I’m thrilled to share that The Saturday Evening Post has published my short story “Burn Memory” as part of their New Fiction Friday series. Read the opening below and the rest for free on their site.
“Do you understand why we’re here, Roy?” The therapist leans toward me in his foldable chair. Instead of our usual room, he moved us to a storage room at the edge of his dingy building in West Oakland. A room without a table, couch, artwork, not even a power outlet. Besides our chairs and the door, a lone sprinkler hangs from the ceiling.
“I’m not a pyro,” I whisper.
The Saturday Evening Post can be traced back to 1821, but I first stumbled across them in reading many of F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s delightful Jazz age stories.
“Burn Memory” is part of my forthcoming novel, Eyes on Fire. It’s exciting to share a part of the book early. The novel explores a terminally ill arsonist searching for something he loves more than fire.
This is the second story with Roy, who first appeared in “sparkbirth” in the now defunct Down & Out: The Magazine.
A big shout out to the following folks who helped bring this one to life:
- My sister for inspiring the title “Burn Memory” and teaching me that candles have memory.
- Kyle Stout for co-creating the character of Roy with me and keeping him alive in jokes, screenplays, short stories, and a novel.
- Lisa Cron for Story Genius. The exercises in that book led to me exploring my character and drafting this story as part of that exploration.
Read “Burn Memory” and let me know what resonates with you.
