by Josh Hilden
They did.
That was a month ago, and I believe this is my last night. Amanda is here with me, and so are all of the friends I’ve made in my new life. I won’t name them; the work they’ll continue after my death is too important.
Amanda and I were married three days ago … I think Courtney would be happy for me.
***
John died shortly after completing his writing. His wife, Amanda was with him and so was I. My name is Samantha O’Neil and I’m his goddaughter. Amanda plans on sending hundreds of copies of this short autobiography out through the Underground. With a little luck, it may even reach the scholars at Tesla and Rowling.
But before that, I have to tell you how it ended. Uncle John would want that.
***
The sky was bright and sunny when the casket was lowered into the ground. More than a hundred people were in attendance to remember the man that’d been integral to their lives. As the preacher spoke, Aunt Amanda and I threw the first shovels full of clean, dark earth onto the casket.
We all stopped when a government car pulled up at a sedate speed.
There were murmurs as the tall man in his dress grays stepped from the vehicle. Of course everyone recognized him. He’d been all over the broadcasts in the last few years. And, more importantly, they were able to put two and two together as to the relationship between him and the dead man being honored that day.
He gestured for his guards to wait at the car, a move that clearly displeased them. Then he strode toward Amanda and me, never hesitating or breaking stride. She watched him approach, and those near her were unsettled when they noticed the small smile that played upon her face.
“Aunt Amanda?” He asked in that same measured and sure voice they had all heard before.
“Yes, I suppose I am,” she replied. “I’m so pleased that you made it, General.” She smiled at him as tears danced in her eyes.
“Uncle John was important to me, even if he’d made himself an outcast and never even told us why. I still love him.” A grin spread across his dark face as he remembered all the years of correspondences and short clandestine visits he and Uncle John shared over the years.
Amanda stepped forward and hugged him, “He always loved you, Tommy, even if he didn’t agree with you.”
“I think as I’ve gotten older I may understand more of his views.” He answered, a tired and resigned note creeping into his voice.
Amanda nodded and then slipped a sheaf of papers into his hands as she hugged him again.
A few minutes later the ceremony was over and the onlookers began to depart. As General Thomas “Tommy” Watson, hero of the Saint Louis Incursion, left in his car, Amanda Lynch Watson saw he was deep in concentration… reading.
A Call to Action
How to Help an Indie Writer
We are Indie Writers. This means that we either self publishing our work or we are being published by a small company and not one of the “Big 6” publishers. We enjoy being independent, we can write what we want when we want with little to no oversight from above.
It also means we are doing all of the heavy lifting for ourselves.
That is the part we enjoy the least. We don’t enjoy constantly spamming social media with information on our latest works, but it’s a task we have to do.
“What can I do to help you out?” you ask.
The answer is very simple. There is a short list of things you can do to give us a helping hand.
Share information about our work with your friends and family
Like, review, and rate our work on Amazon and Goodreads (of course if you don’t like something we would prefer you not leave negative feedback)
Finally you can sign up for the company mailing list (link below) to keep up with the latest goings on our work
We at Gorillas With Scissors Press look forward to producing more products that you can enjoy and we anticipate a long and happy reader/writer relationship!
- Josh Hilden “Head Monkey” (GWSP)
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If you answered yes to any of that perhaps you would like to join the GORILLAS WITH SCISSORS PRESS BOOK CLUB!
So what is the GWSP Book Club? Are we just a bunch of genre fiction freaks and geeks flinging poo at one another?
Of course not… who told you that?
No, the GWSP Book Club is just that, a book club. For as little as $1 you can be a member of this elite group.
But what do you get out of it?
What, helping us out isn’t enough? Well I agree the good feeling of helping isn’t enough. Depending on your subscription mount members get access to content beyond the Pay Wall, monthly Skype or Google Hangout Q&A's, exclusive behind the scenes information, a monthly (or more often) exclusive story, free digital copies of our new releases, free paperbacks, free audio-books, when new swag is created (buttons, stickers, bookmarks… etc) Book Club members get first crack.
What will we do with these funds?
First and foremost we'll be hiring new staff. We are in desperate need of a full time copy editor/proof reader along with an art director. After that we'll be bringing more writers into the fold.
We hope you choose to join us in this journey of growth and expansion!
www.patreon.com/gwspress
- Josh Hilden "Head Monkey"
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
When I was born on August 3, 1976 in the great state of Michigan the hills shook and the sky was swept with fire. These were portents of the greatness for my future that was written in the stars ... I'm still waiting for that greatness.
My name is Josh Hilden and I am many things. I am a husband, a father, a son, a friend. These are all important things but at my core I am an artist and the medium that I work in is words. I am a writer of Role Playing Games, short stories, essays, poetry, novellas, and novels.
In the everyday world I can be found spending time with my family and friends. I have been married to my lovely wife Karen since September of 1996. We have six amazing children. We tend to be a family of unabashed geeks and gamers who were geek before geek was chic.
If you are really interested in me I am very active online with a personal and a writing blog along with a plethora of social media outlets. All links are available at my website (www.joshhilden.com). If you have any questions or just want to chat hit me up!
Published Works of Josh Hilden
Fiction
After the Storm (Short Story)
Beneath The Ice: A Mythos Novella
Best Friends
Bunny, Bunni, & Bobby Book 1: A Rabbits Tale
Confession (Short Story)
Dark Earth (Sample)
Down the Slope (Short Story)
Echo From the Past (Short Story)
Family Business
Flash Story Collection Volume 1
Frankenstein King of the Dead Book 1: Overture of Chaos
Frankenstein King of the Dead Book 2: Transition of Terror
Frankenstein King of the Dead Book 2.5: Frank vs. The Rat Pack
Frankenstein, King of the Zombies (Short Story)
GI Joe: Worlds Without End The Return Part 1 - BREACH (Kindle Worlds)
GI Joe: Worlds Without End The Return Part 2 - INVASION (Kindle Worlds)
Into the Tall Grass (Short Story)
Just Breathe (Short Story)
Last Train Out (Short Story)
Letters From Galileo (Short Story)
My Dance with an Angel
One Foot in Front of the Other (Short Story)
One Way Ticket
Please Mister (Short Story)
Pulling Pots: A Mythos Novella
Rescue Mission (Interregnal Fragments)
Room Check (Short Story)
Safe Harbor (Short Story)
Santa Vs. The Living Dead
Short Run
Skitter (Short Story)
Squeal
Summer Camp of the Dead Season 1
Summer Camp of the Dead Season 2
Tea Party with Death (Short Story)
The Dark Musings Collection
The Dragon (Short Story)
The Earth Interregnum (Sample)
The Free Story Friday Collection Volume 1: The Horror Anthology
The Free Story Friday Collection Volume 2: The Lovecraftian Mythos Cycle
The Free Story Friday Collection Volume 3: The Earth Interregnum
The Free Story Friday Collection Volume 4: Dark Earth
The GWSP Sampler #1: The Josh Hilden Collection
The Library: A Mythos Novella
The Measure of a Man (Short Story)
The Preserve Season 1.0
The Preserve Season 2.0
The Preserve Season 3.0
The Quality of a Life (Short Story)
The Residue (Revised & Expanded)
The Rising Water (Short Story)
The Ruins in the Mountains: A Mythos Novella
The Shores of the Dead Book 1: The Rising
The Shores of the Dead Book 2: The Journey
The Shores of the Dead Book 3: The Final Stand
The Shores of the Dead Book 4: Tales from the Shores of the Dead
The Shores of the Dead Book 5: Before The Shores of the Dead
The Shores of the Dead Book 6: The Risen Dead A Survivors Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
The Shores of the Dead Omnibus Edition (Books 1-4 Collected)
The Statement of Alexander Thomas (Short Story)
The Stones and the Well (Short Story)
The Walk Home (Short Story)
The Worm (Short Story)
Under the Bed (Short Story)
Non Fiction
A Cautious Descent Into Respectability
After the Descent Volume 1 (2013)
After the Descent Volume 2 (2014)
Before the Decent the Collected and Annotated Essays (2006 – 2012)
From the Left to the Right
I’m A Bisexual
My Top Ten Favorite Scary Movies
Shoot For the Head
Sunny Days
The Stuff That Scares Me
These are the Voyages
Useless Advice For New Writers from Josh Hilden: Revised Second Edition
Walking the Spiral Poems Book 1 (2008 – 2012) (Poetry)
You’re The Inspiration: A Gen Xer’s Creative Influences
Audiobooks
Beneath The Ice
Best Friends
Bunny, Bunni, & Bobby Book 1: A Rabbits Tale
Family Business
Frankenstein King of the Dead Book 1: Overture of Chaos
Frankenstein King of the Dead Book 2: Transition of Terror
My Dance With An Angel
Santa Vs. The Living Dead
Short Run
Squeal
Summer Camp of the Dead Season 1
Summer Camp of the Dead Season 2
The Flash Story Collection Book 1
The Free Story Friday Collection 1: The Horror Anthology
The Free Story Friday Collection 2: The Mythos Cycle
The Free Story Friday Collection 3: The Earth Interregnum
The Library
The Preserve Season 1.0
The Preserve Season 2.0
The Residue
The Ruins In The Mountains
The Shores of the Dead Book 1: The Rising
The Shores of the Dead Book 2: The Journey
The Shores of the Dead Book 3: The Last Stand
The Shores of the Dead Book 4: Tales From The Shores of The Dead
The Shores of the Dead Book 5: Before The Shores of the Dead
These Are The Voyages: How Star Trek Inspired Me To Create
Useless Advice For New Writers from Josh Hilden: Revised Second Edition
