For the Children

Featured on The No Sleep Podcast

Art by Jen Tracy

Hello lovelies! Been a while since I have spoken to the audience void, but there hasn’t been a whole lot to talk about until recently! A new story has been published, and it’s a doozy. The journey to see the story produced has been long, but worth it.

The instructions are simple. The instructions are vague. Different people say different things, and fuck knows, since it’s the darknet, it may not even be true, but I followed the instructions.

Ashley- For the children

Okay, so I am bad at updating and getting things done. The episodes of The No Sleep Podcast has been out for a while, so I can’t complain about waiting over a year from when they expressed interest to finally hearing the story come to life.

I wrote the story for an anthology open call, back when I didn’t have much confidence in selling my work yet. The payment would have been $10 USD and I started writing a story I didn’t think was worth much more than that. Full circle, it was loosely inspired by a story I listened to on a podcast back when I first discovered it was a thing. I wish I could name the story and author for credit, but it stuck with me. It was about a man who follows instructions on the darknet in a motel to speak to a mirror that gives answers. I wanted to take that structure and apply it to the rigmarole that women have to go through to get an abortion, which is all the more topical now that the US Supreme Court is playing fast and loose with precedent and America’s confidence. Other influences included the moment my brother, mother and myself were hit by a car in a restaurant (yes, inside the restaurant. The car didn’t start inside, but lets say it made a new door on the way in) and a youtube video of an antique mirror maze called Alhambra in Lucerne.

“Headed to the carnival.”
She looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “Used to go as a kid. Changed my life, seeing some of that stuff. Always good for the children.” She gave me a gappy smile from which I looked away at the Marlboro clock, reminding me I’m old enough, and then some, to smoke. 

Gas station attendant- For the Children

The story grew, was rejected, refined and then brought into a greater lore that I hope to expand into a book of interconnected short stories. I consistently submit things to various anthologies and magazines but to only a few podcasts, one of which is No Sleep. Let me tell you, the excitement of finding out that they were interested in the story was hard to contain, but I had to. They specifically ask me not to tell anyone until it’s published due to last minute editorial decisions. And this was also the reason they couldn’t promise a publish date, so I bottled this secret for over a year! It finally dropped ( and with an illustration by Jen Tracy no less (wish I had the money to buy the piece from the talented artist, but check out her site)!) ! And let me tell you, they paid a touch more than $10.

It’s wild to hear something you write spoken in a voice not your own. Not only is it narrated, it’s a full cast for quite the few characters. I trusted their production skills and they ran with the text. Reminded me of a college project I did twice called Pen and Pigment, where I wrote a story, and artist created a piece, we swapped and I wrote a story based on their work and vice-versa. Obviously, one sided this time, but it was interesting to hear how they interpreted the text. They asked for no notes and I sent none. Do I think the voices and intonations are perfect? They are almost. It’s a great piece to give a listen. If you haven’t clicked the hyperlinks above, click HERE or find The No Sleep Podcast most places you listen to your favorites.

This carnival differed from ones I’ve been to before, even aside from the reason I was there. The atmosphere was electric, and everyone seemed to enjoy the rides and games like there was no reason to suspect it of anything. The booths were old-timey canvas, and the rides weren’t flashy like modern traveling carnivals. Draped strings of incandescent bulbs gave off warm heat in the crisp air.

Ashely-For the children

This story is going to easily receive the most exposure of all of my published work thus far (Although Just a Fish is gonna be up there) and it should not have surprised me that I received an email from a gentleman from Houston telling me how much my story stuck with him and had a few questions about the inspiration. I told him the same reason I explained above and that it’s the first story published about the Town of St. Montan (also, I have no idea if No Sleep will produce more, or the stories will have different homes until the collection is complete for publication as a book, but keep an eye out). I cannot begin to tell you how warm and fulfilling it was to wake up to an email with not only compliments, but speculation behind the meaning and questions about the inspirations. I hope to have more moments like this where I can interact with readers.

Also, in a timeframe not so off from the email, I was tagged in an Instagram post sharing “Just a Fish” being printed from a the Short Edition story machines!

This was the first time I’ve been tagged in anything by a reader! Also a glorious feeling and hope to publish more with Short-Edition. If you haven’t read “Just a Fish,” click here for a free read! They are a great company and I only with success for them and more of their machines in the world.

As always, thanks for reading, thanks for even noticing! Wish you all calm moments, hopefully with a good story.