Prey (short story)

TerryDoolittle, I can't add to the suggestions of sozobe and realjohnboy, especially the descrition of the protagonist.

The story itself is tense and compelling. It frightened me but I couldn't stop reading. I guess that's what good story telling is all about.

I realised with the writing of this piece that the ending might be easily predictable, but that's never bothered me. The title was chosen with that in mind. It is also the reason I decided to keep the description of the victim's death to one sentence. I've always envisioned this piece as a tense scene in a cheap horror film: no color, just shades of grey as the damsel makes her way home...heels clicking on the pavement, but the rhythm of sight and sound don't quite match....she finally reaches her front porch and perceived safety.......the audience heaves a sigh of relief at the very second someone or something grabs her from behind and the screen goes black.

I suddenly feel the urge to write.....good night folks!

Hey gang! I'm revisiting this page after all this time because I'm rewriting this piece yet again before I submit it for publication.

I just wanted to thank you all one more time for your input.

Okay, I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this whole thing, so bear with me as I ramble a bit (I'll be as brief as I can.):

In 1967 Harlan Ellison assembled an anthology of short stories written by unknown and little known authors called Dangerous Visions. Inspired by Ellison, ebook author Bernard J. Schaffer started the Kindle All-Stars Project with the intent of producing one book to raise funds that would be donated to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

I didn't really know Bernard well, but we'd chatted a bit on twitter and had a friend in common.

On 8/16/11, I submitted "Prey," revised and renamed "Fear of the Dark." By 11:00 that night I had received an email from Bernard with my first set of edits. I was in. I almost threw up. By 8/22/11, the edits were done and Bernard had called my piece "completlyf*ckingawesome."

Now, I'm part of the team working on promotion among other things (which I can't reveal). Thanks to the networking I've done for this project, I have a list of opportunities available to me that I'm not even sure which to accept and which to decline. Some of the things I've done for the project (and beyond) are not yet common knowledge, so I can't even share them with those of you who replied to this thread and helped me to revise this story.

This much I can share:
--Bernard contacted Harlan Ellison and asked for his blessing on this project. Mr. Ellison not only gave it, but with it he also contributed a story that will appear in the book.
--Alan Dean Foster has also graciously donated one of his short stories.
--And I, in a moment of bravery, contacted my favorite living author and just this morning secured a contribution from him. Furthermore, he asked me to choose the piece (which means more to me than seeing my name in a book with either of the other two).

If this first book (Kindle All-Stars Presents: Resistance Front) sees even moderate success, Bernard has asked me to help him make this an annual project.

I would love to share more information with anyone who's interested. You may contact me at [email protected].

Thank you all so much for your input. This couldn't have happened without all of you.

Glad to hear you took it from planning to publication. It was good to start with, and if you made it better that's, well, better.

Um, you might want to move the link to your profile. Sometimes they remove them.

Wonderful news, Terry.

Thanks. The ending has been completely revamped, but my voice/mood haven't changed.

Thanks Edgar.

Just in case anyone following this thread is curious as to what's happened since "Prey" was published two years ago, I thought I'd pop in with a quick update. Very quick, as I'm on a deadline, but I needed a break. Take a trip over to Amazon and search my real name: Laurie Laliberte. That should tell you pretty much everything you need to know for now.

I just might. By the way, I knew a guy in Tulsa by the name of Richard Laliberte. No relation I suppose, but it popped into my head. That was in the late 70s, by the way.

Nope, no relation. All my Laliberte relatives are still in New England or Florida. For a while, some were in New York and Arizona, but I've lost track of the extended family.

Ya know, after all these many, I was suddenly struck by the ambiguity of working at the computer by candlelight. I can be kind of slow, sometimes.

Yes, I suppose that is rather odd, isn't it?

Another oddity is that you should ask whether I have a relative in Tulsa. Six months ago, I pulled up stakes in Boston and moved to Oklahoma City.