Posts

"In Thin Air" - Installment Seven - Trust Me

Image
  PREFACE During the Victorian era, “penny magazines”—often called penny dreadfuls—revolutionized storytelling. These serialized thrillers were sold in weekly installments for just a penny, bringing suspenseful tales to the working class and transforming fiction from an elite luxury into an affordable pastime for the masses. Today, in the Information Age—somewhere between TikTok scrolls and rapidly shrinking attention spans—I’m resurrecting the spirit of the penny dreadful. But this time, it’s completely free , delivered right here on my blog. So without further ado… (drumroll please) Welcome to my first serialized short story of "In Thin Air":  Installment Seven Trust Me  The Monday after the snowstorm, Front Range Energy felt aggressively normal. Phones rang. Printers hummed. Grant in accounting was microwaving salmon again like it was a personal attack on the entire office. Caroline sat at her desk staring blankly at a spreadsheet while her coffee went cold besid...

"In Thin Air" - Installment Six - The Basement Door

Image
  PREFACE During the Victorian era, “penny magazines”—often called penny dreadfuls—revolutionized storytelling. These serialized thrillers were sold in weekly installments for just a penny, bringing suspenseful tales to the working class and transforming fiction from an elite luxury into an affordable pastime for the masses. Today, in the Information Age—somewhere between TikTok scrolls and rapidly shrinking attention spans—I’m resurrecting the spirit of the penny dreadful. But this time, it’s completely free , delivered right here on my blog. So without further ado… (drumroll please) Welcome to my first serialized short story of "In Thin Air":  Installment Six The Basement Door By the time Caroline reached Daniel’s house, snow had started falling through the mountains in slow, drifting sheets. The chalet glowed warmly against the darkening hillside, golden light spilling from the windows like something out of a luxury vacation catalog. It looked safe. Expensive. Normal. She ...

"In Thin Air" - Installment Five - The Chalet

Image
  PREFACE During the Victorian era, “penny magazines”—often called penny dreadfuls—revolutionized storytelling. These serialized thrillers were sold in weekly installments for just a penny, bringing suspenseful tales to the working class and transforming fiction from an elite luxury into an affordable pastime for the masses. Today, in the Information Age—somewhere between TikTok scrolls and rapidly shrinking attention spans—I’m resurrecting the spirit of the penny dreadful. But this time, it’s completely  free , delivered right here on my blog. So without further ado…  (drumroll please) Welcome to my first serialized short story of "In Thin Air":  Installment Five The Chalet By the time Caroline’s GPS told her to turn off the highway, the city had already disappeared behind her. The road narrowed, winding upward through dense pine trees and quiet stretches of mountain air that felt a little too empty for comfort. Daniel had texted earlier: You’ll love the view. As h...

"In Thin Air" - Installment Four - The Article

Image
   PREFACE During the Victorian era, “penny magazines”—often called penny dreadfuls—revolutionized storytelling. These serialized thrillers were sold in weekly installments for just a penny, bringing suspenseful tales to the working class and transforming fiction from an elite luxury into an affordable pastime for the masses. Today, in the Information Age—somewhere between TikTok scrolls and rapidly shrinking attention spans—I’m resurrecting the spirit of the penny dreadful. But this time, it’s completely  free , delivered right here on my blog. So without further ado…  (drumroll please) Welcome to my first serialized short story of "In Thin Air": Installment Four The Article The lunchroom at Front Range Energy always smelled like reheated leftovers and burnt coffee. Caroline sat across from Jenna at one of the tables by the window, picking at a salad she wasn’t particularly interested in eating. Outside, downtown Denver looked bright and normal. Sunlight bounced ...

"In Thin Air" - Installment Three - The Second Date

Image
  PREFACE During the Victorian era, “penny magazines”—often called penny dreadfuls—revolutionized storytelling. These serialized thrillers were sold in weekly installments for just a penny, bringing suspenseful tales to the working class and transforming fiction from an elite luxury into an affordable pastime for the masses. Today, in the Information Age—somewhere between TikTok scrolls and rapidly shrinking attention spans—I’m resurrecting the spirit of the penny dreadful. But this time, it’s completely  free , delivered right here on my blog. So without further ado…  (drumroll please) Welcome to my first serialized short story of "In Thin Air": Installment Three The Second Date                                                                          Daniel picked the place. A dim bar do...

"In Thin Air" - Installment Two - Thirty Minutes to Kill

Image
  PREFACE During the Victorian era, “penny magazines”—often called penny dreadfuls—revolutionized storytelling. These serialized thrillers were sold in weekly installments for just a penny, bringing suspenseful tales to the working class and transforming fiction from an elite luxury into an affordable pastime for the masses. Today, in the Information Age—somewhere between TikTok scrolls and rapidly shrinking attention spans—I’m resurrecting the spirit of the penny dreadful. But this time, it’s completely  free , delivered right here on my blog. So without further ado…  (drumroll please) Welcome to my first serialized short story of "In Thin Air": Installment Two Thirty Minutes to Kill Caroline was halfway through a spreadsheet when her phone buzzed. Another Bumble notification. She glanced down mostly out of boredom. The office was quiet in that fluorescent mid-afternoon way energy companies seemed to specialize in—rows of gray cubicles, the low hum of HVAC, someone...

"In Thin Air" - Installment One: The Basement

Image
  PREFACE During the Victorian era, “penny magazines”—often called penny dreadfuls—revolutionized storytelling. These serialized thrillers were sold in weekly installments for just a penny, bringing suspenseful tales to the working class and transforming fiction from an elite luxury into an affordable pastime for the masses. Today, in the Information Age—somewhere between TikTok scrolls and rapidly shrinking attention spans—I’m resurrecting the spirit of the penny dreadful. But this time, it’s completely free , delivered right here on my blog. So without further ado… (drumroll please) Welcome to my first serialized short story of "In Thin Air": Installment One The Basement The basement light hums before it fully turns on. Not flickering — just thinking about it. Caroline’s halfway down the stairs when she smells it. Not rot. Not mildew. Just something… unfinished. Concrete and dust and cold air that doesn’t circulate. Daniel’s right behind her, close enough that she...