Angel Hunter is the darkest story I’ve ever written. A combination of things—feeling lost in New York City, having stories rejected multiple times, seeing what seemed to be good turn evil—forced me to explore my darkest imagination.
The story went through several permutations on its way to birth. Initially I tried to take the edge off with some humor. It was a little gross and a little funny. The more I reworked it and rewrote it, the more sober it became. I realized I was the angel hunter.
Deep Water Literary Journal accepted it for publication. Many other journals disliked it for a variety of reasons. Assuming the fault was my own, I rewrote and rewrote until someone took it seriously.
We assume that angels are good. It is almost one of those “by definition” things. Just accept it. I wonder what happens when we question everything. Sometimes, it seems to me, sad can be happy. Sometimes rage can feel righteous. Sometimes angels stand for something other than they seem.
The narrator, like most people, never questions that angels are good. Pure, ethereal, beings of light. Sent by God to help us through our dark times. Or do they bring us our dark times?
The Radiator Building, standing over Bryant Park, partially inspired this story. I’ve never been inside, but for two years walked past it on my way to work. It seemed to hold secrets. I’ve always found Manhattan to be very gothic.
There can be more to reality than we can see or accept. Writers, it seems to me, are the Magellans of the human soul. We must seek the depths which are sometimes found at the highest points around.
The publisher avoids one of the largest libraries in the world, racing past on his way to escape what he knows he must face. Angel Hunter is a dark tale, exploring what it means to be human.
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