I like the idea of giving away a free story as a PDF, which can then be freely distributed. It's like throwing a bottled message into the ocean: one which then has the potential to magically multiply.
A year ago, I wrote a short supernatural horror story called A Sincere Warning About The Entity In Your Home. It was written like a letter to you and really was about YOUR home. No, really, yours. Read the story and you'll see.
A Sincere Warning... was (and is) available both as an ebook and as a personalised physical letter, snail-mailed to your home address. The physical Paper Edition proved extremely popular and I was rather overwhelmed with the response. It was mailed off all around the world, to Europe, America, Australia...
I'm interested in methods of storytelling which are specific to certain media. In this case, I love that prose can ask the reader to provide imagery themselves. And what happens when that imagery is specific to them, such as the interior of their own home? Everyone walks away with an entirely different, personalised story in their head and I like exploring that and pushing it.
What with the nights drawing in and Halloween being closer than you think, I thought I'd have some fun and write another story using a similar technique. I'd then give it away for free as a thank you to all who bought A Sincere Warning About The Entity In Your Home.
This one's called A Letter From Your Twin. It sees you being contacted by the twin you never knew you had... and will wish you hadn't.
It's an unpleasant tale, much shorter and sharper than A Sincere Warning..., so watch yourself if you decide to read it. If A Sincere Warning... was a creepy cappuccino, this one is intended to be an evil espresso shot. Like A Sincere Warning..., it is also available as an actual paper letter, which comes through your letterbox, addresses you by name and is generally even more unnerving.
Thanks to the mighty magic of Dropbox, you can access the PDF version of A Letter From Your Twin and download it, print it, distribute it and generally do whatever you like with it (except sell it, or send it to a lovely old lady with a weak heart.) You'll have access whether you're a Dropbox member or not.
For best results, though, I strongly suggest you follow these steps:
1) Go to this Dropbox link (opens new window.)
2) Print the pages out (there aren't many, this is a 1500 word story.)
3) Wait until you're home alone at night, or at least in a room alone at night.
4) Read the story.
Enjoy! Happy Halloween.
2 comments:
Halloween, huh. Is this going to scare the bejabbers out of me? It is, isn't it? I'll let you know - I hope.
Wow, great imagination! Um, I uh, at least I hope it is imagination! Gulp. Do I dare look over my shoulder now?
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