Hello
Last post, I said that I’d have to decide whether this post would be a flash fiction story, or a seasonal story. Although each story is quite different from the other, their backgrounds have something in common.
My problem was that the flash fiction story, Mouse, was long enough for a post, but didn’t seem appropriate for the holiday season. On the other hand, the seasonal story, Coca-Cola Santa Claus, was appropriate for this time of year, but didn’t seem long enough to warrant its own post.
The solution to my dilemma is simple: I’m posting both stories, making this my first double-issue post! Whoopee! This post is for December 2022 and January 2023, and the next post will be for February 2023.
Backstage
As the need arises, I’ll occasionally include a “Backstage” section to announce changes to this website that might affect your reading experience. This seems reasonable since I’m learning more about how to manage this website with each post.
This site is built using WordPress software, which by default presents either a fixed home page, or a constantly changing latest post. I originally opted for the latest post, but changed to a fixed home page so new readers could easily orient themselves and navigate to the story they wanted to read. However, I recently spoke to an associate who said he had glanced at my website not too long ago and wondered if I had posted anything new.
Had I posted anything new? Of course I had! How was that not obvious to him?
I think my associate’s problem was that like most returning readers, he wanted to see the latest post first, not the unchanging “Welcome” page. That is, only new readers need orientation. I also hope that returning readers will tell their friends about this website, and the number of returning readers will grow over time. For that reason, I’m switching back to the latest-post-first option, and will make a few other cosmetic changes to tie everything together.
Finally, I’m adding more or less permanent “shout-out” and “tell your friends” sections, which look like the following:
Shout-Out
Try Gene Ambaum’s Library Comic, a web comic about… libraries. Gene and a cadre of his favorite artists, such as Willow Payne (see the “About” page on his site), publish a daily, humorous web comic that is ostensibly about libraries, but is as much about human nature as anything else.
Trust me. Try it. Have a laugh. Maybe discover a new book or some amazing merchandise. Check out Library Comic.
Tell Your Friends
TimAllenStories.net
Moebius Theater (paraphrased)
Tell your friends about it!
Then make new friends, and tell them!
Hey, Tim, nice to find you again! (Will Saddler passed your URL along.) I’m still writing fiction and I’m glad to see you are. Perhaps I should say I’m trying to write — it’s been a pretty dry year for me, but I’m still at the keyboard most days. I just wrote a play for Moebius that I’m trying to schmooze them into performing at Windycon, too. I have one suggestion for your website — you should have a heading for “My Fiction” so it’s easier to find the links to your stories. (I am embarrassed to say I haven’t updated my own site in a year.) Anyway, I’ll keep checking in here. — Chuck
Hi Tim, I was at the Open Mic Night at Third Place Books last night (July 17, 2023). Enjoyed your reading and hope you come back! I will look at some of your other stories today.
Susan