The giddying heights, the abysmal lows. Being published, being rejected. Opposites make excellent fodder for stories. I was cheered by the arrival of Calliope 144, Summer 2014. My story, “Initiating an Apocalypse,” won third place in the contest for this issue, and, among other things, represents the first time my fiction has actually appeared in print form. Heights! The story is, as the editor instantly recognized, satire. The plot revolves around a professor who lost his job and who wants the world to share his misery. Having studied ancient religions (the protagonist is based on a friend of mine) our hero calls on the ancient gods to help exact his revenge. In the background here is Zoroastrianism, perhaps the oldest continually practiced religion in the world. The great god of the Zoroastrians was Ahura Mazda. Since the world appeared to be governed by opposites, he had a foe who was totally evil: Angra Mainyu. Zara...
Blog of a struggling writer.