A bit of flash fiction.
Duncan’s neighbors are very understanding
Yes. I modeled them after my neighbors.
Man, you didn’t just tell a story.
You built a slow, dangerous gravity around Duncan — made every second feel heavy, even before anything happened.
That “painting the roses red” line — pure poetry hidden inside violence. Didn’t have to explain it. Just trusted the reader to feel it.
And that humor — bone-dry, merciless — wasn’t there to be funny. It was Duncan’s real voice, and it made every move hit twice as hard.
You didn’t hand the story over.
You made us work for it.
Earn it.
Bleed for it a little.
I felt it.
Hell of a piece.
Wow. Thank you very much!
Of course. Thank you for sharing this. Got the creative juices flowing.
You might appreciate my, “Care and feeding of Critter Monsters”
https://open.substack.com/pub/donnharperjr/p/the-care-and-feeding-of-critter-monsters?r=2k7s5u&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
That, is a great compliment. Thanks!
Duncan’s neighbors are very understanding
Yes. I modeled them after my neighbors.
Man, you didn’t just tell a story.
You built a slow, dangerous gravity around Duncan — made every second feel heavy, even before anything happened.
That “painting the roses red” line — pure poetry hidden inside violence. Didn’t have to explain it. Just trusted the reader to feel it.
And that humor — bone-dry, merciless — wasn’t there to be funny. It was Duncan’s real voice, and it made every move hit twice as hard.
You didn’t hand the story over.
You made us work for it.
Earn it.
Bleed for it a little.
I felt it.
Hell of a piece.
Wow. Thank you very much!
Of course. Thank you for sharing this. Got the creative juices flowing.
You might appreciate my, “Care and feeding of Critter Monsters”
https://open.substack.com/pub/donnharperjr/p/the-care-and-feeding-of-critter-monsters?r=2k7s5u&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
That, is a great compliment. Thanks!