Laugh at Yourself First: “A Nativity in Black.”

Crisis this week. A popular social-network site shot me dead. One minute, I’m plugging along merrily, checking to see which of my friends sent me flowers or fish, or would like me to join their vampire mafia. Next minute, “YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN TO DO THAT.” My heart fluttered. I was disabled. My first thought was, “I must return to email for communication!” Within five minutes I received the first text asking me why I cancelled. In the dead of winter it’s easy to compartmentalize ourselves and build fantasy worlds. I only mention to poke fun at my embarrassment, but you’re a liar if you say I’m the only guilty party. While the week has been tough, but I survived. Instead of endlessly searching virtual bookshelf, I took a long walk in the cold.

Nobody panic, I made it back alive. I want to make sure we start off with a disclaimer, lest I return e-grave.com. 1) If I posted something you didn’t like, remember it’s all fiction, you can pretend whichever part you’d like to be fiction. 2) While I’d really appreciate if you purchased a copy of my novels, I’m not trying to sell you anything. You can read everything here for free, including the novels I’d like yo to buy. You can even print off these stories yourself and show them to whomever you like, as long as you give me credit for my words. I’m only asking you to repay by passing my stories along to someone who may enjoy as well. All you need to do is invite them to this group, I’ll do the rest for you. 3) I won’t let anyone stop me from advertising discount pharmaceuticals at bargain basement prices delivered directly and discretely door to door.

With that out of the way, I’ve posted a new story on Laugh at Yourself First. I recorded this story several years ago as “The Private Pain of Anton Lazarus.” When I sat down to revise, I rewrote nearly every sentence, so it’s renamed after the song that inspired the story. I’ve written the main character in two other novels, and in my first play, “Sweet Chastity in Wonderland.” Next week I’ll revisit the cyber-culture once more with AIN SOPH, about a video game monster threatening the stability of the world economy. I hope you enjoy, “A Nativity in Black.”

–Paul