THE MOURNER's CRADLE: A WIDOW'S JOURNEY by Tommy B. Smith -- The tale of a widow's harrowing journey through grief and peril into the cold remnants of a dead world. ***Guest Post - Q and A with the Author -- Giveaway***
The Mourner's Cradle: A Widow's Journey
by Tommy B. Smith
Genre: Horror
The tale of a widow's harrowing journey through grief and peril into the cold remnants of a dead world.
Damon Sharpe had in part found victory, he believed, in his battle to unearth a truth obscured by time. By autumn, he was dead, leaving to his wife Anne a house of unfulfilled wishes, remnants, and the key to the enigma of his obsession, the Mourner’s Cradle.
A journey through grief and peril delivers Anne Sharpe from her home in St. Charles to the faraway skeletons of a long-dead civilization where she will find the desperate answers she seeks…or die trying.
Guest Post
Q and A with Tommy B. Smith
When did you first consider yourself a writer?I first considered myself a writer after selling short stories to various magazines, around 2007, though it took some time longer to land my debut novella with my first publisher. Several years, as it occurred.
I have enjoyed reading short stories as well as writing them since way back.
I’ve drifting toward longer stories these days. The Mourner’s Cradle was actually my first full-length novel since previous releases consisted of a novella, short story collection, and all of those short stories over the years.
Short stories allow me the liberty to explore a variety of worlds, themes, and characters, whereas I find novel writing an immersive and lengthier experience. A novel requires a commitment.
Being a writer requires the same, and in this I mean a writer rather than an author, though I’m both. An author has written. A writer writes.
I like to entertain the notion that my best work is not yet written. There is always room to explore, to develop, to improve.
Where did you come up with the names in the story?
Certain names suit particular characters within a story.
Let’s talk of the primary character of The Mourner’s Cradle—do I dare call her a protagonist, considering some of her actions in the story?
This is what you’ll get sometimes in my stories. You don’t get Prince Charming or the Valiant Sir What’s-His-Name. You’ll get someone like Anne Sharpe.
Anne is a classic name, belonging to countless women throughout history. Anne Sharpe’s story could be any woman’s, at least in the beginning.
When the layers begin to unwind from her core, however, we see a lot of anger and darkness. A name may not reveal much, just as clothing or a passing exchange might not, but a grueling experience will present a deeper picture, imperfect and true.
With some, a name springs into being with their personalities and place in this world of fiction. Ruben, Tabby, Brock Keller.
Harsh consonants make a name like Brock Keller, and there is a reason for that.
A name might come from anywhere, but it does have its source, even if plucked out of a hat, though I’ve never done so.
About the Author
Tommy B. Smith is a writer of dark fiction, author of The Mourner's Cradle, Poisonous, and the short story collection Pieces of Chaos, as well as works appearing in numerous magazines and anthologies throughout the years. His presence currently infests Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he resides with his wife and cats.
Giveaway
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