"It wasn't a test," corrected the god. (Okay, so maybe I wasn't understanding.) "It was more of an exercise. To see if you could open your mind to the possibilities of believing a Greek god and a muse were visiting you in a café. Did you ever stop to think 'What if?' 'What if that man is telling the truth?' 'What if he really is the god he says he is?' 'What if all of the beings you read about in myths truly existed?' If you're not allowing yourself to be open to possibilities, it's no wonder you're dry of ideas."
I nodded. I hadn't, really. I hadn't even been thinking of questions like that when I was trying to come up with a story. "I still feel like I failed a test."
"Perhaps," Apollo agreed. "But victories seldom teach as much as defeats."
"And there's certainly still hope for you," Thalia assured me. "What better way to broaden your imagination than to have something like this happen?"
I don't recall exactly what I had planned to say in response to that. I never got to say it. Immediately after, the god waved his hand, and the entire café exploded into motion once more. The crash of a dish hitting the floor jerked my attention behind me for just a moment. When I turned back to the table, Apollo and Thalia had vanished.
It's now eleven o'clock at night. They're closing the café and kicking me out. My hand is cramped from writing so much. A few days ago I met a god. Tonight he told me dragons don't exist. Tomorrow night I'm going to use the rest of the blank pages I have to prove him wrong.
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About the Author:
An award-winning writer of speculative fiction, Michael G. Munz was born in Pennsylvania but moved to Washington State in 1977 at the age of three. Unable to escape the state's gravity, he has spent most of his life there and studied writing at the University of Washington.
Michael developed his creative bug in college, writing and filming four exceedingly amateur films before setting his sights on becoming a novelist. Driving this goal is the desire to tell entertaining stories that give to others the same pleasure as other writers have given to him. He enjoys writing tales that combine the modern world with the futuristic or fantastic.
Michael has traveled to three continents, and has an interest in Celtic and Greco-Roman mythology. He resides in Seattle where he continues his quest to write the most entertaining novel known to humankind and find a really fantastic clam linguini.
Connect with Michael online:
Website: www.michaelgmunz.com
Twitter: @TheWriteMunz
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MichaelGMunz
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