An Excerpt from Dear Kim

This time at Oh Get a Grip, we're talking about The Uncanny. I took the opportunity to share an excerpt from "Dear Kim," which is one of the stories I'm proudest of having written. At The Grip, you can read about some of the truth behind "Dear Kim," and then read a bit of the story. If you like what you see, I've got links at the end which will lead you to a free audio version of the story, and to Like a Chill Down Your Spine, the book it was published in.

Here's a taste of the post:

So while the uncanny part is invented (I never saw these ghosts or experienced them that way), so much of the story seems absolutely true to me when I think about it.

I have a friend who says (I’m paraphrasing) that writing speculative fiction is a way of making your metaphors very literal, and I think that’s true for me here. I am haunted, emotionally, by the friends I’ve had who inspired Kim. I am haunted, emotionally, by unacknowledged feelings and regret. And in “Dear Kim,” I turned that haunting into an uncanny truth rather than a psychological one.

***

You can read the whole post here.