To right a wrong

I am going to die before the night is out.

I know it. I can feel it. There is a strange stillness in the air that heralds the end of life for me. Leaves rustle without wind. Wings of birds flutter ominously as they nestle amongst each other in sleep. A dog howls at the moon, it seems to me like it is baying for the dead. And I have just broken the vow.

In the remotest interiors of India, there exists an unremarkable village. It is not very large, is near neither the highway nor the sea, has neither natural scenic beauty nor historical importance, no popular film star has made a home in it, nor is it the haunt...

Read the full story in the March 2012 issue of Big Pulp

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Request to read the original story via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

3500 words
Drama
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I think your story is excellently written. I enjoyed the details of life in a remote Indian village setting, and think you have done a great job of introducing this village and its people."

David Peters

Editor

Fried Fiction

"The opening line is quite good, portending the narrator's imminent demise. And the trailing paragraph, what in the old journalism game we call 'the bridge' is fantastic, too. It is, judging from the work's opening, a good night to die."

Theodore Q. Rorschalk

Editor

Total Quality Reading

"It has an original plot line. I love the setting too, and all the great cultural details you include. You're a very talented writer with good instincts for intriguing stories."

Paula Jolin

Manuscript Reader

The Sun

"I liked a lot about this story. The setting was spot on and authentic. The plot was unique; I've never seen anything like it. The piece had entertainment value and depth, which it's often hard to find both in a story."

A. Leonard Lucas

Fiction Editor

Fender Stitch

"We think that you have a very unique voice. The beginning paragraph is pretty much perfect. We were immediately drawn in"

Anonymous

Editor

Black Fox Literary Review

"I loved the opening few paragraphs... Amusing story... and the setting/atmosphere at the Indian village is well done."

Anonymous

Manuscript Reader

Antigonish Review

"We like your writing."

Ann Rushton & Kelly Shriver

Editors

Bound Off

"We enjoyed reading it"

Paul Barrett

Managing Editor

Mary Magazine

"We enjoyed reading it"

Bill Olver

Editor

Big Pulp

A Hindu god worth waiting (and waiting) for

The queues are serpentine. Everywhere the eye can see, dark heads and pale, shining pates are milling about in the crowd as people jostle for legroom and, like some covert military operation, sneakily inch forward when their neighbour isn't looking. I have wrapped a scarf around my head to protect myself from the blazing rays of the sun, but the garment is fighting a losing battle. A low hum of conversation pervades the air and cries of the sopranic “Get your laddoos here!” and the wrathful “Watch where you're going!” break the monotony.

It was 6 in the morning when I had set out for the Tirupathi...

Read the full article in the second week of March 2012 issue of Globe And Mail

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

600 words
Drama
Canada publication

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Words from the Wise

"I enjoyed reading it."

Catherine Dawson-March

Deputy Travel Editor

The Globe And Mail

"It is good."

Acharya Arumuganathaswami

Managing Editor

Hinduism Today