Fiction – neil shurley

I published several short stories this past week. I’ve been trying to reacquaint myself with my inner fiction writer and thought I should just go ahead and put these out into the world.

This one I wrote last night(!) and I really like how it came out. It’s called Birthday.

This one was published on An Idea (By Ingenious Piece) – it’s called Souvenir.

This one was also published on An Idea. It’s maybe the most personal fiction I’ve ever written. It’s called Pluperfect.

Here’s an old one – very old – but also very short. It holds a special place in my cold heart. It’s called Grandma’s Mummified Hand.

And finally, another one I wrote a long time ago. This one features a Vulcan. It’s called Rituals.

I’d love to know what you think of any – or all – of them.

Short story by Neil Shurley. My favorite story I’ve written. Originally published in Rosebud Magazine.

Until it became time for me to enter elementary school, Mother and I lived in Vegas, where she cocktailed six shows a week at the Stardust. I spent showtime in a back room straining to hear the headliner’s act, although laughter and applause were the only real sounds that carried through the walls.

I’d pass the time reciting passages from the bible chapters Mother and I had studied that week. I took great pride in memorizing verses for the upcoming Sunday’s lesson assigned for my Beginning Christians class.

Before the show Mother would quiz me as she pulled on her little outfit.

“Psalm 23,” she would say as she wiggled into her fishnet hose.

“The Lord is my shepherd,” I’d reply, tiny fist gripping hairpins which Mother would extract one by one. “I shall not want.” Continue reading “Commandments” →

Category: Fiction

New – and old – short stories

Commandments