“Fetish” at Beat to a Pulp
My short story “Fetish” is up at Beat to a Pulp, one of my favorite online crime magazines. This is the second tale I’ve published on the site; the first, “Insatiable,” came out in September 2009. (“Insatiable” is currently a finalist for a Spinetingler Award for Best Short Story; voting on the awards is open to the public through April 30, 2010.)
The editors of Beat to a Pulp, David Cranmer and Elaine Ash, are wonderful to work with. They are smart, savvy, and willing to do whatever it takes to make a story work. When I sent them “Fetish,” I knew that it was much longer than the stories they usually publish. David and Elaine asked me to make the story longer, to flesh out a couple of scenes I’d glossed over. I’m grateful that they pushed me to go the distance with it.
Here are the opening lines of “Fetish”:
Paul saw the blonde walk into the bar and stifled his urge to run. Her eyes caught his, and she tossed her long hair back and moved towards him, each step punctuated by the click of a stiletto heel. What the hell was she thinking, wearing black leather boots in the middle of June? Paul sat up straighter and finished his beer.“Hey, kiddo,” he said as she slithered into the booth opposite him. Her scarlet lipstick matched the shade of her clingy dress. She really should be wearing a bra, he thought, then blushed. It was getting harder to look at her.
“How many times have I told you to stop calling me that, Dad?” she asked. “I have a name, remember?”