From “The Yellow Man” by Philip Ivory:

“All you have to do is lift up that circle in the middle of the floor. Do you see it? And then go down there, under the floor, and get something. You’ll know it when you see it.”

Indeed, there was a circle in the concrete of the floor, about the size and shape of a manhole, and it seemed to be moving slightly.

That wasn’t right.

“No,” said Allan.

His heart was racing. Something about the circle made him uneasy. All his instincts told him to stay clear of it. When he tried to understand why, it just made the fear worse.

“You have to,” said the Yellow Man. “Or things will never get better.”

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My first published novelette, “The Yellow Man,” is now available courtesy of the venerable online journal, “Bewildering Stories.”  CLICK HERE to read it now. (Because of its length, the story’s been broken, like a dark wizard’s soul, into seven horcrux-like parts,  all of which are now available to read.)

“The Yellow Man” is a puzzle box of a tale, dealing with  childhood loneliness, identity and the shadow world between life and death. You may find it a bit sad and scary — but perhaps also touching and surprising.

For those interested in such distinctions, a novelette  — something  more than a story and something less than a novella — is a piece of fiction landing somewhere between 7,500 words to 17,500 words.

This is by far the longest piece I’ve had published yet. I’ve written one other novelette, yet unpublished, that’s about the same length as this one. And I presently have a novel in the works, but it will be a while before that one’s ready for public consumption.

“The Yellow Man” began last year in my advanced class at Writers Studio Tucson. My thanks to WS teacher Renee Bibby and my fellow class members for their encouragement and feedback, which were essential to this tale’s development.

“Bewildering Stories,” which features quite a dazzling smorgasbord of prose and poetry that you really should check out, has also posted an author profile about me. CLICK HERE to see it.

Please read “The Yellow Man,” and post your reactions here on the blog. Your feedback means everything to me. 

Thanks for reading!