There are those who might rightfully suppose, like Mark Twain or Paul McCartney, that K. Marvin Bruce is dead. The fact is that Marvin is engaged on two books of non-fiction that are actually under contract; fiction presses seem less friendly to my brand of writing.
Also, I haven’t been submitting much fiction because, well, I have books under contract. That’s why I’m pleased to announce that “In the Night” is up on Exterminating Angel Press: The Magazine. You can find it here: EAP. The title come from the theme of this quarter’s publication—Things That Go Bump.
The story, as usual, predates the theme. Quite some time ago I was struck by how religious authorities used to—and in some places still—have the authority to punish believers. Believe it or not, in many parts of the world this includes the death penalty. Civil authorities are unable to change their theological minds.
“In the Night” deals with such a situation. A girl who has left a tradition, loosely based on my own experience growing up, lives in fear that they may catch her. It is a dark tale, but things that go bump in the night are used to the absence of light.
As with most of my writing, this is heavy with metaphor. The real issue is not to finger a specific religion but rather to question why religions have this kind of authority. Religions disagree, often fundamentally, about what is right. The idea that you may be punished for something amorphous as wrong belief is, to me, very frightening.
EAP: The Magazine has been quite kind, unlike many religions, in being willing to publish an unknown like me. Over a year ago a different press expressed interest in my Medusa novel and never got back in touch. I know people who work in publishing and such lack of communication is, well, unforgivable. Those of us who write has our own sort of religion I suppose, and I’m glad to have a venue to express it.
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