User:Eirik

• A Gentle Touch

This one clearly had roots in news accounts of "The Horse Whisperer". I remember the news-magazine stories from the time, though I never read the book or saw the movie. There isn't much to it, but even if I'm not sure I pulled it off, it's one of my favorite ideas for a story.

• Ass Backwards

I rather like this one as a story, right up until the ending. It doesn't' make that much sense unless you know the person I was thinking of when I wrote it. Given how many stories I had under my belt by this point, you'd think I'd know that the reader is unable to also read my mind. This one I may one day write an alternate ending for. Or not.

• Change Lady

I remember the genisis for this story, a trip to Las Vegas. If I recall right, I wrote the outline on my first Palm Pilot one evening in the hotel, then fleshed it out on the plane home. It was mostly a fun story to write, if just to toss in different details.

• Cleaning Day at the Mad Scientist's Lair

This one is just a bit of a bizzare trip down my thought processes. I imagine I wrote this after an exam after four days of intensive studying. At least, I hope that's the case.

• Discount University

I'm only posting this to prove that I'm willing to post even my stinkers. This looks like it started as something intended to be lighthearted and silly and veered into some Twilight Zone-y ending that almost feels like its out of another story. Almost want to break the story into two completely different stories.

• Iron Shoes

This is a dark little tale. The notes I had on it when it was originally posted indicate I wrote it "on the road", which by the date means when I moved from Boston to LA before going to Seattle a couple months later. I apparently, by admission at the time, was in a lousy mood. It's not a perfect story by any means, but I think I did well here at playing with my audience.

• Little Boy Lost

I'm not sure what point I was trying to make with this story. When I read it I feel like I was going for some larger topic and didn't make it. This story has an interesting post-script. Not long after it was written, someone wrote and asked if I minded if he translate it into Russian. At some point I even saw the translation (I remember he had trouble with the word "Granola", which apparently has no direct Russian analog.) I can't recall who did the translation anymore, and those emails are long gone. I have no idea if that version still exists on the internet.

• Long Ride into Morning

Another story whose origin probably dates back to a favor, but where the original concept is lost to memory. I do remember that I rather intentionally mixed and matched the fey character at will depending on what I wanted.

• Mary-Lynn

I think this may be one of the very few of my stories that I actually like. It's very short, very light and almost strange for me is not mired in dark themes (though they are hinted at). My thin note at the time was that there might be a sequel at some point. Considering that I wrote this in 1998, I'm not sure there will be. But re-reading it for the first time in several years, it's certainly a thought.

• The Monster in the Closet

I wrote this back in 1997, long before I ever thought I'd have children. It's mildly interesting to note that, as I sit and write this, I have a little girl just a bit younger than the one here. She sees monsters, too.

• Once Upon a Country Road

I evidently wrote this mean little tale for a contest to write Nasty stories. I've long forgotten the contest, but I don't believe it won.

• On The Couch

I don't remember where the idea for this came from. I have always liked this story just because I think this is not too far off what might actually happen.

• The Price of Freedom

This one is pretty short, many of my stories are single concepts wrapped in a very few words. I suspect this was done as part of a trade with someone who requested horse stories in return for favors. I needed a lot of favors, so I have a lot of horse stories...

• Puzzle Box

I'm going to tag this one as adult not because of anything sexual, nothing approaching that occurs in the story, but it's a little darker than my normal tale. My one regret about putting these stories out now is that I don't remember where the ideas came from. I suspect this one started by seeing a real puzzle box somewhere (given the date, in Boston) but I can't be sure. I really would like to know what possessed me to write the ending to this one. I must have been in a really dark mood that day.

• Reality Bites

This was the first story that I actually posted for the TSA mailing list. Contrary to what I thought earlier, this would be the second story I ever showed anyone. I recall the idea for the story came from a small debate on the list over the science of transformation. There were some valid points raised that this story didn't really follow science well, either, but it was fun to write it.

• Saddled With Debt

Oddly enough, this is almost a lost story. I only remembered it while skimming another one, and Bryan had to find it for me in his files as I no longer apparently have it. I suspect that's the fate of a few stories. I'll have to re-read it at some point...

• Questions and Answers

This was an absurd story I wrote in 1996, probebly my second for the list. This is the story that, for better or worse, got me associated with raccoons. It became a theme that would pop up in different writings by myself and others. Back when I wrote it I noted it was influenced by Kafka. Clearly when I wrote it I was even more arrogant that I am now...

• Swift of Foot and Hoof

I know what the source of this story was, a picture drawn by the artist known as Flinthoof. I rather like the story, even if I feel I went a bit overlong. I suspect I started it without an ending, as is often the case for my longer stories. Thanks to Bryan for the assistance in formatting.

• Through Reality

I've attempted to re-write this story on a number of occasions, and until I got the file of a bunch of lost stories from Bryan I hadn't recalled posting this much of it. My original idea is far, far longer but I never got it to work. Once I got past what's here, I locked up and couldn't continue. At some point, I must have felt the set up made a pretty good short. Given that I've attempted to re-write this one at least a dozen times over the last decade, I think that may be where it stays. As for the title... I have no idea what it means, either.

• When You Love Someone

This one is a twisted little thing that I wrote with the basic idea, how do you make a curse work for you. My only regret is that someone else, Destrier, wrote a sequel that was far superior in about every way imaginable. Read mine for the set up, then read his to be impressed.