Back in late October, I began a story here on Litterfall, “An Expected Chill.” Set in the near future in Portland, Oregon, the story played off the oppressive political atmosphere of the time (an atmosphere that obviously remains to this day), as well as some of the housing issues that currently plague my hometown. It wrapped these elements into a future beset with some of the sort of troubles we might expect to see in our lifetimes and placed its characters within this future storm in an effort to see how they might weather it, how it might impact their relationship, and what challenges arise from living in very troubled times.
The story came about as an intended prequel to another story I began writing in the aim of publishing it in a future edition of Into the Ruins. However, as I shifted my attention away from weekly updates of this blog and toward a busy life that was demanding more of my attention, it slipped into the background and stalled. A few weeks back, I picked it up with a vengeance and I’m happy to announce that the finished product has now been published in the Winter 2017 issue of Into the Ruins. If you’re a subscriber to the magazine, your copy should be arriving shortly. If you aren’t, then you can purchase the new issue and my story within either directly from Figuration Press or via Amazon. I think the story turned out well and I hope that you’ll seek it out, give it a read (not to mention the rest of the issue, which is pretty fantastic) and drop me a line to let me know what you thought of “An Expected Chill.” I have a particular interest in feedback as I consider expanding the story that originally sparked “An Expected Chill” into a possible full fledged novel to be released by Figuration Press sometime next year.
So go read, and let me know your thoughts. In the meantime, I hope you all are doing well and that you find yourself navigating these tumultuous times with a surprising (or perhaps unsurprising) grace. Take care.
Figuration Press 