norm

I know why you’re here; you want to know more about The End: Visions of Apocalypse. You expect me to just spill my guts about it, like you think I’d enjoy that or something?

Well, you’d be right.

Welcome to the blog section of SFFWorld.com, by the way. If you’re new to the site, take a look around! Explore the many forums. Bask in its euphoric warmth. This is the place where magic happens; it’s like Hogwarts, and the writing forum is our Chamber of Secrets. . . You’ll find no mere Muggles here, let me tell you.

Obviously, you’ve already read our free short story anthology; I think it’s safe to say, after spending nearly two months ranked number one in the Amazon.com Free Kindle eBook Fiction Science Fiction Short Stories section, that there isn’t an individual with an internet connection and at least one working eye who hasn’t read it:

The End: Visions of Apocalypse

I’ve made this blog post not just to praise our wonderful, critically acclaimed anthology, but also to make a most sincere apology. I understand the predicament I’ve no doubt put you all in; you’ve read The End: Visions of Apocalypse and now you’re scouring the World Wide Web, desperately searching for just the smallest excerpt of a narrative with the name Norman Gray attached to it. “Who is he?” you’ve probably asked yourself. “Why can’t I find his work anywhere? Is he some famous author operating under a pen name?” No doubt you’ve searched high and low and everywhere in between, from Amazon.com to the actual Amazon.

I, unlike most of the authors who have contributed to this wonderful little anthology, who each have their own blogs where they can promote their work in hopes of receiving reward and praise in exchange for their many hours of creative labour, find myself in a slightly awkward position; I have no domain to flaunt my immense creative prowess, mostly because my resumé of written work is, well, slightly limited. I haven’t been at this whole “writing” thing for a very long time, if truth be told, and I’m still making that leap from being a mere enthusiast of the craft, to being a cocky and confident aspiring author. Though you’ll be glad to hear that I’m practicing my cockiness every day; sometimes twice daily, only on the rare mornings when I manage to reduce my mirror observation time down to a half-hour.

So basically, if you’ve read my contribution to The End: Visions of Apocalypse, which was a story entitled Relapse, then you’ve read the extent of my works. . . So far. The End is, for me, merely the beginning!

How droll. I’m overwhelmed by the ironing. . . Maybe after I’ve gotten rich off of the anthology, I’ll hire a butler.

I suppose I can’t take all of the credit for the great success this short story collection has achieved. There are a couple of authors I could acknowledge: Hugh Howey, perhaps. Michael J. Sullivan, if one had to name names. And there are a few others that never fail to impress: R.F Dickson, Pete Mclean, Liam Baldwin, Stephen “B5” Jones, Michael Aaron. Norman Gray. Just to name a few.

None of them however, impressed me quite as much as this author:

In the end, Ragnarok was nothing like the stories told to us by our Father’s Fathers. Yes, man fought man, the earth was torn asunder, but the Gods? They stayed out of it, content to watch us all die. There was no great serpent, no wolf Fenris, no Odin. Only men and fire. And that, let it be said, was most certainly enough.

That was the opening paragraph from Tick by Wilson Geiger, a masterful story about mankind’s self-inflicted demise. Short and sweet, this passage speaks volumes in little more than a lengthy breath, and I think it’s quite apt in a day and age where relatively little thought is given to the potential repercussions of mankind’s actions.

I love this opening paragraph. Why? Because all ideas great and terrifying, real or surreal, are born from the same place: From the minds of ordinary everyday individuals. I mean really, when you think about it, is there anything more frightening than the human mind? It reminds me of this line:

The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.

That was a quote from Joseph Conrad; at least, that’s what it says in my copy of Best Served Cold. I’m an expert on many things, but early twentieth century literature isn’t one of them unfortunately.

An impressive resumé you tout Mr. Conrad, but have you ever been number one in Amazon.com’s Free eBook Fiction Science Fiction Short Stories section?

I thought not.

Dwellers of the almighty internet have spoken: SFFWorld.com’s first ever short story anthology is a triumphant success. If you haven’t already grabbed a copy, no need to fret! Just click on one of the links below to find out what the rest of the world has been raving about. You shan’t be disappointed, I promise.

-Norm


The End: Visions of Apocalypse: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords.

Previous blogs about The End:

http://nilaewhite.wordpress.com/2013...-tour-the-end/
http://www.riyria.blogspot.com/2013/...ypse-free.html
http://www.wilsongeiger.com/blog-tou...of-apocalypse/
http://chrismitchelltheauthor.blogsp...-mean-end.html
http://www.thelostwordsbooks.com/201.../the-end-tour/