Huh! What coming book?

Here’s the promo from Eagle Peak Annual. A multi-genre collection of fiction from flash through micro and short. Verse. Non-fiction observations and more. Just the thing for a quick read–or a longer one when you have time.

Alas, it’s STILL a work in progress. Everyone knows stuff happens. It keeps happening, too. So, let’s forget projections. It will be out when it’s done–how’s that?

The good news: it keeps growing. The longer it takes to complete, the bigger it gets. More flash and micro fiction. AND one story that had been planned as a standard-length short piece has grown into a novelette. Hey, more for the money! At least 50,000 words–from stories less than 100 words all the way to 15,000.

Meanwhile, here’s a few fresh snippets. Words newly strung together just for this post. Eventually, the paragraphs below may be part of a time travel book coming later this decade. 

You’ve seen posts featuring Derek here before. He’s back, from an actual dream the author had some time in the past. See, time travel!

It started with a dream, a very detailed one in full color. A place Derek had never been but clearly must go, given the content. A task he must do. He wore black khaki slacks, a maroon cotton turtleneck and an off-white sport coat with tufts of grayish/black fabric running through the material. He saw a multilevel building of large grayish stone blocks before finding himself in an upper level. It looked to be at least 3,000 square feet with large metal fire doors, painted fire engine red, hung on overhead tracks.  Relics were stored there, in bags or sacks. He overheard discussions about selling them on the black market. Objects like those in his backpack. Things he might give away in time—the right time, but never sell. Phoenician amulets, classical Greek coins like an Attic drachma or Celtic bracelets. He might have a Martian flight insignia too—not a present-day memento, of course. Risky to carry them everywhere in eternity. Still, they came in handy as anchors. Timeline adjustments didn’t always take.

Wide awake, Derek replayed the nighttime experience, moving in time and space to the site. He exited to an aging fire escape, its open ribbed steps covered in multiple coats of black paint. He trod the metal stairway down and around the outer walls. One floor down, he passed a small alcove with a window. He saw a wooden object on a table next to the glass. A peg an inch and ½ square and eight inches long, wrapped tightly with bare wire. The windings were spaced perhaps a quarter inch apart, covering a third or less of the wood. Not an effective armature—possibly a primitive cultural token or something manufactured to sell as one. The weathered wood had the look of artifice.

One more turn took him from the employee parking lot to the public spaces. Through a ho hum double glass door, Derek entered a much more inviting area—a small museum/retail site with artifacts are displayed under and atop a glass counter. Legal sales were made there, it appeared. Items with legitimate provenance given the descriptions. Not until then did he notice the red coveralls that he carried on a hanger. I must work here. It’s my uniform. Must have forgotten that. Derek thought. He hated those dreams with missing details—especially when needed for a time trip.

A woman greeted him with a grin. “Hey Derek, how’s it going? Love that jacket—you trying to impress the ladies?” Must be a coworker—Tina, yes, that’s her name.

“Hah! Just one of my style preferences, Tina.” He shrugged and did a quick spin for her.

“Good enough, guy. No need to be stuck in the past; that’s what we sell here,” she laughed.

“You got it, Tina. By the way, do you know what happened with those skeletal remains and a spear I turned in?”

“No worries, Derek; the processing crew are handling it. Maybe you’ll see the stuff on display next week,” Tina’s eyes darted left and right before answering with a smile. Perhaps she wasn’t sure, just placating him.