Today, my story “Still Life through Water Droplets” went live online for free reading at Daily Science Fiction.  This story started with a title that popped into my head after reading a review of an art show.  That review contained a picture of a still life, whose actual title I can no longer remember, but it may have been something like “Still Life with Lobster.”  That’s when I noticed that many still life paintings carry a title that’s a variant of “Still Life with/through X” where X is either an unusual or everyday object.  The title “Still Life Through Water Droplets” immediately jumped into my head and wouldn’t leave.

For over a year I tried to find its story, writing and tossing several attempts in which the characters’ lives literally stopped in time.  Eventually I gave up, and worked on other things.  After a while, I came back to the title.  I realized a less literal approach might work better, and Brandon and Odette’s tragic quests finally emerged.

If if you’ve yet to read “Still Life through Water Droplets,” click your way over to Daily Science Fiction—I hope you enjoy it.  While there, be sure to check out some of the other fiction, or better yet subscribe and receive a story-a-day delivered to email inbox.