I’m introducing something new called Six Words A Day, to promote the site and to tide you over between stories (I’m still aiming for two a week).

As the name implies, I’ll be offering up a new story in six words, each day, posted at The Cellar (our FB fan page) and via Twitter (@lefthandedewritr).

According to the tale going around, Hemingway was once challenged to write a complete story in just six words. His answer to the challenge:

THIS FEELS FAMILIAR
This actually harkens back to one of the toughest things about my job as an advertising copywriter: creating billboards. The rule of thumb is, you have seven words to persuade the reader… a reader moving 70mph, in traffic. Now, lots of billboards are crap. I don’t know if it’s because the creators don’t understand, or they just want to get it out of the way and move onto the more “fun” stuff.

But I actually liked billboards. It is a fun challenge to come up with something compelling in such a small space. For the same reason, I like the six word challenge. You have to select words and images that suggest a much larger story. The reader brings as much to the finished piece as the writer does in the way they fill in the gaps with their own imagination.

COME ALONG, WON’T YOU?
I look forward to meeting you halfway in these little tales. You’ll recognize them by the #6wordsaday hashtag, and a link back here to the site. Like and/or Follow along on Twitter or Facebook to keep up. And by all means, share them with others. The more the merrier at this little party.

Well, Summer’s over. The kids are back in school, which means it’s back to work. Including writing stories.

This latest story is another that is actually 8-10 years old. Is there anything scarier than falling in love for the first time? Or losing a loved one after a long life together?

Yes, I think there is…

I look forward to your comments!

Okay, the next story is up! I got a little creeped out writing this one in my little cave of an office downstairs. Fortunately, it was overshadowed by the horrors I witnessed in the last-minute campaigning at the beginning of the week, so I was able to push through and finish.

In short order I’ll have the next round of stories up for you to vote on down in The Cellar. And, for a twist, I’ll pick one lucky voter to be a main character in a story to be posted next week.

I look forward to your comments, and if (after you’ve read it) you feel moved to buy me a song on iTunes or a cup of coffee to show your appreciation, you’ll find a link in the sidebar on the story page.

Thanks for spending a few minutes with me!

p.s. – Oh, and if you wanted to spread the word, it would be greatly appreciated.

Okay, so we’re launching with two existing stories up, “The Dying of the Light” and “Comfort Food.”

The former is brand-spankin’ new. I wrote it about three weeks ago in a single sitting… one of those rare stories that happen that way. To be fair, I’m really not fully versed in zombie literature (and there are many who would say that TDotL is really not a zombie story, I’m sure). I suppose this one is more of a love story than a zombie tale in the end.

The latter is anything but new. In fact, I believe this might have been the first short story I ever wrote. The year was 1990; I was a junior in high school… Honors English with Mrs. Pat Douglass, as a matter of fact, who taught me to grab a pen and let my mind wander where it will.

As you can see, it was a fairly dark place, even then.

So, hopefully, that’s enough to tide you over for now. I’m aiming to post two stories per week. I also just finished Stephen King’s Under the Dome, and hope to have a review up in the next few days.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I look forward to hearing your comments!

You’ll find a good deal of content here as we move forward. I’m aiming for a post a day to the blog and at least two stories per week added to “Tales.”

But if that’s not enough for you, or if you’d like to take an active role in deciding what those stories will be, then you should probably check out our Facebook Fan Page “Ascairt: The Cellar.”

It’s being billed as “the workshop, the playground, the cold storage for Ascairt.com.” Which means the content there will be a lot less formal… we’ll have lots of fun…and I’ll occasionally ask for your help… including me sharing the raw “idea seeds” for some stories and letting you, the fans, vote on which one will be the next Tale posted here.

So go on, check it out. You can find it right here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ascairt-The-Cellar/161190793911997

Halloween is just down the road. Look, you can see it, trying to hide behind that tree… waiting to jump out at you.

Some people think Halloween is too scary… gratuitous in its celebration of fear and gore and violence. I think these people lie at the heart of everything that is wrong with this country.

And I’m not even talking about the big debate that’s going on, at least down here in the South, about whether we should trick or treat on Saturday instead, since Halloween falls on a Sunday this year (although, since you brought it up, Halloween is a Christian religious holiday, so it shouldn’t be an issue).

We put a tremendous amount of time and effort coddling not only our kids, but adults in America as well. We’ve reached the point where we can’t stand to hurt someone’s feelings, much less scare the bejeezus out of them.

Life gets ugly. Fear is a normal human emotion. And right now is the perfect time to really make the most of it. It’s Autumn. The world is powering down. The leaves are dying. Plants are going dormant. Animals are preparing to hibernate or putting on their thick winter coat against the coming chill.

The energy and vitality is slowly draining from the world around us. Shaddows are getting longer and nights are getting deeper.

If that’s not saying “Welcome, fear,” I don’t know what is.

By God, stand up for your right to a healthy surge of adrenaline and a nagging suspicion that there just might be something under your bed. Probably not. But maybe… this one night of all nights, maybe.

Hear the thump. Take a long look at the door to the basement… the one that creaks  loudly when you open it, even though you just oiled it again. And say out loud

“Welcome, fear.”