Hi...!
I wanted to present this link to a current fundraiser, with the intent to turn my published book (The Chrysalis, October 2015, in Greek only currently) to an English version, as well as an illustrated one (works by Vaso, a talented friend from Athens...).
Link is at
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-chrysalis-illustrated-horror-book-in-english#/, have a look
What follows is some art by Vaso, and some token stories by myself, also found in that indiegogo thread
I hope you enjoy reading this...
The following is the introductory chapter of the book, translated (placeholder translation) into English:
"Gray Walls"
"It was a noon during the middle of summer, which was of some importance given the hot Sun allowed the opportunity to the staff -and the patients- to have a walk at the great yard of the public mental health hospital. I arrived on time to meet with one of the doctors that I knew from days of old. The occasion for my visit was a distinction awarded to one of my stories. I had promised to read it to him personally, as I used to do in the past when we would get together.
My acquaintance, who worked there, gave me a tour of the areas comprising his office and also of those other ones open to the public, in the department which he has been administrating for a short while now. “All the walls here are gray” he said.
At some moment, as we were still in his spacious office, sat comfortably in our armchairs and having each lit a cigar, my acquaintance having just recalled something of significance told me that I have to see one more location.
I accepted, only was saddened a little that I should now rise from such a nice environment, and also have to extinguish my cigar, but soon we were in the corridors, and there we walked, him in front of me, and myself at the back.
For some time we marched in corridors which in equal distances were being separated by doors with diaphanous glass in their upper parts, whereas other doors to the sides of us- themselves not diaphanous- were leading to places unknown to me. At last we reached the end of the floor. He opened the final door- which also was not diaphanous and thus I had guessed that it would be the door to a single room and not one behind which there existed the continuation of the corridor- stood in front of it, told me to “please, go on”, and as I went inside the empty white room he closed the door abruptly and locked it...
Since that time I remain here. From the window I gaze at the yard, below, sometimes I shout but no one seems to listen to me. It has even happened that I would deem that one had heard- such a development perhaps not at all easy as those others were thirty meters below, but I yelled with all my power- a group of patients which must have belonged to the persons with mental disability raised their heads and seemed to look at me, and this in turn caused me to cry against my will...
I am thinking of the betrayal by that person. To have locked me here, where there exists nothing… Or rather at first I thought there existed nothing, since at some moment – I supposed that I was becoming crazy- I noticed a protrusion, white as well, on the floor, and I neared it so as to assure myself that it was merely a delusion. But it was not. It was a small white piece of chalk!
From that time I am looking at the chalk, and the walls, with horrible speculation. From that time I have moved away from the walls, stay at the window, holding the chalk in my hand as I stretch it outside towards the powerful Sun. Should I let this fall?
'A central theme of the work is the will- or need- to change, in order to survive. This personal will, however, can easily reveal just how little travelled is the environment ourselves- and the narrators of these stories- consider as their own; consider as known and easy to walk onto or form calculations about.
For example, in the most extensive story of the collection, titled "The Object of All Dreams", the main character attempts to better his impossibly dire financial condition and get away from a no-end work he maintains due to needing to pay the bills for his already spartan-like style of living. He aspires to present nothing short of a firework of a success, by presenting a mathematical proof concerning one of the unsolved problems, and consequently live off the considerable cash prize attached to that solution...!
In his opinion he is nearing the stage where he can make a breakthrough. But then he is met with a most unexpected obstacle. One not of this world. '
Feedback is very welcome!
New SMAC quizzes available.
