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Weekend Writing Warriors / #8Sunday 2017-10-29

 

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Welcome to my post for the #8Sunday Hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors.

Authors participating in the #8Sunday Hop post 8-10 sentences from a current writing project, published or unpublished. Authors and readers can offer opinions, critiques, and support.

This week's excerpt is from my humorous short science fiction story, WELCOME TO OASIS. This story is written in the form of a government created website/tutorial to aid citizens dealing with the collapse of two alternate realities into each other. I've worked in or with government programs for over twenty-years, and I know exactly how the government would "help" in such a situation (note that the name of the program and its acronym don't match - that is on purpose/one of the jokes embedded in the story)!

EXCERPT:

 

WELCOME TO OASIS

Welcome to OASIS, the Other Self Identification and Assimilation System. We understand that the collapsing of two alternate realities into a single time stream (“The Merge”) might be confusing, even frightening. OASIS is here to answer all of your questions and to guide you through this historic event.

By this time, most people will have met the version of themselves from the alternate reality (hereafter referred to as your “Other Self”) as both realities now occupy the same time-space. It is not uncommon to experience a range of emotions upon coming face-to-face with your Other Self—anger, fear, confusion, amusement, even excitement. Who hasn’t wondered “what if” at some point in their life? This unprecedented peek into an alternate reality provides each of us a unique opportunity to see how things might have turned out if we had made different choices. While not all of these choices will have turned out well, it is an opportunity for each of us to learn a little more about ourselves. We encourage you to embrace this opportunity with a spirit of adventure and open-mindedness. However, please refrain from “twin switch” type practical jokes—they are not amusing.

I was really happy with the way this story turned out; I wish I could write stories that make people cry, but, somehow, my stories tend to have a lot of humor, instead. With this story, I just owned that and went straight for laughs (its got a Douglas Adams-type vibe). If you'd like to read the full story, you can find it in the DEAR ROBOT anthology, available in paperback wherever books are sold (buy it on Amazon).

If you'd like to visit all of the other #8Sunday participating sites, vist Weekend Writing Warriors to see the list and links to all the sites.

If you're interested in learning more about my work, check out my Afterlife series or some of my published short stories:

If you haven't read the first book, Hereafter, it is available wherever books are sold in ebook, paperback, and audio book so grab a copy today (please note: the link below is an Amazon Affiliate link)!

 

Why let a little thing like dying get in the way of a good time?

Thirty-six-year-old Irene Dunphy didn't plan on dying any time soon, but that’s exactly what happens when she makes the mistake of getting behind the wheel after a night bar-hopping with friends. She finds herself stranded on earth as a ghost, where the food has no taste, the alcohol doesn’t get you drunk, and the sex...well, let’s just say “don’t bother.” To make matters worse, the only person who can see her—courtesy of a book he found in his school library—is a fourteen-year-old boy genius obsessed with the afterlife.

Unfortunately, what waits in the Great Beyond isn’t much better. Stuck between the boring life of a ghost in this world and the terrifying prospect of three-headed hell hounds, final judgment, and eternal torment in the next, Irene sets out to find a third option—preferably one that involves not being dead anymore.

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Terri Bruce Author Pic Secondary


TERRI BRUCE writes strange, hard to classify science fiction and fantasy stories from New England where she lives with her husband and assorted cats. If you like the works of Neil Gaiman, Audrey Niffenegger, and China Mieville, then be sure to check out her work. The first three books of her contemporary fantasy AFTERLIFE series are available in e-book, paperback, and audio book wherever books are sold.


 

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Comments  

# Hywela Lyn 2017-10-30 16:09
What a fascinating premise! I love the 'matter of fact' governmental tone and the last line, as Christine says, immediately makes you know it's been done - probably quite a bit!
# Caitlin Stern 2017-10-30 03:46
Love the line about the 'twin switch,' I bet a bunch of people tried that before they added it in.
You can make people laugh until they cry. That totally counts!
# Jenna Jaxon 2017-10-30 01:05
I did get a Douglas Adams kind of vibe from this--it made me laugh a couple of times. Very well done!
# Fanni Sütő 2017-10-30 00:11
I really liked this snippet. It's a bit surreal, but very entertaining and sounds authentic.
# Elaine Cantrell 2017-10-29 23:45
I like it. I agree with Veronica that you got the government tone just right.
# Ed Hoornaert 2017-10-29 22:28
Ooo, I love the premise of this story. You can take it in millions of different ways.
# Kimberly Gould 2017-10-29 16:09
I find humor more difficult myself. Love the premise!
# Veronica Scott 2017-10-29 15:41
Very clever excerpt and you definitely get the 'government tone' right LOL.
# Amy Braun 2017-10-29 15:38
Interesting world building! :D
# Christina Ochs 2017-10-29 09:13
This is a really cool premise! Love the bit of finger-wagging at the end. You just know it’s been tried!