Inspiration comes from random places. “The Shadows That Remain” initially stemmed from a documentary series I watched on people’s personal experiences with the afterlife. I kept thinking about the people in the documentary, these varied manifestations of grief and coming to terms with death and loss. Then, one evening, during our regular family walk, holding my daughter’s warm hand, I noticed our shadows flung ahead of us from the light of the overhead streetlamps. The story almost spun itself.
I saw the call for speculative parenting stories, and I knew this story would be a great fit. Thankfully, the editor of the anthology, Hannah Greico, agreed. She worked very hard with me to improve the story immensely. I’m so proud to have my story, “The Shadows That Remain,” in the anthology, And If That Mockingbird Don’t Sing, from Alternating Current Press, which was launched just last week. This is an amazing collection of speculative flash stories about so many aspects of parenting, not just the good, but the hard times and the weird times and the scary times that we don’t usually talk about in public. That’s the beauty of speculative fiction, to be able to talk about difficult topics through the shifting lens of what-if.
If you’re a parent (or a child with a parent), like speculative fiction, and enjoys reading very short but very amazing stories, I highly recommend you check this anthology out. Also, stay tuned for a possible reading of my story in April! Hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think.