{"mode":"live","websiteData":{"about":{"bio":"

Daniel Richardson is the author of the science-fiction thriller THOSE WHO ARE INVITED IN and the horror historical-thrillers INTERNAL EXILE and THE BLIZZARD AND THE SIEVE, and a haiku collection ORACLE OF UNREASON.

He was recently released from the clutches of academia to breathe new life into the wild worlds of literary, sci-fi and horror fiction. His work is introspective and expansive, tender and terrifying. When he is not lost in used bookshops, he enjoys watching Tottenham Hotspur and building blues instruments. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Daniel now resides just outside of Chicago, Illinois with his dog Jack.

Note from the Author

Like many writers, I’ve devoured books since childhood. I always loved storytelling, the use and misuse of language and could happily hop into any etymology rabbit-hole until someone rescued me. Sneaking in episodes of The Twilight Zone when I was far too young and reading Candide before I understood it will always be mile markers in my writing journey.

I received my bachelors in Russian language/literature and International Relations and was enamored by the technical aspects of writing, but always sensed my prose was peering through the page just waiting to reveal itself. Soon after completing my Master of Law, I realized my academic career was overshadowed by a gnawing, persistent voice telling me to flesh out the bones of stories I’d scattered throughout notebooks over the years.

Tales of sundering, isolation, companionship, loss and hope permeate my writing. After a few months of listening to characters make their cases, THOSE WHO ARE INVITED IN was created to share their stories with you. You can discover this work and others on my Books Page. I can’t wait to build upon this world and inhabit it with more stories for you.

","firstName":"Daniel","lastName":"Richardson","title":"Inkslinger","galleries":[]},"assets":{"faviconImage":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FAuthor%20Photo%20300x300%20(11)_1662922384416.png?alt=media&token=2c463240-e2c8-4eed-bdfe-ad5bf408d884","profileImage":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FHodorowski_Danny_1670045423897.jpg?alt=media&token=1f664ceb-44a6-4a97-9a5e-467f034ba49f","titleImage":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FWebsite%20Background%20Summer22%20-%201920x1080%20(1920%20%C3%97%20400%20px)%20(15)_1663540480721.png?alt=media&token=88dc3c7e-5f2d-4bde-ac3a-dfffc4c0fd10"},"books":[{"about":{"categories":"The Blizzard and The Sieve","description":"

In this character-driven narrative set in a previous iteration of the world, a failed carpenter’s apprentice is condemned to participate in the ritual of redemptive violence against the cyclical forces of nature intent on defining his life, death and legacy.

COMING SOON!

","title":"The Blizzard and The Sieve"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FThe%20Blizzard%20and%20the%20Sieve%20book%20cover_1731982223381.jpg?alt=media&token=c96e6b61-69fe-468a-9c76-8c50e1544428"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2025-02-01T18:00:00.000Z"},"products":[],"id":"jcz9riSK6y","awards":{},"meta":{},"purchase":{},"reviews":{},"series":{}},{"about":{"categories":"Oracle of Unreason","description":"

Oracle of Unreason is a collection of 101 haiku and senryu poems.

Its classically structured, nature-oriented compositions evolve into passionate verse free from the confines of tradition as the futility of language, vagaries of meaning-making and solace found in nonsense are explored.

Come down from the mountains of logic and sanity. In the valley, a seat of lucid madness waits for a new oracle of unreason.

It waits for you.

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Give Fear a Chance.

A twin-tale of isolation and terror, INTERNAL EXILE explores the abyss through the eyes of a nine-year-old sleep-paralysis sufferer Lucy Wren. On the eve of her first family reunion, she is once again tormented by the same three shadowy figures who have made a habit of haunting her. However, tonight there is a fourth and things are getting worse. Intent on keeping her awake during their flight, Lucy’s razor-witted mother trades her candy in exchange for a story about their 17th century ancestor, Merrill O’Sullivan. Will his harrowing account of the unseen world convince Lucy to reconcile her nature with her longing or leave her lost in the darkness?

","title":"Internal Exile"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FIMG_9274_1697998552399.jpg?alt=media&token=337f7e9d-275b-4607-97f9-0bb30b54dc50"},"purchase":{"amazonLink":"https://www.amazon.com/Internal-Exile-Daniel-Richardson/dp/B0CL3ZH27Z/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3OO2AQEZJ0YMN&keywords=internal+exile&qid=1697998443&sprefix=internal+exile%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2023-10-15T17:00:00.000Z"},"products":[],"id":"zUCeLhPew5","awards":{},"meta":{},"reviews":{},"series":{}},{"about":{"categories":"Those Who Are Invited In","description":"

They demanded the impossible to convince him that he could achieve the improbable.

Longtime partners Bernard Yates and Sofia Wren are traveling to Besimeni, a quiet fort town on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, to visit her grandparents who are in self-imposed exile on their nearby farm. Meeting them for the first time, Bernard seeks their permission to propose to their granddaughter. The Wrens may welcome him into the family but not before they test his mettle, for they possess more sanguinary and otherworldly secrets of their own to disclose.

Unsettled by the townsfolk, shadowy neighbors and strange noises, Bernard quickly becomes enmeshed in Besimeni’s history and The Wren’s future. The closer they become, the further he spirals towards the truth regarding Sofia’s missing parents and clandestine technological enterprise designed for him alone. Bernard must endure their acceptance and be buried by the weight of his want or succumb to his better nature and unmake the world.

","title":"Those Who Are Invited In"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FIMG_8419_1668529250784.jpg?alt=media&token=64f0878c-9f1e-4b2d-8668-998719b0fe13"},"purchase":{"custombookstore1Link":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMQQLNQH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RO46VO6LU144&keywords=daniel+richardson+those+who+are+invited+in&qid=1668728848&sprefix=daniel+richardson+those+who+are+invited+in%2Caps%2C64&sr=8-1","custombookstore1Name":"Amazon","custombookstore2Link":"https://solsticeempire.com/products.aspx?categoryid=525","custombookstore2Name":"Solstice Publishing","custombookstore3Link":"","custombookstore3Name":""},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-11-16T18:00:00.000Z"},"products":[],"id":"xOV8RW8tiE02b2tAJl8lA","awards":{},"meta":{},"reviews":{},"series":{}}],"contact":{"content":"

Drop me an e-mail using the contact form below to leave a question, comment or join my mailing list. You can find me on Twitter/X too.

For questions about wholesale orders, please contact my publishers Solstice Publishing and All Things That Matter Press.

","email":"doubleplusdanny@gmail.com"},"events":[{"about":{"description":"

I will be attending my alma mater's alumni weekend. Come to Beloit College's Powerhouse from 1:30pm - 3:00pm CST to learn more about my recent releases, upcoming release \"The Blizzard and The Sieve\" and connect with other Beloit College alumni.

Go Bucs!

","title":"Beloit College"},"location":{"title":"Beloit College Powerhouse"},"schedule":{"date":"2024-09-13T17:00:00.000Z","time":"1:30pm - 3:00pm"},"id":"czNQ8uDGsz"},{"about":{"description":"

My new release, Internal Exile (All Things That Matter Press) is available now on Amazon!

","title":"Internal Exile - Available Now!"},"schedule":{"date":"2023-11-18T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"xcJFLLcntp","location":{}},{"about":{"description":"

I'm delighted to announce that my horror and historical fiction novel INTERNAL EXILE will be published by All Things That Matter Press.

More information on the release date and other news will be forthcoming. Stay tuned!

","title":"NEW RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT"},"schedule":{"date":"2022-12-23T18:00:00.000Z"},"id":"lY3zCtoNCo017OMxLrq2o","location":{}},{"about":{"description":"

I'm thrilled to announce that my debut novel THOSE WHO ARE INVITED IN will be published by Solstice Publishing in November 2022. More details coming soon!

Read about the book here.

","title":"NEW RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT"},"schedule":{"date":"2022-09-05T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"910t7NJ6Duc1JisBLOjG7K","location":{}}],"id":"aAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp","meta":{"createdDate":"2022-09-08T14:18:29.387Z","purchased":true,"slug":"daniel","stripeCustomerId":"cus_OeTKBRwKTJl1Bq","websiteType":"standard"},"navigation":{"blogTags":""},"posts":[{"about":{"content":"

The Blizzard and The Sieve has gone through its last rounds of editing.

It is querying season. Fingers crossed!

Thank you for all of your support on this journey!

","title":"I Am Querying"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2024-04-20T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"gBhtZhxYcV","assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

Below is the first page of my work in progress, The Blizzard and The Sieve.

Let me know what your impressions are by going to my Contact page. Thank you.

Heartwood

At the end of this iteration, the ritual of redemptive violence became the wheel upon which humanity was broken, braided and ultimately buried. If they were given another chance, it’s unlikely that they would live any other way. Condemned by their nature, humans took it upon themselves to address the indignities and injustices that plagued their waking lives and haunted their innermost thoughts. In their desperation they carved meaning and morals out of the void, mercifully unaware she was waiting with open arms and maw. Over time, ape-folk, as they called themselves, grew so preoccupied with why they were alive that they forgot how to live.

Few things better affirmed their existence than satisfying an irrepressible urge to witness someone else’s suffering. They glorified grief, made spectacles of revenge and left nothing in their wake save for a garden of ash and bones. Such was the way of the world. Yet, one of these tender wretches dared to crawl out of a pit of their own making and in doing so, if this illustrious tribunal sees fit to grant it, also cultivated fertile ground for a fresh start.

***

The earth trembled beneath a caravan full of celebratory travelers migrating north from the Carpathian plateau. Their destination—an isolated, timber-bound town known to the locals as Bardow. As it was every year on Apprentice Day in this little slice of nowhere, echoes of their honey sweet and syncopated melodies heralded their welcomed arrival. Refusing to navigate through the treacherous eastern forest, the traveling-folk instead meandered around rolling emerald hills and fallow farms dotted with cabins, barns and workshops. Hiding in an unassuming homestead nearest to the forest’s threshold lived the famed master carpenter Bogdan Marime and his apprentice Casimir, who failed to craft a masterpiece in time for the festival that transcended the towering expectations built around him by Bogdan and his beloved creations.

","title":"The Blizzard and The Sieve"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2023-07-15T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"74XtXc7Yig","assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

Internal Exile

Think Voltaire’s Candide trying to babysit Regan from “The Exorcist.”

Lucy is a lonely, nine-year-old nightmare magnet and horror-film aficionado. Visited by shadowy figures almost every night, her dreams are becoming unbearable. To keep Lucy from sleeping on their way to a family reunion, her mother Niamh reads her a harrowing story written by her 17th-century Irish ancestor whose experiences may help Lucy reconcile her nature with her longing or leave her all alone in the dark.

It is currently with my publisher’s editor. I hope for it to come out some time around March or April.

If Trouble Must Come

Think The Truman Show meets “The Trial” by Kafka.

Each year around ten-thousand US citizens are mistakenly declared dead by the Social Security Administration. It can happen to anyone. Come follow the journey of one of their victims as they pass through social, financial and psychological gauntlets on their way to legal resurrection.

My manuscript is currently with an editor. I will send it out to publishers around March/April.

If you’re interested in beta-reading let me know!

The Blizzard and The Sieve

I’m thinking something along the lines of “The Witcher” meets Princess Mononoke.

This one is still in the research phase. It will revolve around medieval executioner culture.

Those Who Are Invited In

Available on Amazon HERE.

Longtime partners Bernard Yates and Sofia Wren are traveling to Besimeni, a secluded fort-town on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, to visit her grandparents who are in self-imposed exile on their nearby farm. Meeting them for the first time, Bernard seeks their permission to propose to their granddaughter. The Wrens may welcome him into the family but not before they test his mettle, for they possess more sanguinary secrets of their own to disclose.

If you’ve read it, feel free to leave a review and thank you to those who already have!

","title":"Book Updates"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2023-01-27T18:00:00.000Z"},"id":"tFpS7wKBs9nBgWdXjmZOs","assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

I'm delighted to announce that my horror and historical fiction novel, \"Internal Exile\" has been approved for publication by All Things That Matter Press.

Think Candide trying to babysit Regan from The Exorcist in 1600s Ireland.

If you suffer from nightmares/sleep-paralysis, are interested in Irish mythology or love historical fiction, rest assured, this one has it all.

More information is forthcoming!

","title":"Internal Exile - Publication"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-12-23T18:00:00.000Z"},"id":"cJhzeKp4XamYICC1mjueJ","assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

This article originally appeared in Higher Education Digest on December 7th, 2022.

https://www.highereducationdigest.com/is-classic-literature-still-important/

Of all the pastimes available to us, reading books does not rank high on the list for many people. We live in a culture that prefers the devices in our pockets to black ink and paper.

One reason for this development is attributable to the engrossing nature of modern technology, including AI. The other is a result of ignorance regarding the benefits of reading classic literature. We desire the comforting display of glossy images in the dark recesses of our inner selves.

There is readily available entertainment for unquiet minds, unceasing stimulation for epic appetites which devour bite-sized bits of information and purge factoids in superficial conversations as a display of intellect. Many claims that this revolution in education is a tool like any other, subject to proper use and abuse. However, while our attention spans narrow, so does our capacity to think deeply on subjects outside of our field of expertise. The hyper-specialization inherent in higher education is seen as necessary, preferable and most of all profitable. However, if one only seeks an education to increase their bank account statements, we are all the poorer for it. Yet, this is precisely how factory-style schooling is designed – to create graduates who are economically motivated wage earners rather than independent thinkers.

Therefore, classic literature is still so important. Reading is not merely a form of entertainment or escapism. The more involved in literature we become, the less white noise we absorb from the ebb and flow of changing socio-cultural mores and the less we are drawn in by distracting technology.

Reading classic literature gives us a second chance to become educated after our creativity is crushed and our passion for learning is pulverized in traditional classrooms. Books are maps of other people’s minds, and their questions are the contours. To whatever end, they inspire their readers. They offer a vision into our psyches, expose our idiosyncrasies, and highlight our shortcomings. Great books, those which have withstood the test of time, cannot be books that make one feel happy. If it were the case, one might as well write it themselves. How many self-help gurus have offered you the secret to happiness, wealth, and prosperity for an exorbitant fee? How many librarians?

Cornerstones of classic literature dig deep into the foundations of who we are as individuals, timeless, not products of a culture or location. They do not offer simple answers to evergreen questions and may leave us empty, broken, and vulnerable. It is only afterward that we can put ourselves back together and become more than we were before.

It may be that we are so enamored with becoming someone in the future, spending our time in lecture halls, business, and staff meetings, that we neglect the persistent voice in the back of our mind clamoring for solitude. It is most often in solitude when we come face-to-face with ourselves and reflect, absorb, integrate, and discard ideas that don’t comport with our individualized moral landscape. However, self-knowledge is difficult to attain when one becomes accustomed to self-deception. One may suffer from the lack of verbiage to describe what they truly think or the wherewithal to say it with conviction.

Many people also lament over their dearth of role models and lay their responsibilities down after claiming they weren’t prepared for the vicissitudes of life. They seek solace in easily digestible answers and neglect actively participating in their own life. They let others do their reading for them.

However, a quick peek into a biography can deliver insight into the mind of a man or woman the average person would never have the opportunity to meet. They provide us with glimpses of human flourishing not so that they can be replicated, but so that we can grow beyond them. Classic works of fiction depict the subtle, ugly, and profound contents of human nature. They allow us to inhabit the minds not only of the author but of their characters who may feel more real than we do some days. Non-fiction stories detail ideas, discoveries, and historical events, and are written by some of the greatest minds our species has conjured up thus far. Our body of knowledge has gone through cycles of rot, rebirth, and now digitized reanimation.

This makes it fashionable to deride the spirit of classic literature, claiming it belongs on the shelves and should only be read to be dissected as inferior cultural relics. The belief is that these works have nothing to offer us any longer and are thus overshadowed by the pernicious desire to historicize and criticize for the sake of critique. It is nothing but hubris to think of oneself as being above the likes of Kafka, Tolstoy, Milton, or Eliot because of the century, country, or skin into which they were born. Viewing their works through a 21st-century lens is a disservice to the authors and readers alike. A willing inability to separate an artist from their art is degrading the health of critical thinking in favor of cultivating theory to tear down beliefs concerning the differences between objective and subjective truth, beauty and wisdom. The only void remains. Even worse, the rise of the binary discourse opens the floodgates to those who assert that they have the answer rather than an answer. Then there are others who are more prosaic, those whose minds are so sharp they’ve become dull again, the book burners and censors.

Students may fancy themselves as experts because they are convinced of it by authority figures who are oftentimes too terrified to assess inimical ideas that run counter to the ethos of prevailing cultural winds. However, it is possible to despise an idea one disagrees with and not those who hold them. If this is not the case, then stories of redemption and self-improvement must be relegated to the fiction section. However, the truths found in classic literature cannot be so easily disregarded. Reading classic literature is an exploration of compassion, self-discovery, critical thinking, and action.

","title":"Higher Education Article"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-12-08T18:00:00.000Z"},"id":"upD6KKQX70b4bJfnLM98H","assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

Night Zero: Make Smooth in the Forest a Highway to Grandma’s House

Part One: Dinner and a Death Wish

“Where the hell are we, Hell?” Sofia Wren mumbled to her partner Bernard Yates as she wiped sleep away from her dark-brown eyes and dusk’s lingering light disappeared into her long, black hair through the car window. Bernard’s green, four-door sedan’s engine came to an inaudible hum as they idled at a four-way stop on the edge of nowhere en route to her grandparents’ farm on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“Sof, are you going to ask me that every time you wake up?” he inquired, his irritated tone undercut by a joking glance at her in the passenger seat.

She removed her multicolored quilt and leaned forward to adjust her white slip-ons before musing, “Hmm, yes, most likely.”

They shared a laugh as Sofia shifted upright in her seat.

“It’s called Wisconsin,” he replied while gesturing at the derelict farmland and chain restaurants flanking them at the interchange, his black and silver Cornerstone College long sleeve T-shirt clinging tightly to his lean arm and wrist.

She checked the GPS and relayed, “Still four hours until we get to their place.”

He yawned back and observed, “Closer than when you last woke up,” before facetiously adding in his full voice, “plus, we’ll change time zones so it’ll feel even longer.”

“How about some dinner, Bern? Let’s get some gas and stretch our legs a bit too. I’ll let them know we’ll arrive around ten instead of nine. What do you say?” She knew he would have foregone dinner if that meant spending more time with her grandparents. She loved that about him, but not to the extent he made himself suffer.

Perhaps he’s just overly excited about meeting them for the first time, she thought.

He didn’t have to say it either, but she knew they hadn’t stopped since she fell asleep outside of Chicago.

“That sounds a treat. Keep an eye out for me,” he agreed, prompting her to shoot up and gesture like a ship’s watch searching for dry land.

Unsatisfied with using her own, she pointed out a gas station and family-style diner coming up on their right in her best robotic navigation voice. “Three hundred feet. Starboard. Recalculating. Recalculating. Recalculating.”

Bernard stifled his laughter and complimented her poor impression. He signaled over, pulled into the gas station and parked at a vacant pump, opening his door almost immediately after.

“Not coming in then, hey?” he inquired as she was awkwardly arching her back and smoothing out her jeans to retrieve her phone from her pocket.

She shook her head ‘no’ before responding, “I’ll get the gas if you get the goods. I want to give them an update, make sure they’re not sitting around waiting for us.”

“Deal. Couldn’t you message them, though?” he wondered as he reacquainted his legs with the sensation of standing upright, shaking out his ankles and rotating his neck and torso side to side.

“They don’t do texts, as they say. They video message me so they can show off their matching outfits,” she explained through a smile.

“They sound adorable,” he started before adding on, “tell them I said hi. Sour candy and a tea-and-lemonade, right?”

Sofia leaned in his direction and eagerly smiled in reply as Bernard ran his fingers through his tuft of faded, chestnut hair, shut the door and made his way inside the station.

She swiftly exited the car, fueled the tank and was brushing errant hair from her face and forehead as they answered her video call.

“Hi, Queenie. Are you there?” Xavier Wren asked his granddaughter as he pulled a piece of hay out of his painstakingly crafted white beard. Shoulder-length, white hair adorned his head, reminding Sofia just how much he resembled a towering, yet gaunt, Father Winter.

Sofia smiled, waving back at him and her grandmother, Ember.

With curlers in her salt-and-peppered hair and wide-rimmed glasses, she wasted no time interjecting, “Look at those freckles. A little pale though, and big bags under your eyes. You weren’t sleeping in the car, were you?”

The wrinkles around her own eyes gave her a deep and inviting smile.

Sofia frowned and replied, “Good to see you too. I see you two went with purple today, very dashing.”

“We know,” Xavier remarked half-jokingly as he straightened out his denim overalls that partially covered his purple and black checked flannel.

“We’re stopping to fuel up and get a quick bite to eat. We should be there around ten, not nine. How are Levin and Ghost?” she asked, searching the background for her two Border Collies as she got back in the car.

Ember turned to check for them but swiveled back shortly after. “They must be outside, Queenie. They can’t wait for you to come back. Everyone is looking forward to your arrival, especially the neighbor, but even more especially your grandfather and I. Should we tell the parade to stand down?”

“I can’t wait to see you two and everyone else, of course. I hope the dogs are still awake when we get there. I’m even more excited for you to meet Bernard,” she expressed, hoping for reassurance.

“Are you sure you want to bring him home to meet us?” Xavier probed to gauge her confidence in him as Ember gave her a hopeful smile.

“Definitely. He’ll fit right in. Though, I do suspect he has a secret he’s keeping from me about this trip. I’m not sure what it is, but perhaps I’m just being paranoid,” she admitted.

Ember and Xavier scanned their granddaughter’s face as her eyes wandered away, knowing what they’d say to her.

“Well, that makes two of us, doesn’t it?” Ember replied in a more commanding tone.

“I know. I just want everything to go well. I think he can handle it, but it will take all of us,” she mused as she watched Bernard exit the gas station.

“We’ll find out soon enough, Queenie. We just wished your parents could be here to see you two together on the farm and in town,” Xavier lamented as he held his wife close.

“I know. They’re looking down on us though, I can feel it,” Sofia conjectured after clearing a lump in her throat.

“If Bernard is all you said he was, perhaps he’ll feel it too,” Ember expressed lovingly.

“He’s coming back. I love you both and we’ll see you in about four hours or so,” Sofia hurriedly observed.

“We love you too, Queenie. Drive safely and try to stay awake,” Xavier suggested, despite knowing she would fall asleep as soon as the engine started up again.

“I’ll try. Bye now,” she insisted before letting out a fake yawn.

They disconnected just before Bernard swung open the driver’s side door and handed Sofia her snacks.

“Was that them?” he asked, though he knew it was.

Sofia was not prone to divulging information about her family, especially the whereabouts of her unaccounted-for parents. Bernard was curious about them at first, but soon learned probing her about their vanishing or her childhood with them only dredged up bad feelings and worse memories. It weighed on him heavily that he was not yet welcomed into her family as she was with his, but he felt relieved nonetheless to finally get his opportunity to meet her grandparents.

“They’re just checking in on us. They said they’re excited to meet you,” she relayed, knowing it was partially true and that it was also what Bernard needed to hear to keep his spirits lifted.

She relied on him more than he knew and so wanted to ease him into his crucial weekend with her grandparents and in her hometown.

“I can’t wait to meet them. Though, I’m pretty nervous. The few things you told me about them, well, they sound very impressive,” Bernard admitted as he pulled out of the gas station and into the diner’s adjacent parking lot.

“Aww, don’t worry. They don’t bite. Though, Ghost and Levin do,” Sofia replied softly through a wide smile as she slunk out of the car, waiting for her feet to hit the pavement.

“That’s comforting,” he remarked out of earshot while grabbing her jean jacket and meeting her behind the car.

She thanked him with a kiss before putting it on and explained, “They’re sheepdogs. They’re trained to intimidate but they’re just being protective. They’re harmless, really.”

She took his hand and he retorted to ease his tension, “So long as your grandparents don’t bite me I’ll be fine then, I suppose.”

“That’s the spirit,” she joyfully confirmed before stepping behind him and side-eyeing a speeding car passing by them in the parking lot.

","title":"Those Who Are Invited In - First Five Pages"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-11-22T18:00:00.000Z"},"id":"d55XIm0lcTf5nzM7Km2U2","assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

Dead Vibes Only

Kafka’s The Trial meets The Truman Show.

The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) possesses a list of all living Americans in order to pay them their entitled benefits when they reach the age of sixty-five or if they have a qualified disability. Many recipients depend on these payments to pay their medical bills, rent and other necessities. They also possess another list called the Death Master File (DMF) to account for the deceased. The file’s publication is a measure to prevent insurance fraud and identity theft. However, every year between 7,000 and 14,000 demonstrably alive people are erroneously declared dead and placed on the DMF. It can happen to anyone.

The culprit is typically a clerical error made by a SSA employee, a funeral director, a medical examiner, physician or family member. There are safeguards, such as the Electronic Death Records (EDR) which are used at the state level. This system compares the deceased person’s information against the SSA’s numerical identification system. However, it is not a perfect system and not all states use EDR. The DMF is continually updated and distributed to federal and state agencies and the Freedom of Information Act made the DMF available to the public. It is used by credit agencies, identity authentication companies, banks and other institutions. The certification process to access this private information is negligible. To make matters worse, only federal data can be sent to these agencies even though the state-level data is more accurate.

No one takes responsibility for this error save for the victim and the victim’s family. Their remedy is arduous and lengthy. To be legally resurrected, they endure a gauntlet of bureaucratic red tape and cold shoulders, economic instability or outright collapse, exacerbated existing and potentially new health issues, social invisibility, emotional drainage and psychological sundering. Even if the victim is successfully resurrected on the federal level, the damage is typically already done. Their personal information is still available to private companies who may possess an outdated version of the DMF. This makes the recently resurrected victim vulnerable to a Sisyphean struggle to prove that they are not dead.

","title":"WIP"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-11-05T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"qNY22CpJmkrS7HFeijOaH","assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

A liminal space is a threshold, a transitional stage of a process. Think of an empty or abandoned home, office building, street, mall, factory, rest stop, farmland, desert or wasteland. Perhaps you’re inside an abandoned train station and feel the discordant combination of the Weird, the Absurd, and ominous, nostalgic, uncanny, disturbing and unsettling feelings. It is a place not meant to be examined for it is devoid of life. There are no exits in liminal spaces as the actuality of life is just as present and important as its potentiality. The liminal is lonely, empty and familiar, artificial and comforting. You may believe you’re not supposed to be there and something feels wrong or off.

These spaces hold onto the memories of all who have inhabited them, but they’re cold, impersonal, uninviting and silently indifferent to your sense of deja vu and dread.

Perhaps you feel anemoia, nostalgia for somewhere you’ve never been, or just the sight of a stripped down parking lot illuminated by yellow fluorescent light fixtures makes you feel nauseous. You’re disoriented, suffering existential anxiety amidst washed-out vibrant colors in an abandoned shopping mall.

Famous liminal spaces can be seen in The Shining's hallways and floor patterns, The Bardo of Tibetan Buddhist beliefs, within video games such as Minecraft, the Truman Show's stairs, and more prosaic liminal spaces may be a forest's threshold, the cusp of a major life-decision and returning to your childhood neighborhood.

When I see or experience a liminal space I ask myself what can spaces of altered reality teach us about the nature of reality itself?

Living in the horror-reality or a science-fiction fueled world, liminal spaces introduce us to those dimly lit corridors of our minds.

These spaces, while intentionally overlooked for their unsettling presence, are integral to transformation. In “Those Who Are Invited In”, liminal spaces are crucial and are characters in and of themselves.

Which is more unsettling to you, a seemingly endless mining tunnel lit by buzzing and humming unnatural fixtures or a highway that stretches beyond the horizon with barren desert on either side? I'd love to know!

Image Credit: @simonthedesigner on Instagram

","tags":"Liminal Spaces\nNostalgia\nNausea\n","title":"Liminal Spaces"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FLimminal_1666724331067.png?alt=media&token=14292009-b8c7-4d62-95c1-763691a5aaf3"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-10-25T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"hHsgQ3doo3haiQaLaaw29"},{"about":{"content":"

I'm going to wax lyrical about a pillar of my childhood that has remained to this day.

I devoured hours of The Twilight Zone with my eyes before my ears were ready to hear the subtle truths and sometimes bombastic declarations offered up by its cast and crew.

I loved the black and white, the horror-stings, use of shadow, the reveals, the overracting, the monologues, costumes, everything about it.

I think my seven-year-old self could be forgiven for believing Rod Serling wrote each episode. After I learned otherwise, there was no end in sight. I wrote down the authors' names from my favorite episodes and returned from my library with stacks of weird-fiction, horror and science-fiction. I knew I was home in The Twilight Zone and now I had stacks of new worlds to inhabit.

My shelves started sagging and I wouldn't have it any other way.

","title":"Ode To Number Twelve"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-10-19T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"iOLe0bhRNTXjR1qN0fRpC","assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

Late last week I received both the final edit and cover art for THOSE WHO ARE INVITED IN.

Updates here will become more frequent when there is a release date.

","title":"Those Who Are Invited In - Update"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-10-17T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"doF8rPeWTwgDIMc7CoSNO","assets":{}},{"about":{"content":"

Here you’ll find a space to discuss THOSE WHO ARE INVITED IN, upcoming novels, thoughts, fun ideas and tangential musings. For information on upcoming press, releases and other news, please visit the News Page.

","title":"Welcome"},"schedule":{"publishDate":"2022-09-11T17:00:00.000Z"},"id":"t10EmrIKF0DAv62y6DdBSs","assets":{}}],"slides":[{"about":{"content":"

Welcome and thank you for stopping by.

Stay a while, won’t you?

Here you’ll learn about my novels, events and other news.

To reach me directly, please head over to my Contact Page.

I love hearing from readers!

","title":"Welcome"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FCover%20Coming%20Soon%20(500%20%C3%97%20700%20px)%20(1)_1663545091888.png?alt=media&token=046ee146-cb28-47a5-89b8-5b354d6db2db"},"meta":{"order":1},"id":"ng0LhboLvBXErhTDFDhPW","navigation":{}},{"about":{"content":"

Sci-Fi Thriller Out Now!

I'm thrilled to announce that my debut novel THOSE WHO ARE INVITED IN published by Solstice Publishing is available now!

","title":"You Are Invited!"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FIMG_8419_1668873158972.jpg?alt=media&token=6db04e2f-9f9c-4303-86ed-e837f81a5ed8"},"meta":{"order":2},"navigation":{"content":"Learn More","link":"/book/those-who-are-invited-in"},"id":"fKAH10uLWMtZrlPI6g2p4"},{"about":{"content":"

Horror and Historical Fiction Novel Out Now!

I'm delighted to announce my horror and historical fiction novel INTERNAL EXILE by All Things That Matter Press is available now!

","title":"Do You Feel Alone?"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FIMG_9451_1731979034077.jpg?alt=media&token=2420d724-6732-413a-a0bf-b47a5eda464d"},"meta":{"order":"3"},"navigation":{"content":"Learn More","link":"https://a.co/d/2M56FAq"},"id":"mdVOuNcx10P6edCiv10ArLA"},{"about":{"content":"

Haiku Collection Out Now!

I'm thrilled to announce that my haiku collection ORACLE OF UNREASON published by Besimeni Press is available now!

","title":"Meet Me In The Valley"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FOracle%20of%20Unreason_Kindle%20Cover%20(1)_1731979205327.jpg?alt=media&token=07ebac52-69c0-43a1-b638-2dbba5de3c51"},"meta":{"order":3},"navigation":{"content":"Learn More","link":"https://a.co/d/5LClvy4"},"id":"td1979KsdTtRgbrI5BGy9"},{"about":{"content":"

Horror and Historical Fiction Novel COMING SOON!

I'm delighted to announce my horror and historical fiction novel THE BLIZZARD AND THE SIEVE is under contract with All Things That Matter Press!

","title":"A Storm Is Coming"},"assets":{"coverPhoto":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/user-content%2FaAoifL9Kyc8PNaBbUv9kp%2FThe%20Blizzard%20and%20the%20Sieve%20book%20cover_1731979617817.jpg?alt=media&token=92b369e1-1907-484b-9712-df0bd99246cd"},"meta":{"order":4},"navigation":{"content":"The Blizzard and The Sieve"},"id":"hdwQc7tGy9"}],"social":{"twitter":"https://twitter.com/DoublePlusDanny"},"style":{"baseThemeId":"melim-color-block:default","wiml":{"wimlClassLookup_v1":{},"themeData":{"components":{"items":{"rootNodeJson":""}},"markup":"","meta":{"version":"v1.0.0"}}}},"bookSeries":[],"customPages":[],"landingPages":[],"slides2":[],"products":[],"galleries":[],"navigationGroups":[],"customHtml":{"pages":{}},"ecommerce":{},"onboard":{}},"ignoreClientIp":false,"themes":[{"template":"Scrolling Editorial 2","templateKey":"scrolling-editorial-2","themeGroup":"Alice Blue","themeGroupKey":"alice-blue","variant":"dark","themeName":"Alice Blue - Dark","themeId":"alice-blue:dark","genres":["historical","contemporary","nonfiction","romance"],"thumbnail":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/wild-ink-pages-prod.appspot.com/o/app-content%2Ftheme-assets%2FThumbnails%2Fminimalisteditthumb.png?alt=media&token=836803ca-14b6-4281-b093-c718c648b0a9","primaryColor":"#AA0573","secondaryColor":"#AA0573","thirdColor":"#023047","fourthColor":"#ffffff","fifthColor":"#AA0573","primaryBodyFontFamily":"Montserrat","primaryHeaderFontFamily":"Oleo Script Swash Caps","secondaryHeaderFontFamily":"El Messiri","thirdHeaderFontFamily":"El Messiri","navigationFontFamily":"","displayTitleSeparator":false,"navBannerBackground":"#083966","layoutBackground":"#FFFEFD","layoutBottomImage":"","homeIcon":"","booksIcon":"","aboutIcon":"","blogIcon":"","eventsIcon":"","contactIcon":"","shortEssaysIcon":"","otherWorkIcon":"","speakingIcon":"","forTeachersIcon":"","schoolVisitsIcon":"","forReadersIcon":"","resourcesIcon":"","freeBonusChapterIcon":"","writingIcon":"","galleryIcon":"","conferenceIcon":"","christmasIcon":"","featuredIcon":"","archiveIcon":"","worksIcon":"","worksInProgressIcon":"","subscribeIcon":"","articlesIcon":"","extras!Icon":"","learnIcon":"","promotedBookImage":"https://www.wildinkmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Untitled-design-1.jpg","profileImage":"https://www.wildinkmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Woman-Bookstore-White-Orange-Olive-Floor-scaled-e1615276827719.jpg","aboutContent":"

LOREM IPSUM es sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Volutpat ac tincidunt vitae semper quis lectus. Consequat nisl vel pretium lectus quam id leo in. Et odio pellentesque diam volutpat commodo sed egestas egestas fringilla. Aenean vel elit scelerisque mauris pellentesque pulvinar pellentesque.

At tellus at urna condimentum mattis pellentesque id. Tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac. Viverra ipsum nunc aliquet bibendum enim. Et tortor consequat id porta nibh venenatis cras sed felis. Tortor pretium viverra suspendisse potenti nullam. Sed arcu non odio euismod lacinia at quis.

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For speaking engagements, NAME is exclusively represented by The Literary Agency.\n

To inquire about having NAME speak at your event, please contact NAME, JOB TITLE at The Literary Agency at NAME@email.com.

For film and television rights, NAME is represented by NAME at Agency. Please contact NAME at NAME@email.com.

For literary rights inquiries, please contact NAME of The Agency at NAME@email.com.\n

For all other inquiries, please contact NAME of The Agency at NAME@email.com\">NAME@email.com.

For speaking engagements, NAME is exclusively represented by The Literary Agency.\n

To inquire about having NAME speak at your event, please contact NAME, JOB TITLE at The Literary Agency at NAME@email.com.

For film and television rights, NAME is represented by NAME at Agency. Please contact NAME at NAME@email.com.

For literary rights inquiries, please contact NAME of The Agency at NAME@email.com.\n

For all other inquiries, please contact NAME of The Agency at NAME@email.com\">NAME@email.com.

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Liminal Spaces