Superheroes Taking Flight
Or running really fast, as the case may be!
One of these days, I will have a main page up with links to all my stories out there, but I think it’s fitting that each story have its own entry in the blog, as well. And maybe with a little info specifically about it.
“Zero to Clean in Ten Minutes or Less” was the second story I ever had accepted; though, thus far, it is the one I’ve waited the longest to see in print after acceptance. I got word that it would be published by A Thousand Faces in November of 2007 and it went live in the the spring issue in April 2008.
I wrote this story when I was supposed to be writing my 2007 NaNo novel (National Novel Writing Month, for the uninitiated). Procrastination actually paid off for once — two flash pieces I wrote instead of that ill-fated and never-completed NaNo novel were actually published!
“Zero to Clean” had two inspirations — my husband, Stephen, and Smallville. There was this episode of Smallville where Clark had a party while his parents weren’t home and then went into super-mode to clean it up before they got back. I wondered — if you can clean at super speed, is it still as much work as it is for the rest of us? Or does Clark not mind having to clean alone, since it only takes in 30 seconds?
I started thinking about that again when Stephen was de-cluttering the house one day. He’s not “supersonic,” but he can de-clutter a house, do the dishes, etc., in record time. But I know that cleaning still annoys him, even though he has the uncanny ability to finish three chores while I’m doing one (I still don’t know how he does that!).
Both of those musings came together and “Zero to Clean in Ten Minutes or Less” was born. I will say, though, that the character of Liz is not taken from real life!
Eventually, the story will come down off the online version of A Thousand Faces, but the cool thing about this e-zine is that you can also buy print or .pdf versions from Lulu. So, if you miss it, you still have another chance, even though the ezine (unlike many) does not keep archives.
If you do head over to check out “Zero to Clean,” there are a couple of other stories you should check out while you’re there. The first is “Shades of Red” written by Alex Burns, and the second is “Auguste” written by Jens Rushing. Both are part of my writing group, Writer’s Ink, and masterful tale weavers.
And if you like “Zero to Clean,” definitely leave me a comment and let me know!
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[...] was the second piece of flash I was inspired to write instead of writing my 2007 NaNo novel (this was the first one). We were at my parents’ cabin, and I had this glimmer of an idea of a married couple talking [...]
[...] stories I wrote while procrastinating on my NaNo novel became several of my first acceptances (“Zero to Clean in Ten Minutes or Less” and “Remember?” most [...]