Below is a very short excerpt from the middle of a story in the collection Implosions of America. I’ve tried as best I can over the years to write interesting, uncommon fiction that both touches deep and makes the reader wonder about the meaning of life. Don’t ever stop wondering. Don’t ever stop looking to be touched. That is what art is all about.
From “So Beautiful,” a story about reconnecting and maturing beyond beauty.
…She said she wanted to work with grizzly bears and wolves. She said people didn’t understand them. She wanted to represent wild animals. She said that Americans needed to know that black bears will track people for food just like polar bears.
“I read a story once,” she said softly, coming down off her tears. “It was about a black bear that stole children from a village in New England and piled them in a cave on the outskirts of town. The villagers finally found the children, still alive, but wildly frightened and cold. The bear had been filling the pockets of their coats with uneaten pieces of fish he’d caught. He was using the village children to store food for the winter.”
She told me this and in my memory I saw her beautiful face and gentle lips quivering below me. Back then I never imagined someone of such beauty could have those thoughts and laugh so dangerously close to insanity. … <snip>
Implosions of America: Nine Stories will be released to the Amazon Kindle Store on Friday, November 16.
David Biddle
View More PostsDavid Biddle is a freelance writer and novelist living in Philadelphia, PA and the author of the novel OLD MUSIC FOR NEW PEOPLE. His new novel, a science fiction story called SOUND EFFECT INFINITY, is due out in early 2025. Pre-order the special hardcover edition now wherever books are sold.