What Happened to Winn Bailey? by Edward Gold
Release Date: March 7th 2016
Pages: 18
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary
From Goodreads:
What Happened to Winn Bailey is a science fiction short story about a man who wakes up in a strange place with no recollection of how he got there... and he's not alone...
Excerpt:
"Winn opened his eyes to soft yellow light and a disorienting view of a low transparent ceiling. He couldn't see the sky through the ceiling though, just four white triangular walls joined at a point. If felt like he was looking up inside a pyramid. It was disconcerting. It reminded him of the inside of a tomb."
Review
This story by Edward Gold turned out to be a great surprise! One might say it's a hidden gem, or a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Ha, see what I did there?
I asked to review this immediately after reading the title. It sounded so intriguing that I didn't even read the summary. I guess a big deal of why I liked it so much was because I went into it without knowing anything about it, except for the thought that obviously something had happened to someone called Winn Bailey.
I found the concept to be so interesting and after the ending all I wanted was more! It's a topic that you don't see that often. I love the mystery elements to it: definitely made me turn my electronic pages fast; I almost cut myself! Haha, I'm so funny.
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| Me when I was reading it. |
This is definitely a story that leaves you thinking and plotting, which is something I love to do. So, I don't recommend this to people who like clear endings.
With that being said, I'd love to see another story set in this thrilling and mysterious world.
Rating
4 out of 5 stars
About the Author
He likes hiking and playing volleyball. He has organized and captained many volleyball teams in the past, and he still plays sand-doubles almost every week. In addition, he also enjoys photography, movies, books, walleyball, games, karaoke, and spending time with his family.
He likes to travel and experience new things and has been to many domestic and international destinations, including Africa, Canada, London and the Caribbean. So far, he has lived in or visited 24 of the 50 states in the U.S.
He currently lives in Durham, North Carolina with his wife, his two daughters, and their boxer-bulldog mix, Loki.
Interview
1) What inspired you to write this short story? Did elements from your life influence it?
I've been an avid sci-fi and fantasy reader (and watcher) my whole life. I've always been most intrigued by the stories that offer unique worlds to visit, like Sentenced to Prism by Alan Dean Foster or The Integral Trees by Larry Niven, just to name two of the many.
2) How long does the writing process usually take?
The process is different for everyone plus stories vary in length so it is impossible to fit a generalization to this question. This particular story, What Happened to Winn Bailey, probably took me less than a day to write. However, after it was written, I read it to my writer's group and they offered feedback. So I edited and changed the story. Then I shared the updated version and again made edits. I might have even done that a third time but I don't recall for sure. After that, I got extremely busy in my personal and work life so shelved the story (and most of my writing) for a few years. Once I picked it up again, I re-familiarized myself with the story, made a few more tweaks and decided that I was ready to publish it. Since this is the first story I self-published, I had to figure out how to format the book for MOBI, EPUB, and PDF versions (since I was only selling this one digitally), obtain ISBN numbers, make or buy a cover, set up a marketing plan, create an audio version, set up social media, and figure out how to sell on Amazon and other sites. It was a lot of work! The audio book alone took a very long time and this was only a short story. So, technically, this story took me almost five years to write and publish but if you take out all the time I took off from my writing, it was probably closer to a year. Admittedly, a lot of that was learning how to do all that. I expect the next one to go quicker.
3) Do you have any tips on how to get over a writer's block?
I do. In fact, I hope to have my next book published within a month or two, 24 Obstacles Faced by Writers and Everyone Else Too. One of the chapters is about writer's block. I think there are a lot of good ideas in there. Here are a few of them: a) Pick a random photo on-line and tell a story about it. b) Ask your friends about their saddest time, funniest story, or craziest idea they’ve had. Listening to them might give you ideas or focus.
4) What does literary success look like to you?
I'd like to have a lot of books published. I'd even like to make enough money from them so that I can leave my day job and have more time with my family. But, I'd be happy with just having them out there so that other people can enjoy them. I have a lot of stories to tell.
5) What project are you currently working on?
I have several projects right now that are completely written and edited. The aforementioned non-fiction book on obstacles is my main goal right now. I also have two children's books that just need illustrations.
I want to thank Edward for taking the time to answer my questions! You can support him by buying his short-story on Amazon!
Do you prefer open or closed endings? Do you love that Ed's dog is named Loki as much as I do? Let me know in the comments!
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