It was unfortunate timing, really.
Last Tuesday, the Kickstarter for Thrill Ride Magazine went live.
I also had a doctor’s appointment that same morning.
Doc Guy asked about my life. Visions flurried of my crazy CIRCUS and that one clown hanging around up by the tightrope just waiting to drop his shoe…
And I thought, “No. No. That will earn you a new pill to swallow. Stick with the good news.”
But when the good news is thrilling, what do you do?
Doc asked for my left arm. (Why do they do that? Why not ask for the arm first, THEN have you explain clowns and story submissions?)
Doc Guy and his nurse took turns pumping up the cuff on that arm, then the right. Until they were both satisfied that I was quite a few numbers off normal.
I earned bruised biceps and more than one new pill to swallow.
I blame my CIRCUS.
And Kickstarter.
And Thrill Ride.
And Little Miss Muse, who nearly wet her tutu when one of the graphics for the promotions had a Humvee/tank image.
Can you imagine my Little Miss Muse driving a tank?
“It could shoot purple glitter along with the cannons. And lavender dust would follow our wake. We could spray paint purple lettering on the side: THE MUSE RIDES AGAIN!”
“Again? When have you ever driven a tank?”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” She got one of her wings stuck between the wall and the sharps container. After a couple of seconds, she pulled it lose, spraying glitter all over the wall.
She bopped from chair to chair to exam table and then to the top of the supply cabinet, where the tongue depressors went flying. I hate waiting in rooms with her. It’s a lot to explain to the medical staff that I wasn’t in here alone playing with cotton swabs and bandage rolls.
I pondered just how lucky I was to drive on to the pharmacy instead of being hauled off in a straight jacket…
At any rate, I’m thrilled to be a part of the Thrill Ride Magazine Kickstarter. My Story, “The Waiting Room” (no, it’s not about a doctor’s office—different kind of waiting area), will appear in Issue #4, Betrayals, this winter. I share a table of contents with some super talented writers from across the globe—more blood-pumping good news.
What is Kickstarter, you ask?
It’s a platform where creatives can fund projects from gadgets to games to publishing endeavors through the help of fans like you.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve backed quite a few campaigns, found some new favorite party games (Exploding Kittens, Ransom Notes), and scored great reads from talented writers.
Basically, Kickstarter helps project creators kickstart their dreams.
What is Thrill Ride Magazine, you ask?
It’s a debut magazine edited by M. L. Buchman and packed with thriller stories.
I don’t consider myself a thriller writer, more mystery than anything else. But the setting for this story lent itself to Issue #4’s theme of Betrayal, and from that, I figured I could do some twisted psychological tale and maybe the editor would like it.
He did! (Thanks, Matt!)
Little Miss was rather proud of it too, but now believes it should have a tank in it.
Um. No. Little Miss will have to come up with another story that has a tank in it.
You can throw some love at the Kickstarter here and get in on this publication's first year of thrilling reading. The authors get a share of the profits after the project funds, and you can score some great reading for your own TBR pile.
I’m sure the stories will get your blood pumping. Hopefully, your doctor won’t tell you to swallow extra pills from reading these issues, unless you, too, have a CIRCUS like mine.
And hopefully your tutu-wearing Muse doesn’t have “drive a tank” on her bucket list…
