I Wrote a Little Fiction

Here's the funny story behind all of this. One of my awesome co-workers got the idea to Photoshop out Waldo from a Where's Waldo image and then place it in the breakroom. Everyone will be looking for Waldo in the image, but he's not there! I thought it was an amazing and hilarious idea and it totally worked. Then I wrote next to the picture a list of people who had "found him" so people would look even harder. All this time a great company photo of all the employees together, which I won't post out of respect for my co-worker's privacy, was on the board next to this sans Waldo image. One of my co-workers photoshopped Waldo IN to that photo and put that on the board in place of the original. I love all of this. All that to say this all lead to a goofy idea I had to write a little note in first person from the perspective of Waldo leaving the first image and coming into our company photo. So now that you have the context here it is, the only fiction I've written in a couple years ever since I started pursuing becoming a pastor. Click on it to view it at a larger more readable size, I've also pasted the text below.

I managed to make it off of the ship. It wasn't easy but I couldn't stand it anymore; that feeling of eyes always watching and somehow searching for me and me alone among the packed crowd. I can't describe how I know that's true but I do. Anyways, now I stand comfortably in a place where no one is expecting to find me. Instead of rubbing shoulders with firemen and giraffes I casually blend in behind the small crowd. This place is warm and inviting. The smiles seem genuine. I think the people like being here and care about the work they are doing together to make the customer successful. I will stay here for as long as I can in hopes the eyes do not find their way to me here as well.

My friend at work didn't know I wrote it yet and commented that it was dark. I attribute that to a podcast another co-worker recommended to me called The Magnus Archives, a horror fiction podcast with an amazing premise that gets all the better as the meta narrative takes over.

In their own words:

The Magnus Archives is a weekly horror fiction anthology podcast examining what lurks in the archives of the Magnus Institute, an organization dedicated to researching the esoteric and the weird. Join new head archivist Jonathan Sims as he attempts to bring a seemingly neglected collection of supernatural statements up to date, converting them to audio and supplementing them with follow-up work from his small but dedicated team.

Individually, they are unsettling. Together they begin to form a picture that is truly horrifying because as they look into the depths of the archives, something starts to look back…

That's also the only fiction I've been listening to lately but I wouldn't trade it for the time I'm spending getting an amazing education from Western Seminary for my Masters in Biblical and Theological Studies.

Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson | Book Review

It was so great to read non-fiction that was poetic and beautiful in its telling of many tales and lessons. I kind just want to turn around and listen to this one again. I appreciated the advice on writing and music creation. Mostly though, it was fun to sink into pretty prose about life as an artist. I probably also really took to this book because the author is a kindred spirit, someone who does music and writes fiction. Always fun to find another creator out there you can relate to on many levels. I highly recommend this book for musicians, writers, and just plain old readers with good taste who like books with a lot of flavor.

Finally Writing Again, a Little

It's been very quiet around here. I've stopped writing ever since I started interning at my church. That has been amazing. I am, however, now slowly chipping away at one project. I've mentioned it before. I'm getting closer to publishing it and I'm excited about a new way I want it to be read. It started out as a collection of haiku poems about various topics. Now it is going to be this:

This is a book of 108 Haikus that help you explore our world by guessing what they are about. What is a haiku? A haiku is a poem made up of three lines, each with a specific amount of syllables used. The pattern is five, seven, five. The first and third line have five syllables, and the second line has seven. In this book I have divided the haikus into different topics. Each topic will have simple instructions on how to guess what the haikus are alluding to. Think of each haiku as a set of hints. If you get stumped, ask the people around you first. This book would be great to read with a group as you travel. If you are still all stumped try searching the internet for words in the haiku. Enjoy!

I tried it out at dinner with my family and they really enjoyed listening to the different haikus and guessing what they were about. I think it will be a fun book to have while traveling. That's it for now. I'll be sure to post links for it once it's available for sale. Maybe I should try and hurry and get it written so I can give it out for free right now for families to entertain each other with while we're all stuck in our homes because of the Coronavirus. Here's the cover:

Thanks for stopping by!

Publishing Books on Instagram

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A post shared by Dan Absalonson (@dandantheartman_author) on Jan 24, 2020 at 10:24am PST

I had the idea a while back to publish my short stories on Instagram. Instead I've chosen to start off with my chapter book "The Case of the Missing Snowman." Read it for free on Instagram one chapter per post. Also available for purchase in Paperback and eBook. Links below:

Purchase Links:

Amazon | B & N | Smashwords

The Case of the Missing Snowman:

Magical Mystery Chapter Book

Description:

Barnabas and his friend Jeff made a great snowman but it has gone missing! From the huge round footprints in the snow it looks like it came to life and walked off. Then they see on the news that the local bank, where Barnabas's dad works, was robbed! A strange crime scene is left behind with large puddles inside and half-melted snowmen outside. No one believes Mr. Thackeray's claims that snowmen robbed the bank so he loses his job. Barnabas must solve the crime to get his dad's job back.