#WeWriWa: His Empty Places

Hey there! It’s time for Weekend Writing Warriors’ #8sentencesunday again!

I’m cutting it rather close this week.

It was a busy week. I finished my CampNaNoWriMo goal of 12 hours of revision early this morning. I spent a good part of yesterday on yardtending, because we’ve got a rainy spell predicted, and I wanted to get some things done while it was pleasant out.

As a result, I’m tired and achy today (because I long since left my 20s in my past!). But it’s the good kind of tired and achy that comes from solid exertion and good progress made toward a goal, so I’m just taking today as a recovery day.

I haven’t done any more formatting, but I did find the properly formatted pdf file, so I can work from a better place when I get back to that (hopefully later tonight).

I’m  at the point of asking for review readers. If you’ve enjoyed this story and would love to offer an honest review in return for an ARC, please let me know! I’d like to have at least five reviewers ready by the time I publish (which, at this point, will likely be mid-May).

Here’s the description for my light shines; shadow falls short story/poetry collection (subject to tweaking in the coming weeks):

Yearning for delicious reading that scatters tiny treasures through your busy life? Add light shines; shadow falls to your collection and enter new realities today!

Five breathtaking bite-sized journeys into other lives. Ten autobiographical poems that sample author Shan Jeniah Burton’s life – from the child of volatile parents to the journey of married life, through joy and grief and beyond, interwoven with five lyrical short stories that range from the fantastical to the almost-like-real-life-but-not-quite: 

 A woman, two hawks, and her child self…
 A graffiti artist’s lilac-scented shame…
 A life history told in stained glass…
 A life-changing cup of coffee…
 A most unusual engagement…

You’ll learn why red is a tricky color, follow the ongoing path of a marriage, and feel the deceptive power of the word, “Yes.”

Each story and poem is a treasure of imagery and sensory delights. Each explores light and shadow in its own unique way. 

Savor them one at a time, or feast on them all in one sitting – the choice is all yours. Scroll up and treat yourself today!

Photo credit: Jeri Minick

And now it’s time for the next installment of “Storm at Song Glass Cabin.” Last week, our dying narrator was imagining leading her son around the cabin and explaining the nature of death to him. We’ll pick up from there… ten sentences, this week.

He wouldn’t understand, even if I could. Life abhors the unfinished places. He wants me alive, and doesn’t know that I can never finish, that none of us can ever finish. 

I can’t live only to fill his empty places.  

He must learn other ways to fill himself. And I must go back,  away from the storm. Back into Song Glass Cabin, and whatever is  next, if anything is

The cabin comes back to me, brilliant with daylight and birdsong through the open door.

Photo credit: Jeri Minick

“Storm at Song Glass Cabin” first appeared in Exploits of the Adirondacks, an anthology published by 518 Publishing Company.

It will be included in my upcoming first collection of short stories and poetry, light shines; shadow falls. Stay tuned for details as I wend my way through Amazon’s self-publishing maze. =)

READY FOR MORE #8SENTENCESUNDAY? READ ONE, A FEW, OR ALL!