.